This is not history. This is the reality today in Sudan, Africa's largest nation and the world's greatest human rights disaster. And for too long, these horrors have been met with a deathly silence.

On Friday, June 9, the silence ends. On June 9, people around the world will cry out for justice as part of "National Sudan Day," the centerpiece of THE SUDAN CAMPAIGN's drive for action against the genocide in Sudan. In cities across the country, activists, congregations, and community leaders will come together to issue a call to action.

On June 9, do your part. Here is how your community can join the national chorus:

Objective: Hold one noteworthy event that makes a statement and raises awareness.

Important Guidelines:

• CHECK IN WITH THE SUDAN CAMPAIGN no matter what you do. We need to make sure your event is included in the national program. The more events we can point to, the more powerful our call for action.
• We can also put you in touch with other local activists and congregations who would like to join your event. We are assembling a network of activists, and you need to be connected.

Event Suggestions:

• Choose a significant, centrally-located site. This can be a center of government and/or a historic location.
• Hold a candlelight vigil for 2 million victims and thousands of enslaved women and children. Include stories of victims and survivors, and invoke Americaâs proud tradition of standing up for basic human rights (see this template).
• Hold a gospel concert featuring various congregational choirs. Or, whatever you event you hold, get a gospel choir to sing at the closing. "We Shall Overcome" makes for a particularly stirring closing.
• March between two significant sites. For instance, activists can gather at a historic site and then march to the city hall, where they will hold a candlelight vigil and a gospel choir will sing.
• Protest at a local BP or Amoco station. BP Amocoâs investment in PetroChina (a major partner in Sudan's $4 billion oil project) makes Americans unwitting financial sponsors of slavery and slaughter in Sudan. Cut up Amoco cards as a sign of protest, and encourage motorists to fill up elsewhere. No one wants blood in their tank.
• Hold a teach-in seminar on the human rights crisis in Sudan.
• Visit the offices of your congressional representatives. A delegation of activists should visit the local offices of congressmen and inform staff of their constituent concerns regarding Sudan.
• Get the mayor to proclaim June 9 ãSudan Dayä in your city.

Press Coverage:

• Make sure you have a hook that will attract media coverage. You need to make a genocide in a far-away country seem immediate. Make sure to include members of the local Sudanese community (we have contacts) who speak with a special authority.
• Send a press release (see a sample) to the assignment desks of all local media (radio, print, and tv). To get phone and fax numbers, call the main numbers. Also, try calling individual writers and editors directly.
• Generate advance coverage by notifying local talk radio shows and event calendars. This will help get more people out to the event. Then, make sure to get copies of any press coverage.
• CONTACT US: we have local media contacts across the country. We can help.