“There is no question about what is occurring in Sudan. Last year the United States clearly stated that genocide is occuring in Darfur. This Congress passed a resolution affirming it. President Bush has called the actions in Darfur as genocide on repeated occasions. The United Nations has referred the case to an international tribunal to investigate war crimes."

These words of Congressman Frank Wolf to his colleagues belie any intention of Congress having constructive engagements toward Sudan in particular, and Africa in general. The odd coalition of Wolf, Sam Brownback and other conservatives and the Congressional Black Caucus has made "Genocide in Sudan'" an emotional civil rights issue among African Americans. Through a multitude of well-funded lobbying and activist campaigns, establishment conservatives most Black Americans would normally say are adverse to their interests, have pushed the envelope to the point so effectively that African Americans bought into the ‘punish Sudan concept  hook line and sinker’! They started by selling us on the Slavery in Sudan charade in the late 90s until campaigns they are promoting morphed into the current genocide line. They've made African Americans monolithic on the issue of Sudan. Christians, suburban conservatives and mainline Baptists alike think they were doing good humanitarian work collecting coins in jars to buy back unfortunate Southern Sudanese "slaves" from cruel North Sudanese slave traders.

Let's not deceive ourselves, American actions toward most of Africa could hardly be considered peaceful. Instead of blatantly taking sides in Africa’s civil wars and ethnic strife, as have the Wolf, Brownback cabal, Americans really interested in peace and prosperity there should be actively engaged in conflict resolution and prevention and, provide assistance to indigenous peacekeeping/making mechanisms there, instead of arms to rebels.

Americans, black, white and brown have to figure out how to improve relations with African countries and how to define and pursue our interests there. Africa offers both significant opportunities for and obstacles to U.S. interests, but coping with disorder remains a major challenge in many African states, particularity Sudan.

Across the continent, Africans are seeking peace and economic progress. Beset by economic decline and new threats from AIDS and narcotics, Africans increasingly look to the United States for assistance and. partnerships. Instead of treating these countries like errant children, the United States should stop supporting instability in that region and initiate trade and an agenda active diplomacy. U.S. interests include promoting peaceful change and conflict resolution, sustainable development, and effective African action on transitional issues, such as population growth and terrorism.

To advance our national interests, the United States should have active involvement in Africa. These interests include promoting peaceful change and the resolution of conflict, and will enhance our long-term political, economic and humanitarian concerns. Such an agenda of active diplomacy presents no risks to our national security and can save resources by confronting problems before they become costly to ameliorate and intractable to resolve.

Peaceful men and women in the media should reject the pack mentality's trend of distorting the truth about Sudan; and, instead of leading with Sudan's conflict, they'd write of activities occurring to bring permanent closure to the world's worst humanitarian crisis and longest-running civil war. Though surrounded by activists and pastors preaching the gross exaggerations, glaring oversimplifications and outright distortions of the slavery issue and current furor over Defer, Black newspaper publishers have not brought that into that herd. Congressman Wolf tells Congress "there's no question, about what's occurring in Sudan", but people of color much more involved with the situation there, such as Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who chaired the African Union (AU), continually refuse to use such characterizations.

In spite of "the fact of genocide," Congress Nightline and others staunchly against Sudan say is occurring there, why is it that you've never heard one African leader say that what is happening there is genocide? I think that it is a subtle form of racism that Americans dismiss African leaders on the issue of Sudan. I recently spoke with AU operating chair, Omar Konore, who says that group is diligently working to bring peace in Sudan and across Africa.

Without any direct consultations in Sudan, reports that appear among many majority media today are based on flagrant political cynicism and exploitation of the Darfur. Such tactics fan the flames of conflict in Sudan, Darfur and Africa. They pay no heed to the root causes of the conflict or the measures being taken on the ground to solve it. To enhance truth to the American public, let’s focus fair attention to the measurable efforts of the people of the Republic of Sudan to transcend the civil strife; as well as taking special note of whom are the external forces trying to extend the conflicts there. If media paid more attention and objectivity to the actions of Sudanese leaders and efforts for peace in Sudan, as detailed in the Machakos Protocol and accords sought though talks being held in Abuja Nigeria, their audiences would be more inclined to wanting peace there.

