John Prendergast

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John Prendergast

Campus Progress Conference
Washington, D.C.
July 2008

John Prendergast (born March 21, 1963, in Indianapolis, Indiana) is a human rights activist and author. His current activism focuses on Sudan, Somalia, northern Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad and Zimbabwe.

Contents

[edit] Activism

Prendergast is Co-Founder of the Enough Project,[1] an initiative to end genocide and crimes against humanity. During the Clinton administration, he was involved in a number of peace processes in Africa,[2] while he was director of African Affairs at the National Security Council[3] and Special Advisor at the Department of State. Prendergast has also worked as a youth counselor[4] and basketball coach.[5]

He has authored eight books on Africa, including Not On Our Watch, a New York Times bestseller[6] and NAACP non-fiction book of the year that he co-authored with actor Don Cheadle.[7] Prendergast is currently working on two new books for publication by Random House, one that focuses on his 25 years in the Big Brother program and the other on human rights and peace activism.[8]

He has helped create several documentaries, including George Clooney's Sand and Sorrow,[9] Don Cheadle's Darfur Now,[10] Tracy McGrady's 3 Points[11] and Emmanuel Jal's War Child.[12] He also co-produced Journey Into Sunset, about northern Uganda.[13]

Prendergast consults on scripts for movies and for television shows, including an episode of NBC's Law and Order: Special Victims Unit,[14] which focused on child soldiers. He has taken a number of television news programs to Africa, including Nightline[15] and The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer [16] and has been part of a series of episodes of CBS 60 Minutes,[17][18] which earned an Emmy Award[19] for Best Continuing News Coverage. In his most recent collaboration with 60 Minutes, Prendergast takes them to the Democratic Republic of Congo to investigate how the mining of precious minerals in eastern Congo and our demand for electronics helps fuel the violence that contributes to the world's deadliest war since WWII.[20] [21]

With NBA stars Tracy McGrady, Baron Davis and Derek Fisher, he co-founded the Darfur Dream Team: Sister Schools Initiative, which connects schools in the United States with schools in Darfuri refugee camps. He also helped create the RAISE Hope for Congo Campaign, aimed at ending violence against women and girls in the Congo and is currently helping to produce a series of videos highlighting the issue of Congo’s conflict minerals.

His op-eds have appeared in various news outlets, including The New York Times,[22] The Wall Street Journal[23] and The International Herald Tribune.[24] He has been profiled in, among others, Vanity Fair,[25] Men's Vogue,[26]Entertainment Weekly,[27] O, The Oprah Magazine[28] The Washington Post,[29] the Los Angeles Times[30] and The Philadelphia Inquirer.[31]

Prendergast travels regularly to Africa's war zones on fact-finding missions, peace-making initiatives and awareness-raising trips.[32] He is part of a fellowship program at St. Mary's College of Maryland[33] and a visiting professor at the University of San Diego,[34] Eckerd College[35] and the American University in Cairo.[36]

[edit] Works

[edit] Books

  • Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond, by Don Cheadle, John Prendergast, published by Hyperion, 2007 ISBN 1401303358, 9781401303358
  • Crafting Peace: Strategies to Deal with Warlords in Collapsing States, by Sasha Lezhnev, John Prendergast, published by Lexington Books, 2006 ISBN 0739117653, 9780739117651
  • God, Oil & Country: Changing the Logic of War in Sudan, principal author, John Prendergast, published by Crisis Group, (Africa Report, 39), January 28, 2002 ASIN: B000FPCBP
  • Crisis Response: Humanitarian Band-aids in Sudan and Somalia, principal author, John Prendergast, Inc NetLibrary, NetLibrary, Inc., published by Center of Concern, 1997 ISBN 0585380309, 9780585380308
  • Frontline Diplomacy: Humanitarian Aid and Conflict in Africa, by John Prendergast, Center of Concern (Washington, D.C.), published by L. Rienner, 1996 ISBN 155587696X, 9781555876968
  • Civilian Devastation: Abuses by All Parties in the War in Southern Sudan, by Jemera Rone, John Prendergast, Karen Sorensen, Human Rights Watch/Africa, Human Rights Watch (Organization), published by Human Rights Watch, 1994 ISBN 1564321290, 9781564321299
  • Without Troops & Tanks: The Emergency Relief Desk and the Cross Border Operation Into Eritrea and Tigray, by Mark R. Duffield, John Prendergast, published by The Red Sea Press, 1994 ISBN 1569020035, 9781569020036
  • Peace, Development, and People of the Horn of Africa, by John Prendergast, Bread for the World (Organization). Institute on Hunger & Development, Center of Concern (Washington, D.C.), published by Center of Concern, 1992 ISBN 0962805823, 9780962805820

[edit] Selected articles

Articles authored or co-authored by John Prendergast and published by notable publications or news sites.

