Hope

I will start by apologizing for the following lengthy post, as I took the content from author Paul Rogat Loeb’s “Soul of a Citizen.” As much as I wanted to paraphrase, all of his words seemed too important.

“Virtually all of America’s most effective historical movements met with repeated frustration and failure before making significant progress progress toward their goals. At few points prior to victory could participants have proved their individual efforts mattered. On the contrary, the reverse often seemed true. As the U.S. Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis once wrote, “Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done.” Only in retrospect does the link between small beginnings and profound social change become fully evident. Only then is the true value of persistence in the face of difficulty revealed.

Think of the apartheid-era campaign for South Africa divestment. American economic interests supported the apartheid government almost from its foundation. After the 1960 Sharpeville massacre for instance, a consortium of U.S. banks (led by Chase Manhattan) invested heavily to shore up the Pretoria regime, which seemed on the verge of collapse. In response, one of the first Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) protests was held on Wall Street. Challenges to American economic support of apartheid surged and receded for the next twenty-five years. Then, after the U.S. Senate failed to pass a sanctions bill in 1984, a stream of people staged acts of civil disobedience at the main South African embassy in Washington, D.C., and at local consulates nationwide.

These protests in turn rekindled large-scale social activism on America’s campuses. Even as their generation was being maligned as apathetic and uncaring, students organized rallies, petition drives, and marches, built protest shantytowns, staged sit-ins, and set up blockades – all aimed at persuading colleges and universities to divest themselves of stock in companies doing business in South Africa. Their movement caught fire as global television showed the South African government beating, gassing, and shooting peaceful demonstrators who challenged worsening economic conditions, substandard education, and a new constitution that would permanently disenfranchise black South African citizens.

At Columbia University, the divestment campaign was led by the Black Student Association (BSA). Participants used speakers, public forums, referendums, and door-to-door canvassing of the dorms to win support for their cause. They even secured an endorsement from the faculty senate. When university trustees refused to meet with the campaigners, a dozen students launched a hunger strike, and then a sit-in that they expected would last a few hours. Instead, several hundred people joined in, and the sit-in lasted three weeks. Not only did Columbia divest the following fall (while administrators insisted their action had “nothing to do with the protests”) but its students inspired similar efforts across the country, prompting some 150 institutions to withdraw more than $4 billion in investment funds. The student movement proved to be the key factor in the U.S. congressional vote that finally approved sanctions against South Africa over Ronald Reagan’s veto. By ending U.S. moral and economic support, this historic decision placed enormous pressure on the South African government and its white population to finally move toward democracy.

Movement participants acted mostly because they felt they had to do something, even if it had little impact on university policy. “Going into it, I wasn’t at all sure the university would respond,” said Winston Willis, who later headed Columbia’s BSA. “I doubted the trustees would give in. Columbia’s an immensely powerful institution. But a number of us felt so strongly about the issues that we were willing to risk arrest, suspension, or expulsion, and to sleep outside night after night in the sleet and rain – in case maybe, just maybe, they would.”

The sit-in was particular hard for African American students on scholarships, many of whom were the first in their families to go to college and had no safety net of money and personal contacts. But letters and phone calls of support came from across the country. The students persisted, and their efforts bore fruit they had scarcely imagined. When Nelson Mandela was freed and came to speak in Harlem, Winston attended. He went, he says, “with a sense that I’d played a part, no matter how infinitesimal, in helping to get him out. Friends gave me a copy of that first ballot where blacks got to vote, which I still keep in our study. Recently another friend from those days, whose wife’s father is now an official in the new South African government, went to visit. Desmond Tutu shook his hand and said, ‘You don’t know how important it was what you American student’s did.’ We had no idea our actions would have such an impact.”

I’m sure at this point we have all felt the frustration that after 6 years, the genocide in Darfur continues, despite our efforts. But let us take a look at what our voices and combined efforts have accomplished rather then grow weary and feel helpless.

In the last year we have seen ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo pursue arrest warrants for Sudanese president Bashir who could be indicted as early as the 15th of this month. We saw Darfur become a major focus in the 2008 U.S. presidential and vice-presidential debates. Afterwards, debate moderator Gwen Ifill’s office thanked people, saying it was because of the letters received that a question about Darfur was asked. We have elected a president and vice-president who have vowed to focus more on Darfur and who’s administration has been active in bringing peace to Darfur. Not to mention all the humanitarian aid that has been given to those who have had to feel their homes.

Let’s use these milestones we have accomplished as fuel to continue to work for peace in Darfur and the rest of our world.

As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “A final victory is an accumulation of many short-term encounters. To lightly dismiss a success because it does not usher in complete order of justice is to fail to comprehend the process of achieving full victory.”

Working with you for peace,

Cory

Our Global Community: Humanity

I can remember the two days we spent with Amira so well. It was burning hot and very dry for the middle of the rainy season. Oure Cassoni had seen only two days of raindrops, hardly enough to refill reserves for the rest of the year. Her skin was so radiant, voice confident, and she wrapped her body in beautiful yellow, orange and blue scarves. She was serious most of the time, but laughed loud and hard with vigorous agreement when the possible ICC indictment of al-Bashir was brought up. Her smile quickly dissipated and anger rose through her body to her waving hands when the conversation turned to the possibility that any indictment would be postponed or turned down by the international community. Like all women I have met in the camps, she wants nothing more than to return home to Darfur. No matter how hard it will be to rebuild, it is her home. It is where she feels she belongs. It is her world and her heart.

