Colin Powell in Detroit News

On Civil Rights: Didn’t attend Million Man March, but respects it

Colin Powell spent the day promoting his book, My American Journey, rather than attending the Million Man March in Washington. The decision not to attend, he said, had been “a tricky issue.” Powell joined other prominent black figures in expressing grudging respect for Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan’s success in staging the rally. But he said: “I wish somebody else had thought of the idea of the Million Man March rather than Minister Farrakhan. I deplore, I condemn the racist and anti-Semitic expressions that Minister Farrakhan has made over the years.“

Powell said he was tempted to join the march because he liked the idea behind it and was enticed by the size of the crowd, but decided against it because Farrakhan was the organizer. But now, he said, ”We should try to find out what is positive in this rather than just grind on the controversy as to who started it, who didn’t.“ He asserted that ”there’s not going to be one single leader for all African Americans.“

Source: Detroit News Oct 17, 1995

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