Video: 'October 16th, 1995: The Million Man March - www.NBCUniversalArchives.com'

(Monday, October 16, 1995, during the Million Man March) — Heeding a call for personal atonement and racial solidarity, hundreds of thousands of black men gathered from across the nation in the heart of the capital today to vow stronger leadership in protecting their communities from violence and social despair.

“There’s a new black man in America today,” declared Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, whose call for the rally brought out an extraordinary throng — officially estimated at 400,000 — to gather in an exuberant mood of self-dedication on the Mall.