2008 was a year of change for America as we voted in our first ever community-based organizer as a President. He, too, believes in ending the genocide in Darfur and the refugees believe they will see change with Obama (view their video here). But, like all our leaders, he will not necessarily act unless we ask him, and all our other leaders to be the voice of the Darfuris; to stand for those being persecuted because of their culture and the color of their skin. We must not let up our pressure. Obama has asked us to participate in our democracy, and in 2009 SGN will help guide you through this process by empowering you to engage your local representatives. This Is Our Democracy.

2009 must be the year that we break the routine of indifference. Yes our economy is downtrodden, yes we have issues on our own soil, yes we still have troops in a unforgivable war in Iraq. BUT, Yes We Are One Humanity. Yes, we can make a difference in our global community.

The patchwork tent is one example of students from CA reaching across the globe and into the hearts of children who have seen parents murdered, homes burned, peaceful village life replaced by AK-47s and militia. This tent carries the messages that innocent children hope for all: peace, love, flowers and sunshine. And it carries other messages from children who are just as innocent: bullets in the back of their parent’s head, burning huts, men wearing camouflage waiting to ambush those seeking safety. This is our global community, all of it.

And it is time we finally take responsibility for all of it.There are things we can all do to make a difference this year. Many people make annual resolutions, many people chose an intention for each day. Either way, we all need to make a commitment, no matter how small or how large. You can join the discussion at our Forum. You can hold an event – with your family or classroom or community during April during which so much blood has been shed in our history. You can send money if you are short on time, you can call you 1 800 GENOCIDE if you are short on money.

Whatever it is you can do, I am asking you to make a commitment to your Global Community. We Are One Humanity. If we fail one part of our community, then we are not whole.Peace in 2009, ktj

Would You Have Noticed?

What would happen if one of finest classical musicians in the world, playing some of the most elegant music ever written, on one of the most valuable violins ever made, played for forty-five minutes in busy metro station in D.C.?  Would people stop and listen? Would they care or even notice?  Do people have the time to stop and pay attention?

There was a story in the Washington Post (and it is now circulating by email) about Joshua Bell, one of best violinists in the world.  He played as a street performer for 43 minutes, on a chilly winter morning.  He played some of the most difficult pieces ever written on a handcrafted violin made in 1713 by Antonio Stradivari, which is estimated to be worth $3.5 million.  Joshua consistently sells out concerts and tickets easily go for $100.  So what would happen in this little experiment?

Nearly 1,100 people walked by and only seven stopped for at least a minute to listen to the performance.  Twenty-seven people gave money, for a total of $32.  That’s not counting the twenty dollars that came from the one person who recognized Josh.  She later stated, “It was the most astonishing thing I’ve ever seen in Washington.  Joshua Bell was standing there playing at rush hour, and people were not stopping, and not even looking, and some were flipping quarters at him! Quarters! I wouldn’t do that to anybody. I was thinking, Omigosh, what kind of a city do I live in that this could happen?”

What would happen if a group of people were being killed by their own government?  What would happen if hundreds of thousands of people were killed, with millions more being torn from their families and homes?  What would happen if there were millions of people struggling for survival; living in refugee camps with little food, water, education, or hope for the future?  Would people stop and listen?  Would they care, or even notice? Would people have the time to stop and pay attention? For every thousand people who heard about this, how many would just keep on walking? How many would really give their time and attention to help, or would people just “toss quarters” as they go on with their busy lives?

Are we really too busy?  Are we too busy to stop and recognize what is happening around us?  Are we too busy to notice the beauty of a fine musician playing on a street corner, or too busy to notice the cries of millions in need?  And instead of echoing the words of the one lady who really stopped, listened, and asked, what kind of world do we live in that this could happen?  Let’s ask, what can we do in the world so this stops happening?

A major focus of i-Act is to help you take a moment… to stop… and to pay attention to what is going on around you.  As you get to know these names, to learn these stories, and to recognize these faces, you will at first be able to hear the voice of many in need.  But, if you really pay attention and if you really look into these children’s eyes, your soul will be forever touched, just as if you were hearing the most elegant music ever played.

Vote for a Peace Surge for Darfur – 2nd Round of Voting

Change.org is holding it’s 2nd round of voting for the “Top 10 Ideas for Change in America.” Go to CHANGE.org to vote today!

Jerry Fowler, President of the Save Darfur Coalition, is asking the Obama Administration to adopt a Peace Surge for Darfur. In doing so, Save Darfur is participating in a contest run by Change.org and MySpace that is called “Ideas for Change in America.” The top 10 ideas will be presented to the Obama administration on Inauguration Day. Then, Change.org, MySpace, and their partners will build a national campaign to advance those ideas in Congress. Help make Darfur a Day 1 Priority. If we allow genocide to continue in Darfur for another day, week, or year we are not just failing the innocent civilians of Darfur, but we are disrespecting the memory of the millions who have died in genocides in our history. Stand up for Darfur, uphold the memory of all those who have died because of who they are.

Voting requires registration, but it’s simple.

You can make this Peace Surge for Darfur happen. Go to CHANGE.org and vote in support of peace, protection, and accountability in Darfur.