BALTIMORE (FinalCall.com) – “You have a place in this march and we need your help to make it happen,” said Cora Masters Barry to the crowd of over 100 women and girls gathered at Sojourner Douglass College July 30, in support of the Millions More Movement (MMM).
The women’s only meeting was sponsored by the women of Muhammad’s Mosque No. 6 and SOLVIVAZ Nation, a group of women organized under the theme “Unity or Die.”
“It’s amazing how much work can be done when Sisters are united,” said Sister Yas of SOLVIVAZ Nation. “We have to reconnect with our divinity. We are tired of living like this. We must unify or die. This is our mission.”
The program was hosted by Sandy Mallory of Morgan State University’s WEAA. “Are you walking in your assignment,” she asked the audience.
Ms. Barry, a member of the MMM Executive Committee, recounted the experiences of women behind the scenes organizing for the Million Man March in 1995, when her husband, Marion Barry, was mayor of the city. She recalled a meeting with Black female journalists in the city who had written negative articles about the Million Man March because women were encouraged not to attend. “You don’t have to support it,” she said. “Just stop writing about it. They agreed, and it was our first peace treaty with women’s groups.”
She continued her stroll down memory lane listing the seven women who spoke at the March, which included Rosa Parks, Dr. Dorothy Height, Mother Khadijah Farrakhan and herself. “We had a great, great day. When we finished speaking, we all left the stage very dutifully and watched the rest of the march on TV,” she told the audience.
Ms. Barry told the group about her conversations with the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan during the early planning stages of the Millions More Movement: “We cannot act as if the only people who have problems are the men. Women have problems, too. We’re going to jail in faster rates than ever. We need the Millions More Movement; all of us need the Millions More Movement.”
After her message, she received a bouquet of flowers and a plaque in recognition of her work with women.
“Get up and get involved,” urged Eartha Harris, chair of the Baltimore Local Organizing Committee, during his remarks. “We need you to get involved in the movement.”
A drill presentation by the Vanguard class of Muhammad’s Mosque No. 6 highlighted the evening. In stunning blue and white uniforms, the group drilled into the auditorium with salutes and movements to “Super Star” by K-OS. As soon as they hit the doorway and the music blared, applause revereberated throughout the auditorium.
“I had never seen anything like it before,” said Tanisha Jackson. “They were like an army of women.”
Local M.G.T.-G.C.C. Captain Leslie Muhammad spoke on the commonalities of women. “I’m a Muslim woman, but we have everything in common,” she said, “But we’ve been tricked. We’ve allowed a stranger into our homes who has separated us from our children and men. The whole world is waiting for us to take our rightful place.”
This women’s only meeting was the first in support of the Millions More Movement. “This gives us another inroad to working with women in the community. We’re looking forward to continuing this relationship and developing additional ones with other women’s groups,” Capt. Leslie told The Final Call.