The Darfur Heroes program, started in 2007 by the coalition, highlights individuals and groups who play a crucial role in helping end the violence in Darfur through awareness-raising and other efforts. This month, Save Darfur is honoring Luke and Jennifer Reynolds for their work to compile an anthology of essays titled Dedicated to the People of Darfur: Writings on Fear, Risk and Hope. The anthology will benefit Darfur advocacy and features essays by Nobel Laureates and Pulitzer Prize winning authors. Check out their story below:
In compiling the anthology, Dedicated to the People of Darfur: Writings on Fear, Risk and Hope, one of the biggest lessons that we have learned is that we don’t need fame, money or power to rally people together for a cause we believe in and accomplish something meaningful. When we began the project we were graduate students (Jennifer in Communication, Luke in English). We were working our way through our degrees, with little money in our pockets and less in the bank account. Yet, we felt a strong passion to somehow create funds to help those doing work in and for the people of Darfur. Each time we read a New York Times article about the situation there, or in reading Not on Our Watch by John Prendergast and Don Cheadle, we felt more and more enraged by the atrocities being committed and more and more inspired to make whatever contribution we could to help.
We both love writing, reading and in general believe in the power of literature to change lives. We also believe in the principle of organizing around a purpose–rallying people to a certain cause. So, we designed an anthology around the themes of taking risks in personal and social contexts in order to foster change and growth. The advance and all royalties (that would normally go to the editors and authors) will be donated to the Save Darfur Coalition, an organization that we have admired and supported.
We created a proposal for the book, and began to send it out via invitations to authors and activists whom we respected. We were overwhelmed by the response of over 40 contributors, including: Jane Smiley, Frank McCourt, Ishmael Beah, James McPherson, Ann Hood, Kim Edwards, Nadine Gordimer and Uzodinma Iweala. Each felt a passion for the cause, and believed in the purpose of the book.
Jenny Bent, an agent at Trident Media Group in NYC, agreed to help sell the project to the right publisher. It took about eight months, but eventually Rutgers University Press made an offer. The highs and lows of those eight months taught us that endurance and patience are also an essential part of advocacy and activism. To be honest, we both had moments where we didn’t know if the book would ever make a penny for Save Darfur, but the time invested by our writers and agent kept us from losing faith. Currently, we are waiting, with great anticipation, for the Fall 2009 release of Dedicated to the People of Darfur by Rutgers University Press.
This past fall, during the final stages of the anthology, we welcomed our first child into the world. The fact that his arrival dovetailed the completion of this project was poignant for us in that we have the luxury of raising our child in relative prosperity and peace while many children of Darfur live in fear and poverty. It’s just not fair. We must eradicate genocide from the workings of our world. Though we do not have a lot of money, we recognize that we have been given much: time, energy, freedom, a warm place to live and innumerable other gifts. And of all the things we teach our son, we want one thing to stick out above the rest: those who have been blessed with much have much to give.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Save Darfur Coalition.
Tags: Darfur Hero
