Week of Big News

In hopes of raising awareness about the reality of genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan, Sam writes every Monday about a key issue in an attempt to stop the atrocity. Doing so may not bring about a wave of change, but it is a small ripple that represents the tide that needs turning.

For those who know me personally (and for those who don’t, but wish they did), all of my posts this week will relay big personal news, some of it months in the making. While very little of the content will deal with my usual social commentary, all of the news will enhance my ability in that arena. So, coinciding with Holy Week is my own week of transformation, announcement, and change.

My big news about Darfur is that I will be attending the rally on the mall. With the generous help of my parents, I will fly to DC on Sunday morning, April 30 and attend the gathering which will be the culmination of the Million Voices for Darfur Campiagn. The signatures and postcards that have been collected for the last several months will be presented to members of Congress and the executive branch. Such a presentation is done in the hopes that these elected officials will know how much the American people care about the unfolding horrors in Sudan.

I am obviously excited about the trip (and will write about it here), after having participated in my first public demonstration only a few weeks ago. This rally looks to be much larger and will be a celebration and a call to action and I can’t wait to be a small fraction of the multitude. I will be standing in the exact same place where many faithful and aware Americans have stood before me, expressing their concerns in hopes that their representation will act. It is moments like these that make me proudest to be an American and to live in a land in which people can assemble peaceably for any reason they choose.

If you haven’t yet done your part to be one of the million voices, you can do so here. And if you’re going to be on the mall, rally on, my friend.