10,000 Strong strengthens Boston

By Cara Bayles

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On Sunday, residents, local organizers, politicians and religious leaders converge in Franklin Park for the first 10,000 Strong Boston, an event that aims to address recent violence and promote peaceful solutions. The local organizers who mobilized the event—who hail from the Nation of Islam, the New Black Panther Party for Self Defense (NBPP) and the Voices of Liberation, among others—drew inspiration from the Million Man March and its offshoots, the Million Woman March, the Million Youth March, the Millions More Movement and last year's 10,000 Men Philly.

Jamarhl Crawford, one of 10,000 Strong's organizers and Boston chapter chairman of the NBPP, says the Boston organizers were careful to learn from these historic marches in creating an inclusive movement. "We didn't want to exclude the women, so we called it 'Strong' to show it's men and women, young and old," he says. "The purpose of the event is to just to bring people together, to talk about different issues, not just violence, but foreclosure, CORI law, the school-to-prison pipeline and gang legislation. From that discussion, we hope to develop and resurrect a movement ... We want to create something everybody can get on board for. We have an agenda, but if there's a question you feel we've missed, bring it to the table."

City Councilor Chuck Turner, one of many speakers scheduled to attend, says his major concern is urban youth. "The US Census tells us that a minimum of 11,000 young people between ages 16 and 24 are out of work and school in this city. We've seen increasing rates of dropouts, and an unavailability of jobs in Boston. It's important that leadership reaches out to young people," he says. "You have to acknowledge the 400 years we spent as part of a slave population. African-Americans' economic, social and political problems result from that history and the culture of inferiority that the country still engages in."

But Crawford is careful not to limit the discourse to youth or African-Americans. "A lot of times we don't do good outreach to the communities outside ourselves," he says. "This event is an all-denominational, continental platform, whether you're Christian, Muslim or Rasta, black, Latino, Cape Verdean or Asian."

Crawford publishes the Blackstonian newspaper, an independent periodical that focuses on local issues affecting the black community. As leader of the NBPP's Boston Chapter, he holds town meetings, the most recent of which showcased local outrage at Operation Safer Homes, the Boston Police Department's controversial effort to crack down on gun violence by getting permission from parents to search their children's rooms for weapons.

The NBPP was founded in 1989, after the original Black Panther Party had disbanded. The Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation, which includes leading members of the original party, has denounced the NBPP, stating, "Failing to find its own legitimacy in the black community, this band would graft the Party's name upon itself, which we condemn," and suggested the NBPP were "reactionary provocateurs, who would instigate activities counterproductive to the people's interests, causing mayhem and death."

Councilor Turner scoffs at the suggestion. "I live in a country that says that we have the right to attack anyone because they might pose a threat and at the same time says to leaders in my community, 'Teach your kids that retaliatory violence is not the answer,'" he says. "I am concerned about the leadership of this country, which is looking for new people to attack and kill. The New Black Panther Party is not to be feared. President Bush is to be feared."

Crawford attributed a generation gap to ageism on both ends of the spectrum. "There's a lot of information to share. Youth, if forced to do it by themselves, are not able to cultivate a movement. The older generation could teach them about grassroots mobilizing, about their experiences. At the same time, young people understand technology, which could be used as a more effective mobilizing tool," he says. "The generation gap, particularly in Boston, is what's killing the black, Latino and Cape Verdean communities."

Crawford promises 10,000 Strong will be "monumental," adding that Boston hasn't seen mass mobilization on this scale since the 60s or 70s. "In Boston, people are generally pretty apathetic. If you go around the country, national organizations are a shadow of themselves in Boston," he says. "We need to revitalize that desire for civic engagement."