By Khalida Sarwari
Congresswoman Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, announced this morning she will give up food for 24 hours to draw attention to the violent plight in Darfur.
Lee and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus, including New Jersey Congressman Donald Payne, announced their intention to fast this morning at a news conference in Washington, D.C.
Lee and the caucus members hope to set a meeting with President Obama to discuss the goals of the fast, Lee’s spokeswoman Nicole Williams said.
Williams said the Congressional Black Caucus, on which Lee serves as chairwoman, is hoping to establish a strong, clear policy in Sudan, demanding that sanctions remain against the regime of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, and calling for his arrest by the International Criminal Court.
Most of all, Williams said the fast is “being done in solidarity with Darfuris that are suffering.”
Lee will be joined by actress Mia Farrow and social activist Marcia Dyson in the Darfur fast.
The fast was spearheaded by Payne, who serves on the Foreign Affairs Committee as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, and who has visited refugee camps and met with victims in the region.
Lee has also visited Darfur several times and has been an outspoken advocate for peace in the violence-stricken region. In 2006, she was arrested at a protest outside of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Lee will begin her water-only fast at 9 p.m. tonight.