One decade on, African-American men -- joined by whites, other minorities and women -- rededicated themselves to the goals of the 1995 Million Man March.

Unlike the first march, people of all ethnicities were invited to Saturday's "Millions More Movement" -- marking 10 years since the first march urged African American men to take responsibility for improving their families and communities.

Saturday's gathering -- organized by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan -- also focused on hurricane Katrina's impact on poor African Americans in New Orleans.

"It seemed like what he ignored was the weapons of mass destruction in America -- broken levees in New Orleans are weapons of mass destruction, Mr. Bush," the Rev. Al Sharpton, who sought the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, told the crowd.

"The displaced survivors of hurricane relief ... have been displaced again in reconstruction," said the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

He told the crowd that those frustrated by the U.S. response to victims of the hurricane should channel their energies to changing their communities.

"We need millions more to act and react to what we saw in the gulf. Images were burned into our consciousness,'' said Jackson.

In his address to the crowd, Farrakhan broadened his message, denouncing U.S. President George W. Bush, the war in Iraq and Muslims who kill "innocent life for political purposes."

In addition, he called for a government apology to native Americans, inclusion of undocumented immigrants and reparations for slavery.

Crowds down from 1995

Organizers downplayed the size of the gathering on the Washington Mall, saying that wasn't the most important thing.

The original march drew between 600,000 to one million people, according to Boston University researchers.

Aerial photos showed Saturday's crowd was significantly smaller than in 1995.

But that didn't seem to matter to some participants.

"Just to see so many people with one mindset in one place with one agenda and one purpose -- I think it's going to be powerful beyond belief," said Sudonna Moss-Logan, whose pastor husband attended the Million Man March.

While hundreds of thousands of men attended the Million Man March, critics say it failed to translate into any organized political action.

"So the real test of success this time will be not how many people turn out, but what happens when they go home," said George Curry, editor-in-chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service and BlackPressUSA.com.

Experts will be invited after the event to put together public policy guidelines and collaborate on a book, tentatively titled "The Black Agenda," which will serve as a "roadmap for black Americans to address the problems in their communities," said march spokesperson Linda Boyd.

With a report from CTV's Graham Richardson