CHICAGO�In accord with a call by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan for one million families to converge on Washington, D.C., Oct. 16, 2000, Million Family March National Director Minister Benjamin F. Muhammad announced a multi-city tour promoting the march and its National Agenda.

"When you respond to a call from God your success is divinely assured," he told The Final Call. "We know through scripture that Allah (God) will bless you more than one time. In fact, Allah will continuously bless us if we remain on the right path.

"There is universal recognition of the fact that Allah blessed us on Oct. 16, 1995 at the Million Man March. That blessing came because the call for the March was a call from God through the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan to get Black men and others out of the tent of self-destruction, and the grave of irresponsibility. With the Million Family March God is calling us again. This time, however, the call is not just limited to men. It is a call from God through the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan for men, women and children. It is a call for the entire family," he said.

The March officially received its launch during February�s Saviours� Day 2000 where Min. Benjamin announced the 200-page "National Agenda: Public Policy Issues, Analysis, and Programmatic Plan of Action 2000-2008." It contains seven sections covering morality and public policy; political empowerment; justice; the strengthening of family; quality of life; economic transformation and international affairs. The agenda also includes a foreword from Min. Farrakhan, an introduction from Min. Benjamin, and a "Vision for America" statement from Min. Farrakhan.

"Some of the critics of the Million Man March really misunderstood its purpose. They questioned the absence of public policy issues. Certainly, to get men to take responsibility for children, to stop violence in the streets and in their homes, taking them away from drugs, alcohol and other forms of substance abuse, these are all matters of public policy," said Min. Benjamin. "The Million Man March accomplished those things."

The response to the call for a million families and the requests for the National Agenda, according to Min. Benjamin, "has been overwhelming. Already, the Democratic National Convention (DNC), the Republican National Convention (RNC), the Reform Party and state legislators have requested The Million Family March National Agenda. This can be directly attributed to our 1995 success with the Million Man March. It had a political consequence that is significant."

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies based in Washington, D.C., documented an unprecedented 1.7 million increase in new Black male voters participating in the November 1996 national elections. The Million Man March, said Min. Benjamin, was the determinative factor then as the Million Family March 2000 will be as it takes place just three weeks from this year�s national elections.

"The National Agenda of the Million Family March is a mobilization, grassroots strategy to increase public awareness on the local, state, regional and national levels" so that the next political cycle reflects the needs of a rapidly changing demographic, Min. Benjamin said. "City Councils have now requested copies of the National Agenda to ensure that the upcoming fiscal budgets are family friendly."

The National Agenda of the Million Family March is the first national document to bear witness to the demographic change in American society beyond the U.S. Census. "Keep in mind that the Census 2000 is taken this year, but, a report of the census will not be issued until after the national elections. The National Agenda speaks to the issue of not only the �browning� of America, where we are witnessing the population increase of Blacks, Latinos, Asians, Native Americans as the white population falls, but it also addresses the rise of peoples who have legitimate national and international interests in the political sphere that, until now, have been systematically ignored or abandoned," Min. Benjamin said.

Inside of the next 45 days, March organizers intend to host town hall sessions in major cities. Between May and June the tour will have reached 150 cities. The first stop is March 17, at the National Conference on the Black Family in Hampton, Va., at Hampton University.

The National Agenda represents a timeline of 2000-2008, reflecting its long-range strategy to also impact the elections of 2004 and 2008. It is an approach, Min. Benjamin said, that represents Min. Farrakhan�s called for a "third force" during the 1996 National Convention of the Oppressed in St. Louis. "That third force is not exclusively political," he contends. "It is spiritual, political, cultural and socio-economic. It is a wholistic force for freedom, justice and equality for all. It is not a third political party. The third force affirms a God-centered reality."

Minister Farrakhan states in his Agenda introduction: "All living creatures must do for self, and it is this aspect of the natural law that the poorer class of American people, particularly Blacks, must accept their natural responsibility to get up, unite, and pool their resources and do everything that they can to develop themselves, create institutions that serve their needs and make government responsible to create the atmosphere that will allow all of the citizenry to enjoy the principles of freedom, justice and equality ..."

"Everything that we say and do must promote the good of marriage, the good of family, and the development of family, then, we know that we are in accord with the aim and purpose of God in creating family," Minister Farrakhan notes.

Related site: Million Family March Official Website