Sunday In Central Park -- Thousands Rally Against Genocide

I walked away from Sunday’s massive rally in Central Park against genocide feeling good -- too good. As I walked through the park and away from the slowly dwindling crowd that must have totaled in the tens of thousands, I was reminded of what this afternoon was really about.

There were sign of it everywhere, but it was most poignantly stated by the orange stickers worn by many participants that read: I’m standing for Darfur Victim #200, 293, or some other number under 450,000 -- the new estimate of those dead from genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan.

We were there to be counted, to be heard, and to be educated. And the afternoon accomplished all of these. It began for many of us at All Souls Unitarian Church with an enlightening ceremony which included many activists from around the country and Darfur, as well as UUSC President Charlie Clements. Perhaps most inspiring was 12-year-old Darfurian Emithal Mahmoud, whose poetry was a poignant addition to the event.

From All Souls, we marched 500 strong, festooned with signs and hundreds of blue balloons, and we loudly chanted our way up Madison Avenue and into the park where we joined tens of thousands to hear speeches and listen to music.

There we heard from Rev. Gloria White-Hammond, who spearheaded the highly successful Million Voices for Darfur postcard campaign, Larry Cox of Amnesty International, and former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, interspersed with music from Suzanne Vega, O.A.R., Big and Rich, and many more. The main message was: We can and have made a difference, so we must continue to keep up the pressure on our elected officials to send a U.N. peacekeeping force into Darfur, as it is the only possible way to save the millions of vulnerable Darfurians.

I was uplifted by the day, but it was because of the hope I gained from seeing so many people come together, a very high percentage of them college age and younger. Every day this atrocity continues is one more day we have let down the people of Darfur.