Tanisha Johnson united with her brothers and sisters in the spirit of atonement, as poetry, rap music and jazz music sounded through the crowd as a symbol of a positive, mental attitude on Thursday.

Johnson, a freshman in speech communication from Chicago, delivered a poem about truth and unity as part of the Holy Day Of Atonement.

In 1995, an estimated 1 million African-American men, women and children marched to the nation’s capital to address the problems facing the black community and atone for past wrongs.

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The Holy Day of Atonement is an extension and celebration of the Million Man March. This year’s celebration at SIUC took place Thursday at the Sam Rinella fields, with more than 150 people in attendance. The event consisted of workshops, prayer and education through entertainment.

Many people attended the event for the same purpose but came away with different positive views on what it meant.

Jason Williams, a junior in business management from Chicago, said being part of the Holy Day of Atonement meant being a part of history.

This is important because change is important, he said. Without people who will stand up for a cause, we’ll never make any progress.

Nancy Dawson, an assistant professor for Black American studies, said the Holy Day Of Atonement is important because of the large population of African-American students at SIUC.

I think it is important because it creates unity among African-American students, she said. In a campus as large as SIU, we have lots of black students, but we’re not united.

Dawson said the event was a good way for African-American students to socialize and promote fellowship.

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Besides fellowship, you meet people that you haven’t met before, and you see a lot of diverse talent, she said. I didn’t know some of these students were poets or orators.

James Walton, a senior in radio and television from Gary, Ind., said he enjoyed the day of atonement because it brought so many people together.

For us to be a better people, we need to start with ourselves by speaking to each other on campus, he said. I’m atoning by meeting my new brothers and sisters that I didn’t have a chance to know before.

Melody Robinson, a senior in English from Chicago, said she attended last year’s ceremonies and thought they was more successful.

Last year there were more people and more people took it seriously, he said. A lot of people are opposing it because they don’t know the true cause.

Robinson said the cause is for people of all races to come together to fellowship and atone.

There are mostly black people out here, and I would liked to have seen a more diverse crowd, she said. I think people misinterpret this event to be a Muslim-oriented, black, segregated event, but it’s not really about that.

Robinson said the event gets a bad name when people start to label it.

Johnson said the Holy Day Of Atonement is not about getting a day off of work or school, it is a day about reflection.

We have work or school and some of us have children to take care of, she said. We don’t have time to sit back and reflect on ourselves.

This event makes me feel more at one with people and more sociable. I am leaving with a sense of understanding of my sisters and brothers.

Paula Muhammad, a junior in Spanish from East St. Louis, said the Holy Day of Atonement was about coming back to God if people have fallen short.

We need to atone and apologize to someone we have wronged, she said. We apologize to God.

As the music continued to play and African-American people united in fellowship, dance and song, Hazel Richardson, a senior in science from Chicago, echoed the one sentiment that seemed to flow throughout the crowd.

It’s all about being educated about who you are and where you want to go from here, she said. It’s about what you want in the future as an African-American.