Re: MIllion Man March

[Louis N Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Louis:

This is some e-mail I got from an old college friend who used to be the
president of WAOK in Atlanta, one of the most successful black radio
stations in the country. His station was one of the few such stations that
sent reporters to Nicaragua during the contra war, from where they provided
accurate reports on the savage nature of US foreign policy.

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My take on the MMM - I don't believe Minister Louis F. cares one bit  what
white folks think. About anything. In 1963 MLK organized the March
specifically to influence white people, especially Congress. His speech was
intended to impress white people. His purpose, passage of civil rights
legislation, could only be accomplished by white people. Not so for LF. His
speech was not intended for white people, either to influence them toward
some goal or to impress them to further his own image among white people. The
key passage in his speech was about not needing white people to "validate"
him. His audience is validation enough.

To whites, like the NYTimes, a short, snappy, TV friendly speech makes the
day. LF was more like Castro - two and half hours long. He just didn't care
what we thought about it.  Surly he knows the white press will never make him
a national leader - just as he knows that every Black Leader is an approved
creation of the same white media. He didn't time his speech for the evening
network news because he knew the only clip they would use was whatever he had
to say about the jews. Couldn't you just see the video tape editors and the
assistant news directors at each of the networks....waiting.....and
waiting....for the "jewish" sound bite.

What was LF's goal? Why did he start this thing in the first place? I think
the answer is more religious, more limited and less glamorous than generally
believed. In 1964 the Nation of Islam recruited Cassius Clay, heavyweight
champion of the world, immediately following his victory over Sonny Liston.
As Ali, he was the springboard for the enormous growth in the Nation's
membership and the huge increase in its revenue. And that's what the MMM is
all about.

LF's goal and purpose is another quantum leap for the Nation. More members
and more money. And what a remarkable way to pull it off. Until now, he's
been like ice hockey - selling out the arena every night, but its the same
15,000 people for each game and in each city in the NHL - its the only 15,000
people! So too for LF. I've seen him sellout 15-20,000 seat venues with
absolutely no advertising or publicity - no radio, no TV, no press...and no
news coverage of his arrival, his performance or his aftermath.  It's as if
he didn't exist. He draws like a hockey team.

This whole thing - the MMM - is a marketing idea. Watch. Let's see how much
bigger and richer the Nation of Islam is a year from now.

Rich






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