Austin, TX.-- Something good came out of the Texas Capitol yesterday: a unanimous vote cleared the proposed Darfur Divestment Bill (# 247) through the senate committee stage. As Rep. Corbin Van Arsdale, (R-Tomball) explained, it was a signal to the world that even Republicans in the President's conservative home state can work in a bi-partisan way to end what the UN has deemed the greatest humanitarian crisis in the world today: the genocide in Darfur.
The Bill, sponsored by Sen. Rodney Ellis (D-Houston), will result in Texas divesting close to $1 billion of state holdings in targeted companies that have ties to Sudan and thus assist in the genocide in Darfur. Created with the help of The Sudan Divestment Task Force, this Bill would add Texas to the roster of 7 states and 30 universities that have passed legislation to stop investments in companies that do business with the Government of Sudan. Texas is one of 20 states considering divestment. Divestment from Sudan is one powerful tool to stop the on-going conflict in Darfur and Chad.
I was grateful that the authors of this legislation asked me, and others involved in the documentary about the genocide in Darfur, The Devil Came on Horseback, to testify before the senate committee. We were in Austin for the SXSW Film Festival and the opportunity to add first-hand witness testimony was serendipitous. At Sundance in January we had attended a lackluster panel "Making Movies That Matter, Matter" and I had wondered whether, beyond the runaway success of An Inconvenient Truth (a film made by a politician), documentary really has any place in American politics today. A far more robust SXSW panel on political documentaries "Doc Politics As Usual" took place at the same time as the Senate hearings and we had to divide up our creative team to speak at both events. It was a good moment to see the confluence of political will and the power of film.
Now we just need to get President Bush to take note of the divestment movement in his home state and the strong and heartfelt opposition to this genocide that Texans have demonstrated. Perhaps we can arrange a screening of The Devil Came on Horseback at the White House. I know the Legislators in Austin who were in session and could not make our screenings at SXSW have requested a private screening. We can arrange one in Washington DC too.
If they can do something this positive in Texas, surely every state can. Indeed we can all do something. The only thing that trumps genocide is our indifference.