Faith in Action

A big thank you to everyone who took the time to send an email to members of the Baltimore City Council in reference to the Sudan Divestment Bill. 

I’m proud to announce that the bill passed and was signed into enactment by the Mayor on November 27, 2007!  YOU MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE!  I especially want to thank Tanae and Adam (all the way from Ohio!) for sending emails to City Councilwoman Helen Holton in regard to the bill.  [if you sent an email as well let me know and I'll be quick to publicly give you your props.]  See that - right from your keyboard - at work, home, or school you helped to pass a bill to support the people of Darfur.  Don’t you feel empowered?!  You should. 

I just received an email from Joe Madison as well informing me that DC just passed its own Sudan Divestment Bill!  The avalanche is growing and pressure is mounting on the government of Sudan to end this tragedy.

So what next?…you did know there was a next right?  This is not a 40 yard dash people.  This is a marathon.  So now we have got to make sure that Baltimore, the state of Maryland, and DC make the legislation come to life.  No equivicating!  Don’t just have the press conference legislators! Divest the money! 

I’ll be making a list and checking it twice, E-ACTIVISTS, to make sure the legislation is really enacted.  If it isn’t, you know I’ll blow the trumpet. 

FYI: I’ve learned that last month a new documentary starring Don Cheadle called DARFUR NOW came out.  This can be a great tool in raising awareness and encouraging action on this issue.  Here’s an idea: Get a group of your friends together and go see the movie.  You might just win over some new Darfur Activists.  Great idea right?  There’s only one problem

I CAN’T FIND ONE MOVIE THEATER ANYWHERE NEAR ME PLAYING THIS FILM!

As is the case with far too many meaningful films, they are often thrown to the side with preference given to the insanely stupid, mind-numbing films like White Chicks and Soul Plane.  So here’s our plan of action…huddle up.

Call your local movie theater’s management company and let them know you want to see Darfur Now…Now!  Who are they to determine what movies the general public can see or not see.  Yea - it’s there building, their seats, their screens, their sticky floors, and their over-priced condiments, but if we don’t show up, they don’t make $$.  And these days with online movies, youtube, and downloadable films, the brick-n-mortar theater should be going out of its way to appease its customers.

Call the management company of your local movie theater. Tell them to play Darfur Now and let me know what happens.  We’ll collect their responses, report them in future posts, and then strategize on what should be our next steps.

We’ll take meticulous notes and refine the strategy if need be, because I suspect that we’ll have to do this again for Denzel Washington’s The Great Debaters…I don’t know - we’ll see.  Denzel may have enough “juice” to get his film across the country…especially given the fact that Oprah is the producer.  “They” just might let it play.  But we’ll have our hands at the ready just in case. 

Alright folks - call the management company of your local theaters and report back what they say.  Don’t be discouraged if they very nicely say “No”.  We have the power to change their “No” to a “Yes.”

Do you have another idea on how to get this film in the theaters?  Let us know.  All ideas accepted.  Let’s get to work.

The Struggle Continues…No Time to Rest….