The Final Call

Justice Or Else! - Countdown to 10.10.15

By Starla Muhammad -Assistant Editor- | Last updated: Sep 29, 2015 - 10:56:08 AM

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The fight for Justice Or Else is here and now!

All around the country, the call of Justice...Or Else!, the 20th Anniversary of the Million Man March, has galvanized activists, organizers and youth, responding to unjust treatment of Black, Latino, Native American, Indigenous and poor communities who will bring their grievances to Washington, D.C. on 10.10.15. Photo: Abdul Karriem Muhammad

CHICAGO - As anticipation, steely determination and focus by activists, organizers and communities around the country intensifies in the preparation and planning for “Justice Or Else!”, the 20th anniversary of the Million Man March, supporters of the movement argue the increased racial animus and antagonistic climate particularly toward Black Americans necessitates October’s gathering. 

Unlike two decades ago, when nearly two million Black men responded to the call of atonement and reconciliation by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam, the purpose of this year’s gathering is different.  

Residents in Charlotte, N.C. protest the mistrial and acquittal of White police officer Randall Kerrick in the shooting death of unarmed Jonathan Ferrell. Photo: Andrea Muhammad

On 10.10.15, Blacks, Latinos, Indigenous, Native Americans and other disenfranchised communities will converge on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., united in a universal demand for equal justice and to articulate their grievances before the most powerful nation in the world.

“We don’t have time to play with the principle of justice,” said Minister Louis Farrakhan in remarks to Felisha Monet of Miami’s WEDR 99 JAMZ radio in July during a stop on his whirlwind nationwide Justice Or Else tour.

“Justice is a principle of fair dealing. We have never been dealt fairly since our fathers set the soles of their feet in the Western Hemisphere.  Neither have our Indigenous brothers and sisters called Native Americans; they haven’t been dealt with fairly.  Neither have the Mexicans and so many others.  So justice is what we want,” added the 82-year-old Muslim leader. 

Ferguson, Mo. was a boiling point for Black America in response to police brutality and misconduct after the shooting of unarmed Black teen Michael Brown Jr., by White police officer Darren Wilson. Mr. Wilson was not charged. Photo: Cartan X Mosley

“And we’re not playing with the government of the United States of America. We are demanding what God demands of us and there definitely is an ‘Or Else’ from us. But the biggest ‘Or Else’ comes from God himself,” said Min. Farrakhan.

Why ‘another’ march?

Seemingly every day, disturbing viral videos of law enforcement encounters with Black and Brown men, woman and children are circulating online.

Cops in Stockton, Calif. recently came under fire as video of at least nine officers forcefully arresting 16-year-old Emilio Mayfield who according to reports, was simply running late to school and walked in a restricted bus lane. Police allege he uttered profanity when ordered to stop. The unarmed Black boy can be heard crying on video as he is tackled then forced and held to the ground by several officers.

This on the heels of cameras catching former tennis pro James Blake, who is bi-racial, being tackled and slammed to the ground by a New York City plain clothes police officer Sept. 9 in what cops said was a case of “mistaken identity.”

For Blacks, the battle for justice is on two fronts, as the fratricidal violence permeating many inner city communities must be dealt with Min. Farrakhan pointed out. In preparation for 10.10.15 he called on 10,000 fearless Black men to stand between gangs and guns and to broker peace in the ‘hoods among street organizations. 

Parents, friends and family members of those killed at the hands of law enforcement or as the result of gun violence are joining Min. Farrakhan in Washington and at his request, will bring photographs of their slain loved ones.

Vicky Lindsey founder of Los Angeles-based Project Cry No More knows first-hand the pain of losing a child to gun violence. Her son Lionel was shot and killed in November 1995 while in a car with friends. He was 19. She is coming to D.C., not just in remembrance of Lionel, but for others. It is a very important and critical movement, she said.

An emotional Michael Brown Sr., father of Michael Brown Jr. listens to Min. Farrakhan who visited Ferguson, Mo. to offer guidance and comfort. Photos: Ashahed Muhammad

“Justice Or Else! is a call out for us to wake up in our communities and say wait a minute, our children, our loved ones are being murdered so we have to do something. We have to stand. I’m just so excited about it,” said Ms. Lindsey. 

Tamika D. Mallory, who along with Pastor Jamal Bryant of Baltimore’s Empowerment Temple are organizers of Justice Or Else!, said as she visits cities around the country, most people she has encountered understand why 10.10.15 is happening.

“People are very tuned into why it’s necessary for us to convene again. I think that is purely because folks are feeling the pressure of what is happening in this country,” said Ms. Mallory.