[edit] Video and multi-media

[edit] References

  1. ^ "The Enough Project". http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5096&l=1. 
  2. ^ "Remarks at Ethiopia/Eritrea Peace Agreement Ceremony". United States Institute of Peace. December 20, 2000. http://www.usip.org/files/file/resources/collections/peace_agreements/er_ethio_albright_12122000.pdf. 
  3. ^ "Official Delegation Accompanying the President to Africa". Press release. March 20, 1998. http://clinton3.nara.gov/Africa/delegation.html. 
  4. ^ "Youth Counselor". http://www.enoughproject.org/content/john-prendergast-co-founder. 
  5. ^ "Basketball Coach". http://www.enoughproject.org/content/john-prendergast-co-founder. 
  6. ^ "Paperback Bestellers: May 20, 2007". The New York Times. May 20, 2007. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9902E1DE1431F933A15756C0A9619C8B63&scp=1&sq=%22not%20on%20our%20watch%22%20best%20seller&st=cse. 
  7. ^ "39th NAACP Image Award Winners". NAACP. http://www.naacpimageawards.net/40/winners.php. 
  8. ^ "Crown Publishing's Good Causes: May 20, 2007". Random House. http://stage.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6642507.html?industryid=47151. 
  9. ^ "Sand and Sorrow". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1003051/. 
  10. ^ "Darfur Now". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0988102/fullcredits#cast. 
  11. ^ "3 Points". http://www.darfurdreamteam.org/. 
  12. ^ "War Child". http://warchildmovie.com/pages/show_page/2. 
  13. ^ "Journey Into Sunset". http://www.journeyintosunset.com/bios.html. 
  14. ^ "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit". March 30, 2009. http://www.enoughproject.org/news/press-release-enough-project-applauds-nbc-law-and-order-svu-episode-uganda-rebel-group. 
  15. ^ "Reporter's Notebook: Actor Don Cheadle in Sudan". February 9, 2005. http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/Oscars2005/story?id=486002&page=1&page=1. 
  16. ^ "Crisis in Sudan.". The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. October 20, 2004. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/africa/july-dec04/sudan_10-20.html. 
  17. ^ "60 Minutes, Witnessing Genocide in Sudan". CBS News. August 28, 2005. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/10/08/60minutes/main648277.shtml. 
  18. ^ "60 Minutes, Searching for Jacob". CBS News. October 22, 2006. http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=2113182n&tag=related;photovideo. 
  19. ^ "Emmy Award". CBS News. July 07, 2007. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/07/19/60minutes/main3075310.shtml?source=RSSattr=60Minutes_3075310%3C. 
  20. ^ "60 Minutes, Congo's Gold". CBS News. November 29, 2009. http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5825988n&tag=cbsnewsSidebarArea.0. 
  21. ^ "Congo's Conflict Minerals". The Enough Project. November 29, 2009. http://www.enoughproject.org/conflict-minerals. 
  22. ^ "Sudan's Ravines of Death, by John Prendergast, July 15, 2004". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/15/opinion/sudan-s-ravines-of-death.html?scp=1&sq=john+prendergast&st=nyt. 
  23. ^ "Will Obama Finally Pay Attention to Sudan?, by John Prendergast, October 21, 2009". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704500604574485410952919376.html. 
  24. ^ "Bodies Lined Up in the Desert of Darfur, by John Prendergast, July 16, 2004.". The International Herald Tribune. http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=2877&l=1. 
  25. ^ "The Africa Portfolio: Contributors Gayle Smith and John Prendergast, June 5, 2007". Vanity Fair. http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/2007/07/tribs200707?currentPage=2. 
  26. ^ Men's Vogue, November 2007.
  27. ^ "Secret Activist Man, by Christine Spines, June 6, 2008". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20203169,00.html. 
  28. ^ "Books That Made a Difference to Don Cheadle, 2007". Oprah Magazine. http://www.oprah.com/article/omagazine/books/obc_omag_200707_books. 
  29. ^ "Activist for Africa John Prendergast, by Neely Tucker, September 3, 2006.". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/31/AR2006083101576.html. 
  30. ^ "Helping Hollywood get serious about Africa, by Tina Daunt, January 12, 2007.". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2007/jan/12/entertainment/et-cause12.. 
  31. ^ "U.S.'s Deadly Errors in Darfur, by John Prendergast, September 14, 2006.". The Philadelphia Inquirer. http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4378.. 
  32. ^ "John Prendergast in the DRC, August 2009". http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/videos. 
  33. ^ "St. Mary's College of Maryland, Nitze Scholars Program". http://www.thepointnews.com/2009/09/human-rights-activist-named-nitze-senior-fellow. 
  34. ^ "University of San Diego Scholar in Residence, Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies". http://www.sandiego.edu/peacestudies/academics/bio.php?id=400,. 
  35. ^ "Eckerd College". http://www.enoughproject.org/content/john-prendergast-co-founder. 
  36. ^ "Distinguished Visiting Professor at the American University in Cairo". http://www.aucegypt.edu/newsevents/Pages/NewsRelease.aspx?rid=56. 

[edit] External links

[edit] Speeches. interviews and panels