PNS asked its network of youth reporters to select the man or woman of the year. David Gaither, a 22-year-old African American journalist who grew up in Oakland and is now married and the father of a one-year-old, explains why his choice is the controversial leader of the Nation of Islam, Minister Louis Farrakhan. Gaither is an editor of and counselor for The Beat Within, a weekly newsletter of writings and art by incarcerated youth published by Pacific News Service's YO! (Youth Outlook). This is one of two stories today about young people's view of "The Man of the Year."

OAKLAND, CA. -- He's a villain to some, a champion to others. If you only know him through media accounts and sound bites, he may sound like a demagogue. But many in my generation, who've grown up with absent fathers (and sometimes mothers), know Minister Louis Farrakhan as someone else entirely -- the patriarchal figure we look to for guidance and proof that what we do matters, if not to the society then to him and to his God.

The day I learned this was October 16, 1995, when he issued the call for the Million Man March and a million of us responded. Regardless of the big brouhaha about separating the message from the messenger, I owe the sense of direction I gained that day, at the age of 20, to that one controversial Muslim leader.

Friend or foe of Farrakhan, everyone was forced to admit that he pulled off what no other black leader could have--in the midst of an epidemic of black-on-black violence, a million African Americans standing together to manifest their trust in each other. Now Farrakhan is on his third world "friendship tour," visiting 52 nations in 80 days, being treated as a head of state in nations America calls enemy. Despite all his detractors, Farrakhan has become the preeminent black leader in America and now his influence is growing outside the black community.

Since the MMM, Time magazine listed Farrakhan as one of the 100 most influential people in America, a distinction only a handful of blacks received. Vanity Fair recently identified the head of the Nation of Islam as one of 65 international leaders who "shape and rule the world."

He has been warmly received by Philadelphia's Mayor Ed Rendel, a Jew. He has met with Chicago's Mayor Richard Daily. He has delivered the keynote address at the Congressional Black Caucus's annual convention. Ghanaian President Jerry Rawlings, Fidel Castro, Yasir Arafat, and Saddam Hussein and Muamar Qadaffi have honored the minister in their countries.

One week Farrakhan can sit down with Nelson Mandela or Edgar Bronfman of the World Jewish Congress (which he has), then turn around the next week and host a rap summit with Snoop Doggy Dog, Ice Cub and Doug E. Fresh. He is revered by black youth and respected by world leaders.

Even before the MMM was announced, a Time survey showed that more than 70 percent of black Americans admired Farrakhan and nearly 50 percent said he represents them.

Why is Farrakhan so popular? Yes, there is a vacuum of black leadership, but more importantly, he speaks the language of today's movement -- morality and God. The largest movements of this decade have been the Million Man March and the Promise Keepers. Both brought massive numbers of men to the nation's capitol, not to petition government, but to call people back to God.

Black America continues to suffer from what Malcolm X described in the '60's as "political oppression, economic exploitation, and social degradation." But this is all trumped by spiritual and moral bankruptcy. This is why the MMM resonated in the hearts of so many black men and women. Though there was talk of reparations, that was not the driving force. Though economic advancement was a major tenet, it was not the focus. Though political empowerment was an agenda item, it was not the primary reason why we came. Self-improvement and atonement were the themes that brought black men from every walk of life together at the call of a man demonized by the so-called mainstream.

Farrakhan has been vilified since a 1985 speech where he was quoted as calling Judaism a gutter religion, a remark he vehemently denies making. "I am not now nor have I ever been anti-Semitic," Farrakhan says to charges that he hates Jews.

President Clinton's official stance has been to ignore the controversial Muslim leader. He won't be welcomed in the White House any time soon, but with his influence and popularity steadily growing, Farrakhan is forcing the world to recognize him.

More than two years after the Million Man March, I've married, had a daughter, and tried my best to be a positive example to my people. I realized the best action I could take to develop my community is not political activism but self-improvement. If this is the impact Farrakhan is making on the world, he should be celebrated, not ridiculed.