Within the last week, I have learned about several new efforts to help change the situation in Darfur.

My favorite celebrity entertainment show, “Extra,” highlighted George Clooney’s efforts to help save the people of Darfur, but more importantly they commended him on his efforts to spread the word throughout Hollywood. He is doing great work to promote the issue and to educate everyone he can about the situation and how we can change it. Some high-profile stars who are openly supporting George’s efforts are Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Maria Bello, and Don Cheadle -- who has also been very active. "Extra" has a blog about the issue along with a short video of George and friends.

DesignersForDarfur, a charity fashion show, is another effort happening on the celebrity scene to raise awareness and funds on behalf of the Save Darfur Coalition. Learn more about this new and exciting event.

I also caught a special Fox 25 report on divestment of Fidelity. It was a very informative piece that I think really caught people’s attention. STAND (Students Taking Action Now Darfur) has a blog running on the Fox 25 website about the piece.

Last, but certainly not least, I received an e-mail from the Fidelity Out of Sudan campaign that I thought was pretty interesting. Join or learn more about this campaign.

A steady stream of action and advocacy is exactly what we need. The Drumbeat for Darfur Campaign couldn’t have launched at a better time for me. After attending the huge Save Darfur rally in April 2006, I was sure that we finally made enough noise for all of America to hear. I was sure we signed and sent enough electronic and paper postcards to fill the White House. I was sure that there would be an immediate response from the Bush administration and Congress, and that action would be taken to finally put an end to this horrible genocide happening in Darfur.

Unfortunately, we had not made as much noise as I thought and the postcards failed to fill the minds in the White House with the thoughts and concerns of the people in America. So with all the effort and planning that went into these huge events, did anything really change for the people in Darfur? With all the mail that got delivered to the White House, was any of it even opened? What were we missing? What did we do wrong? These are the thoughts and questions that filled my head before the sound of the drumbeat. Before the sound of the drumbeat there was only silence – a dead silence.

Finally, the silence has ended as the drumbeat has begun! This is a very exciting time for me because it gives me new hope that we can help save the people of Darfur. All of the questions that flooded my mind for the last four months have been answered by the sound of that drumbeat. From here on out, I will march to the sound of the drumbeat as I try to do everything that I can think of to spread the word and get -- but most importantly keep -- people involved until this genocide is a part of history that will never happen again on our watch.

After watching the “Water for Life” documentary featuring rap artist Jay-Z, I felt great knowing that the hip-hop community may really become another avenue for educating the public on the issue of the right to water.

Jay-Z is one of the most influential artists in the world and by him making the focus of his first world tour “Water for Life," I think he took the awareness to a whole new group of people who may have never learned of the issue otherwise. Because his fan base is so diverse and international, I really believe he is making a huge difference by capturing the much needed attention of the youth worldwide.

I have great confidence in Jay-Z’s ability to inspire, motivate, encourage, and support real issues that affect real people. I believe that he will continue to raise awareness by using the many avenues in which he has created for himself which includes entertainment, clothing, and merchandise.

I expect to see more from Jay-Z in the near future as I believe that this is just the beginning for him. I really hope that people in the United States and around the world embrace his efforts as they would any community leader, politician, or president. I urge people to support the efforts of Jay-Z as well as any human being who is fighting for this much-needed change.

Find more information on what Jay-Z is doing. These pages list ways for the public to get involved and support this important and powerful movement. Bookmark these pages and check them at least once a week to keep up with what’s going and now and what will be happening in the future.

The Save Darfur Rally in Washington was just the beginning for me! I gained so much information and important resources that I began planning my next steps even before I was back at work in our Cambridge office.

I have never seen anything like the Save Darfur Rally. So many powerful speakers, different religious groups and interesting people attended the Rally. I was extremely proud of the youth turnout because they had a really strong presence that has been absent at similar events.

In the beginning I felt enraged over the situation in Darfur. I had no idea how I could get involved to make a difference and for a while I believed that I couldn’t make a difference. I tried to understand how something like this could happen and all I could come up with is that people must not know about it.

I immediately got involved in the Million Voices for Darfur postcard campaign through UUSC. I took about 100 postcards and gave them to three people who I knew in my community. I got an amazing response mainly from a store owner and family friend, Raking Williams. Less than 24 hours after I dropped the postcards off, he was calling me to say he needed more.

So I continued with the postcards, supplying Raking, friends and family and getting amazing results. One day I received a call from my Aunt Imani and she asked me what she could do to help the people of Darfur. I told her about the postcards and she immediately suggested fund-raising and making the community aware of the genocide.

The weekend in Washington provided me with a great vision. After spending time with the Darfurian speakers provided by UUSC and asking them questions and hearing their ideas, I was motivated and ready to do whatever it takes to stop the genocide in Darfur. I have a vision. I’m going to sweep my community by storm pushing this issue as if my life depends on it, because the lives of the people of Darfur depend on it.

And then I will take it beyond my community with the help of student activists in neighboring communities that I met over the weekend. This is just the beginning for me!

The Call for Justice Weekend was the most intense hands-on learning experience I have had in a long time. It was a weekend filled with enlightenment, truth, courage, and positivity -- all strong things that I rarely get to witness together. I was extremely proud that weekend! Proud to be present, to be a part, and most of all proud to be impacted by something so great and moving that I would have never even known about if it wasn’t for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

I saw a lot of different people and heard a lot of different conversations and testimonies. Even though the people and sometimes the languages were different, the cause stayed the same and the unity never left.

I have noticed more recently that a lot of issues presented in general are delivered in black and white, and so I have never been able to find clarity or partial understanding on most issues because I believe there is more to it than black and white. The Call for Justice Weekend really assured me that I was not being stubborn all those years and that there is more to an issue than two sides. There are many sides and many issues, but in the end they affect one group -– human beings -- and we are all the same. So to see people come together was just very inspiring to me and will be with me for the rest of my life. That sight gave me hope that people can feel compassion for each other in these difficult times, despite their titles or personal agendas, net worth, or background. They can still unite and elevate over all of the things that are least important and fight for the things that are right and for all!

To see such diverse panels of speakers and to hear different experiences that all tied under one roof convinced me of one love that I have heard about in songs and seen portrayed in art; but to actually see it and, most of all, feel it, was just unreal. I wish I could feel like that at least once a day or once a week -- it was great!