Sunday, April 30th -- Save Darfur Rally in DC

I don't usually blog on behalf of clients of my consulting business (and I believe it is only ethical to let you know they are clients up front), but I thought I would make this exception since the issue of genocide is so important.

This Sunday in Washington, DC, thousands of people will rally on the mall on behalf of the people who are victims of genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan and I hope anyone in the area will join them. What is happening iin that African nation is an international tragedy and it is time for the violence to be stopped. Over 300,000 people have died and 2 million are now homeless. Countless women and girls have been raped and children have been mutilated.

On this issue, President Bush has taken some positive steps but more needs to be done. The Administration has stepped up and called this a "genocide" which triggers certain responsibilities in the international community to bring the violence to an end. This doesn't mean that the U.S. has to send troops into Sudan. We can help organize an international peacekeeping force, establish a no-fly zone and send supplies to support the peace keeping force and care for the displaced.

Sunday's rally will feature celebrities like George Clooney and Olympic Speed Skater Joey Cheek, along with political leaders like Senator Barack Obama, House Leader Nancy Pelosi and Congressman Donald Payne from New Jersey.

Most importantly though, the rally needs people to show up on the mall and make sure the Administration knows that Americans of all backgrounds care about what is happening in Darfur. Anyone who watched Hotel Rwanda and thought that America and the West should be ashamed for not stopping that genocide should know this is our chance to learn form our mistakes.

Please come to the National Mall in Washington, DC, Sunday, April 30th from 2-4:30 pm. If you can't make it, sign up for the million voices campaign and send a post card to your members of congress.

Go to www.savedarfur.org for more information.

www.jamalsimmons.com