Last weekend, tens of thousands of young people gathered in cities around the world to stand in solidarity with the tens of thousands of children that have been abducted by the Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA. I had the honor of addressing the throngs of attendees in our nation’s capital at this event organized by the dynamic Invisible Children organization. I shared the stage with a Ugandan parliamentarian, some young entertainers, and Invisible Children co-Founder Bobby Bailey. The actor Val Kilmer accompanied me in support of the child soldiers still trapped in the LRA.
On Monday, while I was in jail for trespassing at the Sudan Embassy, Congressman John L. Lewis, the great civil rights leader, told me about his extraordinary experience visiting with the Invisible Children crowd in Atlanta. He talked about how moved he was by the commitment of the young people there. Coming from a man with a history of social action like his, John Lewis’ words are quite a compliment to the work being done by young activists to draw attention to Africa’s longest running conflict.
But back to Saturday night. The main message was that there is a solution to the crisis created by the LRA. The Obama administration should work with regional leaders in Central Africa and other countries to develop a more effective strategy to remove LRA leader Joseph Kony from the battlefield. The next weeks and months will hold many opportunities to take action. Stay tuned to this space and follow us on Twitter to learn how you can get involved with the movement to bring an end to the blight of the LRA.