The conditions that we are suffering force us to address the real issues that affect the life and well-being of the majority of our people. That is why the call for reparations and justice in dealing with the problems of Black people is so relevant now.

I am not crazy. I am not a man that hates this country in which I was born. I want to see you get past what you are facing. America is facing that which will destroy her as a nation and break her power completely.

Segregation was ugly but we made something good out of something ugly. Since we were not welcome in other places run by White people, we were forced by circumstances to let our dollars circulate in our own communities. When you were young and I was young, there was a plethora of Black businesses. But when White folks said, "yes, come and spend your money with us," we ran downtown when we could only pass through downtown. Now downtown has our money.

But when I reintroduced the Nation of Islam, and began to host meetings in cities and thousands and thousands of people come out.

The Million Man March was held on a Monday. Most marches were always held on a weekend and most marches were paid for by philanthropic groups and organizations and labor unions, etc. So, the people who came did not necessarily have to make a great sacrifice to be there.

I went to the graduation the other night of my first great grandchild - he's 21 or 22; and right at the graduation I looked, and 92 percent of those who graduated at the University of Illinois were females. Where can a Black female, who are now the lawyers, the engineers; they are the ones graduating with top degrees; where will they find in a Black male a counterpart that is equal to them? We are filling the jails, we are filling the prisons.

The Nation of Islam was the biggest contributor to the Million Man March, but poor people gave their nickels, dimes and dollars; some wealthy Black people gave money to make that March a success - and every nickel, every dime, every dollar was accounted for.