Since I participated in the Million Man March nearly five years ago, I have been married and we have had a daughter. I returned to my community with the spirit of wanting to live up to the pledges given that day on the National Mall in Washington. Now my family and I plan to return to the Capitol, along with my father, my wife's parents and several other family members for the Million Family March.

This is the sixth such gathering since the overwhelmingly successful Million Man March. Then there was the grassroots organized Million Woman March in Philadelphia, two separate Million Youth Marches, and the Million Mom March. Now the entire family is being called together, back to the nation's Capitol where it all began, for the Million Family March.

While there were political, economic, and social items on the agenda at the Day of Atonement, on the first march, what moved so many Black men to respond to Min. Louis Farrakhan was the spiritual call to develop our communities through self-improvement.

Black America continues to suffer from what Malcolm X described in the 1960s as "political oppression, economic exploitation, and social degradation." But this is all trumped by spiritual and moral bankruptcy. This is why the Million Man March resonated in the hearts of so many Black men, and women as well.

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 neither was the reason why we came.

Self-improvement and atonement were the themes that brought more than a million Black men from every economic, social, cultural, philosophical, religious, and ideological background together at the call of a man who is seen as a pariah by mainstream white America.

Min. Farrakhan, who recently recovered from a near fatal illness, has just completed a nationwide tour, traveling to every region of the country drumming up support for the Oct. 16 event.

Once again, commentators will be calling the Million Family March a test of Min. Farrakhan's leadership. He has already met the test of time, maintaining even through grave sickness the status of preeminent Black leader. But now he has an even broader calling: men, women, and children -- black, brown, red, yellow, and even white.

Black America has yet to fully recover from the holocaust of slavery. One of the most devastating effects of slavery was the intentional break up of the Black family. An astounding 70 percent of Black families in America are headed by single mothers.

This itself is detrimental to the children. Worse, those single mothers are forced to work, oft times leaving their children to be raised by the television, which is contributing to the morally reckless society that is governed by sex and violence.

By no means is this suffering restricted to Black families. Half of all marriages in America end in divorce within the first three years. A recent survey of young adults revealed that most preferred "sex without strings and relationships without rings" -- irresponsibility.