Rally Urges Action in Wake of ‘Million Man March’ : Activism: African Americans seek to harness the spirit of the Washington gathering as 50 nonprofit groups sign up volunteers.

Two weeks after leaders of the “Million Man March” on Washington called for continuing reaffirmation among blacks, march veterans--and hundreds of others--staged a rally in Los Angeles on Sunday to promote civic activism in their home communities.

More than 50 nonprofit groups joined in a “One in a Million” rally in Leimert Park, in the Crenshaw district, enlisting hundreds of volunteers for their efforts as elected officials and community leaders echoed the personal empowerment messages of the Oct. 16 march on Washington.

“We must stop being small men with big grudges,” Maulana Karenga of the group US told about 2,000 people in the crowd, which--unlike the earlier event--included a large percentage of women. “We must, if we’re serious, accept the responsibility for our own lives.”

Many at the rally said they had attended the earlier march on the nation’s capital, and called Sunday’s event--which included a march to the park from the intersection of Crenshaw and Martin Luther King Jr. boulevards--a first chance to express its themes in their hometown.

“We’ve got to keep the spirit going,” said Charles Hammond, director of the African American Unity Center, a nonprofit group that provides job training and other services. “For more than 300 years, nothing has changed.”

Hoping to harness the spirit of involvement fostered by the Washington march, nonprofit groups ranging from Big Brothers to Mad Dads, an anti-violence organization, set up tables around the corner from the rally.

“Today has been outlandish,” said Margo Wainwright, a Mad Dads worker who estimated that the group signed up 250 volunteers in two hours Sunday. “Men have been coming to us and saying ‘We want to be involved.’ ”

One of the volunteers was Charles Burks, a postal worker who attended the march in Washington.

“It helped raise my spirits,” said Burks, who was wearing a “Million Man March” T-shirt. “It was a checkup from the neck up.”

During Sunday’s rally, speakers from the Nation of Islam and other groups lashed out at the U.S. Park Service, which estimated 400,000 people attended the march, but later agreed to a recount after organizers said the number was more than twice that.

“I always knew the federal government was a little bit crazy,” said Compton Mayor Omar Bradley. “But I didn’t know they couldn’t count.”

Other speakers expressed support for black women, whom Louis Farrakhan had asked not to attend the “Million Man March.” But many also affirmed their solidarity with Farrakhan, brushing off critics who pressed African Americans to support his sentiments but condemn him personally.

“I want to go on record as saying we don’t have to separate the message from the messenger,” Bradley said.

As bow-tied Nation of Islam bodyguards stood by, the Rev. Tony Muhammed urged rally participants to support black-owned businesses and register to vote.

“We’re going to use our voting power like a cocked pistol,” Muhammed said.

Danny J. Bakewell, president of the Brotherhood Crusade, said the march was a demonstration of blacks’ empowerment.

“We made a decision that we were going to Washington, D.C.,” he said. “We didn’t ask anyone what time to be there or where to assemble. . . . We’ve got to stop letting other people tell us what’s good for us.”

Bakewell led the crowd in chanting: “We’re back, we’re black and we are on track!”

“Before, I was always really involved,” said rally attendee Don Rodell, an engineer from Los Angeles. “Now, I’m going to be more involved. I want to pull some of the gang members out of that type of environment.”