MIAMI-DADE – The Miami-Dade Rally to Save Darfur will join our community with people from around the world to confront racial and ethnic hatred.
The County’s Community Relations Board (CRB) and a coalition of local organizations are inviting downtown workers, students and local residents to help raise awareness of the need to stop acts of hatred throughout the world.
The rally will be held on Thursday, January 25, 2007 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Stephen P. Clark Government Center, 111 NW 1st Street, in downtown Miami
“The world is our community”, said CRB Chair Ms. Joanne Harvest Koren. “We must confront the issues of racial and ethnic bias that that has the potential to harm us all.”
Darfur is located in the western region of Sudan, which is the largest country in Africa. Since 2003, a campaign of genocide in Darfur has resulted in over 400,000 people dead. Hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children have been brutally attacked. Thousands of women and girls have been raped. More than 2.5 million victims have been displaced from their homes. Racial and ethnic differences have been cited by the perpetrators as justification for these atrocities.
The Miami-Dade Rally to Save Darfur will feature a diverse group of speakers including elected officials, community leaders, and foreign affairs experts; musical entertainment and celebrities; education areas where the public can get more information about the challenges in Darfur, and learn how they can help; opportunities for exciting interactive activities and more. Masters of ceremony will include WFOR Television Anchor Jennifer Santiago and WTPS Radio personality James T. U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and County Commissioner Katy Sorenson will be among the elected officials who will speak.
“People of compassion and goodwill in our own community have decided to make their voices heard to stop the genocide and to make our residents aware that the hatred that underlies such tragedies must also be neutralized,” Ms. Harvest-Koren said. “By working together on this issue of international concern, we will contribute to motivating the diverse people in our community towards achieving the goal of developing mutual appreciation, cooperation, and respect for all.”
Organizations that have committed to participate in the event include: and are working to plan its success include: the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and its Miami Coalition to Save Darfur; Miami-Dade Branch of the NAACP; Miami-Dade County Public Schools; University of Miami Black Law Students Association; Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition; Masjid Al-Ansar Islamic and Personal Development Center; Miami-Dade County Asian American Advisory Board; Miami-Dade County Black Affairs Advisory Board; Miami-Dade County Commission for Women; Miami-Dade County Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board; Council for American Islamic Relations of Florida; Dade County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.; American Jewish Committee; ACLU of Miami-Dade; Miami-Chapter of Amnesty International; and Florida Memorial University.