African Union-sponsored talks between the Sudanese officials and rebel groups from Darfur have been occurring, haltingly in Abuja, but Western media does not present facts that the Abuja talks have deadlocked. Instead of the U.S. Congress and media pushing the UN Security Council to assist all parties in the Abuja Talks in finding suitable solutions for that portion of Sudan, they've preferred to play to conflict and sensationalism.

If the media paid more attention to people more familiar to the situation in Sudan such as former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Danforth, they'd have another take on the issue. In case you don't remember, the man who was America's Special Envoy to Sudan brought about the peace accords that were signed earlier this year. It is rarely reported that over the three years Danforth was working to bring about those peace accords, at the same time, Wolf and the Congress were passing not one, but two acts supporting Sudan's conflicts on the side of the South - Sudan Peace Act I and II. On the issue of "genocide in Sudan" Danforth, a former Senator representing Missouri and still an Episcopal priest, says that the State Department's labeling of Sudan's situation as genocide was simply a concession to the Religious Right. It seems to me that Danforth's approach to peace in Sudan takes a distinctly different tact than do Wolf, Brownback and others in the Congress.

After this meeting, if each of are to do anything toward peaceful purposes in the world, let's start with peace- making in Africa. To do this, we have to look at prospects of peace before the politics. The media has gone along with the charade; its leading stories about Africa are about conflicts. The first step in each of our role in peace-making, is to define how to bring about an absence of conflict in Africa. If you can resolve conflicts, you can have peace. To have peace is to rise above your circumstances. It allows you to see beyond your surroundings and fix your eyes on a point in the distance that allows you to hold steady on your course and ride out the storm.

PEACE is not merely the absence of war. It is much more than that since it means harmony. Peace is the work of charity (love) directly; since charity, according to its very notion, causes peace. To build peaceful relations with African Americans, and their media, must practice justice. JUSTICE is about equity and fairness. Justice removes the obstacles to peace, not simply about the law because laws are open to interpretation; but, justice is the weighing of all the alternatives available and finding that which offers the best conformity considering all circumstances.

Instead of fueling the flames of conflict, members of the media would do better joining in pursuits of peace in Sudan. With help in reaching accords throughout Sudan, and the region, you help build nations with integrated and sustainable programs based on the real needs of their people. Instead of the disturbing atrocities the enemies of peace attribute to the Sudanese, look closer to help realize peace and security for all sections of Sudan and their people and, tell a truth that encourages international help and investments to build a complete nation deplete of divisions and inequalities left by decades of civil strife.

1 recognize Sudan as the home of great African civilizations. From great kings and triumphs that I read about in school, to the status of today's international pariah, is a significant distance for Sudan to fall, in my mind! But, 1 firmly believe that with cooperative productive efforts and constructive engagements from the international community, it can rise again. With help instead of hindrances, every Sudanese citizen, every business, and every government department, from North to South and East to West will be positively affected. With peace, Sudanese people of all stnpes can focus on their country's people and their needs. With peace they can: build homes and roads, bring electricity and communications capabilities throughout the country, create jobs, bring more valuable resources to market, provide access to safe water and health care, all the while enabling Sudan to be a more productive member of the world's family of nations. An active policy in Africa opens new opportunities for rcform and trade, and reduces potentially great costs for relief efforts by eliminating the causes of crises.

Domestically, the growing cultural and political awareness of Africa among African Americans requires us to seek long-term, continuing involvement with the region. Black Americans should not fall prey to war and the promulgation of war among Africans, or the manipulation of information to promote war there. We should embrace the humanitarian imperative to help alleviate acute suffering from natural and man-made disasters there. African Americans' concerns should be to draw strong public support over the devastating effect of AIDS on the continent and lead to demands for more effective international action on that issue. Meanwhile, Africa's mineral wealth, its actual and potential markets for African American products, services and investments is what we need to make Africa and ourselves major players on the world scene.