Million Youth March, Take 2

A peaceful crowd of about 2,000 people turned out Saturday for the Million Youth March, a controversial rally and march that ended in violence a year ago.

"Whose streets? Our streets!" shouted one group of marchers among the crowd that arrived in Harlem to hear a variety of speakers, including organizer Khalid Abdul Muhammad.

Paulette Washington was walking with a sandwich board reading, "Execute racism."

"If we can't live together, we'll die together," she said.

Police lined the scheduled parade route and stood on building roofs. A police helicopter flew overhead, but stayed a distance away; the arrival of police helicopters last year coincided with the start of the violence.

The prelude to Saturday's march was eerily similar to the events that preceded last year's rally, whose stated purpose was to empower black and Latino youth. Instead, participants delivered speeches excoriating Jews, whites, black elected officials and others.

Many leaders in Harlem encouraged people to boycott this year's event, which was scheduled to run for four hours on Malcolm X Boulevard between 118th and 124th streets.

Prior to both marches, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and march organizer Khallid Abdul Muhammad traded insults: After the mayor called the rally a "hate march," Muhammad a former Nation of Islam spokesman fired for his anti-Semitic comments called Giuliani a "cracker."

On both occasions, the city denied the group a permit to march. And in both years, organizers sued the city in federal court and won the right to hold a smaller four-hour event.

In his ruling allowing Saturday's event, U.S. District Judge Denny Chin held the city responsible for creating the atmosphere that led to last year's bottle- and chair-throwing melee in which 28 people were injured.

"Excessive numbers of police officers in riot gear, rigid enforcement of deadlines and helicopters swooping over the crowd can only increase, rather than lessen, tensions," the judge said.

To decrease tensions, police officials agreed to dispatch 1,500 officers about half the number who worked the event last year and to keep nearby subway stations open. Authorities also agreed not to use the metal barricades that last year kept participants penned in and denied thousands of others access to the rally, and not to send helicopters or officers equipped with riot gear.

Last year, police said 6,000 people showed up while organizers said the number was 300,000. This year, organizers said they believe 20,000 would participate, though police and others expected far fewer.

By Timothy Williams