“I don’t think anyone who is able to watch the news, read the newspapers and just living particularly in communities of color, that they can say that they don’t see and understand that there are many issues that we are dealing with,” she added, citing extreme poverty, homelessness and gun violence as examples of critical issues. It is nothing new, especially in Black communities, said Ms. Mallory.   

Because of technology, people are tuned in via social media to very serious abuse that is taking place across the country and it is state sanctioned violence, she explained.

“We also see time and time again where we know that there was clearly abuse, a case of police violence, where people are walking free and that is becoming a concern that I think will now push people into a space where we know that we now have to do something different because people are literally afraid for their lives.”

Min. Farrakhan at the National Civil Rights Museum, formerly the Lorraine Motel, on balcony where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was fatally shot. Min. Farrakhan has revisited Dr. King’s desire to “redistribute the pain” to America through an economic boycott of Christmas.

A People’s Movement

Community gathers in front of a memorial display in front of Mother Emmanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, S.C. where nine Black parishioners were brutally gunned down by suspect Dylann Roof. Photo: Andrea Muhammad

There are no corporate sponsors offsetting expenses for Justice Or Else!. It is truly a grassroots effort and allies of the movement are working non-stop raising money. Announcements and ads promoting Skating For Justice, Ballin’ For Justice, Dinners For Justice and other community events are flooding social media. Buses are being organized from cities near and far.

Black, Brown and Native youth are also organizing efforts to get to D.C. Ten busloads of Native and Indigenous youth are attending from South and North Dakota, according to the Facebook page for “Latinos & Natives for Millions 4 Justice: Justice Or Else 10.10.15.”  

Left to right: Charles Steele of SCLC, Porsha Williams and Phaedra Parks of the Real Housewives of Atlanta and Student Minister Abdul Sharrieff Muhammad at the Atlanta Local Organizing Committee meeting for Justice Or Else!. Photos: Rashaad Muhammad

Local Organizing Committees (LOC’s) are implementing plans and working in their respective communities to hit the ground running after the march to ensure the momentum continues. Town Hall meetings, youth and women’s forums and organizational seminars all focused on Justice Or Else! are springing up nationwide. And social media is also buzzing in response to the highly anticipated “Justice Or Else: The Underground”, a compilation of music from various Hip- Hop, R&B and Soul artists set to be released on digital download, Sept. 30.

(top) Washington, D.C. community preparing for Justice Or Else!, the 20th Anniversary of the Million Man March. (bottom) Members of the Nation of Islam at the Chicago Bud Billiken parade. Photo: Abdul Karriem Muhammad

Abdul Sharrieff Muhammad is the Student Southern Regional Minister of the Nation of Islam whose headquarters is based in Atlanta. Families in the city whose loved ones have been killed during interactions or confrontations with police are upset no punishment is imposed on officers or any charges are filed.  

“What the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan is doing is right on time. The community is crying out for justice and they’re not getting it,” said Student Minister Muhammad. The Atlanta LOC is the largest in the country, he told The Final Call. It meets every Tuesday where established committees including finance, transportation and youth are not only planning for the march but also for what they will implement once they return.

Phaedra Parks and Porsha Williams from the Real Housewives of Atlanta attended a recent LOC meeting. Ms. Parks filmed a brief video spot and said she was with the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and for everyone to meet her in D.C., said Student Minister Muhammad.

Dr. Charles Steele of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, founded by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., local Black pastors, members of street organizations, politicians and other community leaders are active participants or have attended Atlanta LOC meetings, which is co-chaired by Student Minister Muhammad and Rev. Timothy McDonald  of First Iconium Baptist Church where the meetings are held.

F.O.I. in Phoenix, Arizona in the community distributing information about 10.10.15. Photo: Hannibal Muhammad

“We’re a mixture of the whole cross-section of the community. We have a beautiful working relationship, we can’t wait until Tuesday’s for them to come,” said Student Minister Muhammad. As a member of a group called the Concerned Black Clergy, he recently met with members of the Palestinian community and told them about 10.10.15.  “We’re out here driving. We’re out here very active and now that the Minister is taking some rest for a few weeks, it’s on us. So I’m not planning on getting no sleep. I plan on working all the way up to 10.10 because I don’t want the Minister to think we didn’t do our job. So we’re pushing and driving. We’re going all out. We’re not going to stop,” said Student Minister Muhammad. 

There comes a time in your life when you cannot take any more and that is the time you decide it is either life or death, but tyranny has to cease, said Min. Farrakhan during his interview with Ms. Monet.

“That’s the time we’re living in now.  No more Trayvon Martin, no more Tamir Rice,  no more Eric Garner,  because that’s always going to be until we decide that must end.  And when you decide it will end, it will end, because then you’re ready to pay whatever the price is to bring it to an end,” said Min. Farrakhan.

To register, donate and for LOC and other information, visit justiceorelse.com.