The March of Ignorance group gathered Wednesday in the Free Forum area behind the Student Center parking lot Wednesday to make students aware of the Day of Atonement and the Million Woman March scheduled later this month.

The March of Ignorance consisted of members from the SIUC student chapter of the NAACP, Black Togetherness Organization, the Black Affairs Council and several other organizations whose members will celebrate the Day of Atonement Oct. 16 at the fields across from Brush Towers.

Alex Goodson, co-chairman of the March of Ignorance, posted the fliers No School on Oct. 16, 1997 signs around campus.

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Even though we’re not going to be in classes, we’ll be educating ourselves and each other, Goodson said. The knowledge we will obtain (on Oct. 16) will be very useful to everyone in their everyday life.

The first annual Million Woman March is scheduled for Oct. 25 in Philadelphia.

During Wednesday’s march, various people spoke on what they thought are the purposes of the Holy Day of Atonement and the Million Woman March.

We are all of God’s children, therefore we need to get up and stand up on issues that affect us, Enoch Muhammad said during a prayer circle in the Free Forum area. We cannot just talk about making change, we must move to make change.

Muhammad is the founder of the Black Think Tank, which is organizing programs for the Holy Day of Atonement for the Carbondale area

The Holy Day of Atonement is a day to reflect back on the actions triggered by the Million Man March. Oct. 16 will mark the second anniversary of the march, which was in Washington, D.C.

The Million Man March brought together an estimated 500,000 African-American men to Washington, D.C., to summon a spirit of unity and forgiveness.

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The Million Man March was a day of reconciliation and responsibility, Muhammad said. It started in 1995, and now we are continuing it.

This year’s theme is young, gifted and atoned.’ Atoned means becoming one with your God.

Muhammad said this year’s Day of Atonement is dedicated to the memory of Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur because the two rap stars lost their lives at a young age after performing with a gift they both had.

The March of Ignorance group is working to sell vending tables to Registered Student Organizations on the Holy Day of Atonement at the Mae Smith fields to raise money for a trip to the Million Woman March.

Paula Muhammad, a junior in Spanish and one of the organizers of the trip to Philadelphia, said her group has not had meetings yet to determine the number of women they will take to Philadelphia. A price has not been determined either.

It (Million Woman March) will remain in congruence with the Million Man March, she said. It took 30 years for Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday to be recognized as a holiday. We’re trying to institutionalize this day as a Holy Day of Atonement.