Thirty years ago today, on October 16, 1995, the National Mall in Washington, D.C., transformed into a powerful display of Black solidarity. Led by Minister Louis Farrakhan, the Million Man March called hundreds of thousands of Black men to the nation’s capital to demand equal justice and healing. Estimates ranged from 400,000 to over one million attendees, making it one of the largest demonstrations in U.S. history.

The march emerged during a decade marked by mass incarceration, police brutality, and the lingering effects of the crack epidemic. It was also a response to the negative stereotypes of Black men that dominated the media. At the U.S. Capitol, attendees stood together in prayer, speeches, music, and reflection.

Farrakhan led a powerful pledge in which Black men promised to become more responsible fathers, husbands, leaders, and citizens. “We are standing in the place of those who couldn’t make it here today,” he said from the stage. “We are standing on the blood of our ancestors, those who died in the middle passage, who died in the fields and swamps of America, who died hanging from trees in the South, who died in the cells of their jailers, who died on the highways and in the fratricidal conflict that rages within our community.”

The event drew an extraordinary lineup of speakers and supporters, including Rosa Parks, Jesse Jackson, Cornel West, and Maya Angelou, who reminded the crowd of the legacy of resilience they were carrying forward. Washington, D.C. Mayor Kurt Schmoke urged a renewed commitment to protecting families and building healthy communities, saying, “Let our choices be for life, for protecting our women, our children, keeping our brothers free of drugs, free of crime.”

The march had lasting impact. In the year that followed, voter registration among Black men reportedly increased significantly. It inspired local organizing, mentorship programs, and renewed political engagement nationwide.

Thirty years later, the Million Man March remains a defining moment of unity, pride, and collective power. See the news feature below from BET: