The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, on a recent trip to Africa and the Middle East (Syria) where he went for the funeral of the late Syrian leader Hafel Al-Assad, found the international acceptance for the upcoming Million Family March very enthusiastic.

Min. Farrakhan met with heads of state and top government officials to share a copy of The National Agenda with them. In his meeting, he listened to current challenges faced by leadership in their respective countries. He pointed out how our concerns about their plight are outlined in our book, The National Agenda. Min. Farrakhan again pointed out that the struggle of families are one. In a unipolar world where America sits on the top and appears invincible, Min. Farrakhan gives one of the best descriptions of what�s going on inside of America, speaking at press conferences, local leadership meetings and public appearances in 14 cities. He has cited, the high divorce rate in America, one of the signs of the decline of a civilization, the growing number of women in prisons and violent crime among youths. At a press conference in Dallas, Min. Farrakhan stated, "America has much to be proud of, but America is degenerating from within from an internal rot, which if not corrected, America will go the way of the great nations of the past, ancient Rome, ancient Egypt and ancient Babylon.

I have been honored to travel with him to many of the cities across America and internationally (Africa and Asia). He is working hard to drum up support for the Oct. 16, 2000 Million Family March, taking place on the 5th anniversary of the great, historic Million Man March.

The vision of Minister Louis Farrakhan is for the million-plus men who attended the march five years ago to attend this family march with one or more members of their family. Again, his vision is to include our international families from Africa, the Caribbean, Central and South America, Europe and the South Pacific.

The Minister is working extremely hard to reach our brothers and sisters across America and the world. Let us help the Minister, who is coming back after an absence of a year-and-a-half in his battle with prostate cancer and its side effects. We can help get this word out and assist in our local communities by helping to organize buses, trains, planes, cars and vans to get our families to Washington, D.C. The organization and turnout for this march will be watched very closely because it will take place 22 days before the presidential election.

For information on the Million Family March you may call (877) 636-7995 or log on via the web @ http://www.millionfamilymarch.com.

(Akbar Muhammad is the International Representative of the Nation of Islam and is based in Accra, Ghana.)