We Are All Keepers of Justice...We All Have a Voice

Post 4

On a personal note - when I was in Washington D.C. April 28 - May 2, 2006, for the Save Darfur Rally (the one that Elie Wiesel spoke at, but all you really heard about was when George Clooney signed on), I volunteered in the Save Darfur office on the Friday prior to the Sunday Rally which was to take place on the National Mall, just across the street from the United States National Holocaust Memorial Museum. When I arrived, three other common every day citizens were sitting at a table counting messages for President Bush. There was a Million-Voice Post Card Campaign to Save Darfur going on at that time, started by Gloria White-Hammond from Boston. I sat down and started to help count thousands of post cards. We had to read each one, sorting out any vulgar sentiments, etc. I came across one from Connecticut. It was from Mia Farrow. I mentioned it to the others at the table. And one got up immediately and quickly removed the post card from hands and went off with it somewhere unknown. Apparently to show it to someone who thought it was important, I guessed. Then the gracious and beautiful Gloria White-Hammond walked in and was excited to see the involvement of we the “little” people (my words, not hers). Then the BBC came in and interviewed her with us sitting there in the background. I was impressed. After I was fortunate enough to talk with the BBC camera woman. Then in came David Rubenstein who wanted, after he thanked us, to share what happened when he had spoken to President Bush that same day. As a volunteer and just a citizen-turned activist for this cause, I was…well…I was…my head was spinning. Even more emotional was my volunteer job for the Rally on Sunday. Standing on the sidewalk between the nearest metro stop and the National Mall in front of the Capital building, it was one spiritual moment after another, with the waves of people taking over the sidewalk, many wearing their Darfur T-shirts identifying their group and their sentiments on this issue. I got hugs, thank yous, and requests to have my picture taken with people who had come from far away to gather for making a statement with their presence, with their voices. I was moved. I started singing “We Shall Overcome” to the embarrassment of volunteer worker that I was paired with.

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