In light of the escalating humanitarian and human rights crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Amnesty International will be holding an International Day of Action on November 23. AI USA will organize an emergency rally in front of the White House at 2pm on Sunday, November 23 in order to raise awareness about the crisis.

Join us in calling the US government to:
• support the UN peacekeeping mission
• press the DRC government and armed groups to immediately halt the use of child soldiers, all acts of rape and other sexual violence against women

For more information: www.amnestyusa.org/drc

On December 3rd, will you STANDFast against genocide?

STANDFast is an event that asks you to fast from one luxury item – like coffee or your morning newspaper - and donate the money that you would have spent on that item to protect civilians in Darfur and Burma.

The money you donate supports the Genocide Intervention Network’s Civilian Protection projects in Darfur and Burma, which provide much-needed protection to people living in fear of violence and attack.

Register now and spread the word!

Awards Gala To Benefit TransAfrica Forum, Inc.

Wynton Marsalis Will Perform Private Concert at TransAfrica Forum Gala

TransAfrica Forum, in partnership with its sponsors, invites you to the Progressive Vision in Action benefit awards gala to raise financial support for economic, social and political justice for all African People.

Event Fundraising Goal: Raise $1,000,000 to support TransAfrica Forum’s work to impact foreign policy for the betterment of African people.

Event Time:
6:00 p.m. - General Reception
7:00 p.m. - Dinner and Program

Special Performance: Wynton Marsalis

Awards to be Presented:

Pan-African Lifetime Achievement Award:
• Chuck D, Artist and Humanitarian
• Zwelinzima Vavi, General Secretary, COSATU

Champion for Justice Award:
• The Honorable Donald M. Payne
• President Leo Gerard, United Steelworkers

Legislative Achievement Award: The Honorable Maxine Waters

Corporate Social Responsibility Award: W. Frank Fountain, Senior Vice President of External Affairs and Public Policy, Chrysler

Presenter: Susan L. Taylor, Editor-in-chief Emerita, ESSENCE Magazine

Event Co-Chairs:
• ohnnetta B. Cole, President Emerita, Bennett College for Women
• William Lucy, Secretary- Treasurer, AFSCME
• Bruce Raynor, General President UNITE HERE

Leadership Sponsors:
• UNITE HERE
• Carrie Productions
• AFSCME

Click here to register for this event.

To donate click here

A discussion of how U.S. foreign policy in Africa and Latin America was shaped during the election.

This election season, please join the Institute for Policy Studies in our series of provocative brown-bag luncheon discussions of the various issues in the platforms of the Democratic, Republican, Green, and Independent presidential candidates. IPS and Chester Hartman have a new book coming out at the culmination of this brown-bag series, Mandate for Change, which will put forth what we feel are the best and most creative policy solutions for these and other pressing local, national and international issues.

Guests:
• Emira Woods, Co-Director, Foreign Policy In Focus, IPS
• Gerald LeMelle, Executive Director, Africa Action
• Manuel Pérez Rocha, Associate Fellow, The Security and Prosperity Partnership and the NAFTA Plus Agenda, IPS
• Nicole Lee, Executive Director, TransAfrica Forum
• Sanho Tree, Director, Drug Policy project, IPS

Moderator: Dr. Carl LeVan, American University

4:00pm to 6:00pm

Please RSVP to Adwoa Masozi.

The next regular meeting of TransAfrica Forum's Arthur R. Ashe, Jr. Foreign Policy Library Readers' Corner book club will be held on Sunday, December 7, 2008, 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM, featuring the book Untapped: The Scramble for Africa's Oil by John Ghazvinian (2007, published by Harcourt, Orlando).

Venue: TransAfrica Forum 1629 K Street, NW, Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20006 (Nearest Metro Station: Farragut North on the Red Line or Farragut West on the Blue/Orange Lines)

From the publisher: "Although Africa has long been known to be rich in oil, extracting it hadn’t seemed worth the effort and risk until recently. But with the price of Middle Eastern crude oil skyrocketing and advancing technology making reserves easier to tap, the region has become the scene of a competition between major powers that recalls the nineteenth-century scramble for colonization there. Already the United States imports more of its oil from Africa than from Saudi Arabia, and China, too, looks to the continent for its energy security.

"What does this giddy new oil boom mean—for America, for the world, for Africans themselves? To find out, John Ghazvinian traveled through twelve African countries—from Sudan to Congo to Angola—talking to warlords, industry executives, bandits, activists, priests, missionaries, oil-rig workers, scientists, and ordinary people whose lives have been transformed—not necessarily for the better—by the riches beneath their feet. The result is a high-octane narrative that reveals the challenges, obstacles, reasons for despair, and reasons for hope emerging from the world’s newest energy hot spot."