IN THE NEWS - Millions More Movement Aims to Help Minorities

IN THE NEWS - Millions More Movement Aims to Help Minorities and the Poor
By Cynthia Kirk

Broadcast: Saturday, October 22, 2005

I'm Steve Ember with IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Last Saturday, thousands of people gathered in Washington, D.C., to observe the tenth anniversary¹ of the Million Man March. Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan organized the event, known as the Millions More Movement. It came ten years after the Million Man March of nineteen ninety five. The Million Man March called on black men to take responsibility for improving their families and their communities.

Organizers said the Millions More Movement aims to build on the ideas and goals of the march ten years ago. The movement is also a call for change locally and nationally.

Only black men were invited to attend the march ten years ago. But all were welcome this time.

The program took place on the steps of the United States Capitol. The crowd heard speeches and music from the young and old, artists and entertainers, educators and politicians. They called for unity², political power and economic development.

Among the most notable³ were civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, former presidential candidate⁴ Al Sharpton and hip-hop music businessman Russell Simmons.

Minister Farrakhan spoke⁵ at the end of the event. He said he believed a national movement of black people is being built:

LOUIS FARRAKHAN: "We have seen an unprecedented⁶ number of black leaders or organizations coming together to speak to America and the world with one voice. This has never happened before in our history."

Minister Farrakhan presented ways to strengthen the black community. He gave possible solutions to some of the issues discussed by those before him. He warned that the real work begins after the day's event.

He called for the black community to join forces with other groups across the country and around the world, such as Native Americans, Hispanics, Africans and Americans who have similar life conditions.

Some of the strongest comments were made about the victims of hurricane Katrina that hit the southern Gulf⁷ Coast in August. The Bush administration⁸ has been widely criticized⁹ for what many say was a slow reaction after the disaster. Speaker after speaker denounced¹⁰ the federal¹¹ government's delayed action. They also criticized the way the media reported about the survivors¹², many of them African-American.

Mister¹³ Farrakhan said the response after the hurricane showed that blacks and the poor cannot depend on the government. He presented an action plan to begin the process of solving many of the problems facing the black and poor communities. The plan included the development of new ministries¹⁴ of health and human services, education, information and trade, among others.

Mister Farrakhan also denounced the economic and foreign policies of President Bush, and the Iraq war. He also criticized the Democratic¹⁵ Party for what he described as using and mistreating African-Americans. He suggested forming a new political party that would include the nation's black, brown and poor people.

The minister closed by stating:

LOUIS FARRAKHAN: "United we can solve our problems and divided we have nothing."

Some critics have said blacks gained little after the first march and may even be worse off today. But others note that change is not easy and does not happen in a day. They say a movement offers an important opportunity to unite and work for change.

IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written by Cynthia Kirk.  I'm Steve Ember.

1 anniversary   

n.周年(纪念日)

参考例句：

• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。
• Today is my parents'30th wedding anniversary.今天是我父母结婚30周年纪念日。

2 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

3 notable   

adj.值得注意的，著名的；n.名人，要人

参考例句：

• His achievement is very notable.他的成就是非常显著的。
• He wrote and published the essay under notable's name.他假托名人写文章发表。

4 candidate   

n.候选人；候补者；投考者，申请求职者

参考例句：

• Voters like a candidate who has the common touch. 投票者喜欢那些平易近人的候选人。
• The local newspapers dressed up the candidate as a boxer.当地报纸把那个候选人描绘成一个拳击手。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

7 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

8 administration   

n.经营，管理；行政，行政机关，管理部门

参考例句：

• Who is in charge of the administration of your company?你们公司的行政工作由谁负责？
• The teachers are responsible to the school administration.教师向学校行政负责。

9 criticized   

vt.批评(criticize的过去式)v.评论，批评( criticize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The decision was criticized by environmental groups. 这个决定受到了环保团体的批评。
• The movie has been criticized for apparently legitimizing violence. 这部电影因明显地美化暴力而受到了指责。

10 denounced   

公开指责( denounce的过去式和过去分词 )； 揭发； 告发； 通知废止

参考例句：

• She publicly denounced the government's handling of the crisis. 她公开谴责政府处理这场危机的方式。
• He was denounced as a foreign spy. 有人告发他是外国间谍。

11 federal   

adj.联盟的；联邦的；(美国)联邦政府的

参考例句：

• Switzerland is a federal republic.瑞士是一个联邦共和国。
• The schools are screaming for federal aid.那些学校强烈要求联邦政府的援助。

12 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

13 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

14 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

15 democratic   

adj.民主的；民主主义的，有民主精神的

参考例句：

• Their country has democratic government.他们国家实行民主政体。
• He has a democratic work-style.他作风民主。