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For immediate release Contact:James Muhammad Aug. 20, 1996 (312)602-1230 or Gary Foster (202)726-5111
World's Day of Atonement will be observed on the plaza of the United States in New York on Oct. 16 and will feature a message from march convenor, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, among others, they said.
"We must focus on the question, 'can governments murder people and ever produce justice and equity?" said civil rights activists Rev. James Bevel, referring to capital punishment, war and the violence taking place in the streets of major cities around the world. "The answer is 'no.' Government is a science given to man by God to stop war."
Rev. Bevel, a companion of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. And co-coordinator of the World's Day of Atonement, added that organizers are working with leaders of various religious faiths to "sit down and start talking to each other."
"There is a real spiritual work needed to break down these false barriers that keep people locked into these religious opinions back to the truth of God," he said.
World's Day of Atonement is set for 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at United Nations Plaza. Min. Farrakhan said the focus will be to call the nations of the earth to divine order. He added that it also will be observed as a Day of Absence and preparation in this political year to let America and her political parties know that the poor and oppressed are not pleased with her direction on issues like welfare reform, the crime bill and the educational system.
While the Million Man March called everyone to Washington, D.C., participants in the World's Day of Atonement will be asked to observe the day locally and regionally, said organizer Rev. Ben Chavis, who also is executive director of the National African American Leadership Summit.
The day's activities from New York will be broadcast live via satellite and pulled down for public viewing in key regional cities, he said.
Additionally, satellite downlinks and mobilization centers will be established in major cities in the Caribbean, South America, Africa, Asia and Europe, he said.
Rev. Chavis said the objectives; a call to the nations of the world to come back to God; and to issue an international challenge to the evil forces of white supremacy.
"At the dawn of the beginning of the 21st century, the call for a World's Day of Atonement has profound implications for the future," he said. "We don't intend to live in the next century under the brutal conditions that have been imposed on our people."
"We're calling for a new day, a new heaven and a new earth. It must be seen in our lifetime," he said.