Gloria White-Hammond from Genocide Prevention Month on Vimeo.
One of the most rousing moments of Sunday’s Honor the Past – Act Now for Darfur Genocide Prevention Month event was a short speech by Rev. Gloria White-Hammond, the chair of the board of Save Darfur. Rev. Gloria inspired the crowd to continue the long fight against genocide by recounting the story of Dr. Martin Luther King’s encounter with a civil rights activist in the 1960’s.
“Dr. King told the story of Mother Pollard. Mother Pollard was a 70 year-old woman who lived in Montgomery during the bus boycott. And like many of the older women, Mother Pollard was offered a ride but Mother Pollard refused to take a ride. And when Martin King asked her why don’t you just get in the car so you can rest a little bit, she responded:
‘My feets are tired, but my soul is rested.’”
Rev. Gloria reminded us how, like Mother Pollard, we have to continue the struggle for peace, justice and equality. “300,000 have died and that’s the bad news, our feets are tired. But 5 million are still alive, and our souls are rested.” We have made a difference. And with continued advocacy, we can continue to do so.
She reminded us of the terrible violence against women in Darfur and raised our spirits that something can be done to stop this violence. A cheer rose up among the women who had traveled hundreds of miles to raise their voices in front of the White House as they heard Rev. Gloria:
“We will not shut-up until the raping stops. We will stop the murder, yes we can! We will stop the burning, yes we can! And we won’t shut up until we stop the genocide once and for all, YES WE CAN!”
The opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Save Darfur Coalition.
Tags: Act Now for Darfur, action, Events, genocide, Genocide Prevention Month, Gloria White-Hammond, Honor the Past Act Now for Darfur, President Obama, take action, Video, Washington DC
