Defend Darfur Dallas

Tents of Hope in Dallas, TX

Tents of Hope in Dallas, TX has been a collaborative effort of people from around North Texas for more than ten months.  Through group efforts, we have painted and used our tents in multiple areas of Dallas to raise awareness and promote peace in Darfur.  The Dallas Holocaust Museum, the Dallas Peace Center, Art for Darfur, Dallas Artists Rally for Urgent Relief (D.A.R.F.U.R.) in Darfur (a part of Art for Darfur), Amnesty International, Defend Darfur Dallas (a chapter of the Save Darfur Coalition), and friends of these groups, have worked together to give a voice to the people of Darfur in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.

Initially, two of our groups bought tents around the same time in the early spring of 2008.  SMU student members of Art for Darfur were planning their second Art for Darfur silent art auction for April 12th, 2008 on the school campus.  The event was co-sponsored by the SMU chapter of Amnesty International.  They realized they needed something unique, something to catch people's attention rather than holding normal fund-raiser. They brainstormed and came up with the idea of a traveling tent that would move from community to community in Dallas with each group adding some of their personality and message of hope to the collective process, and one of their members had heard about Tents of Hope. The tent was painted before the event by several church groups and was set up outside the silent auction.

 The second tent was purchased by the Holocaust Museum on behalf of Defend Darfur Dallas.  DDD had heard about Tents of Hope through Save Darfur, and had decided to buy a tent with the museum’s assistance to raise awareness of Global Days for Darfur in April.  The timing was perfect to have their Global Days event focus around the tent.  It seemed like a practical hands on way to get people involved, and it also provided us with a tool to use at future events to draw attention to the issue.

Art for Darfur and Defend Darfur Dallas found out about each other’s tents, and decided to collaborate for the Art for Darfur event taking place at the same time as Global Days for Darfur and paint the DDD tent at the silent auction, while the finished Art for Darfur tent stood nearby.  Many children, including those from Lakewood Elementary featured in our best photograph of the event and now on the homepage of the Tents of Hope website, participated in painting the tent.


Also in the spring, a church youth group from First Unitarian of Dallas bought a tent and painted it to raise awareness.  The youth group used the tent to teach congregation members about Darfur at a number of church events.  A large group of youth and adults will travel with their tent to D.C. in November.  (I couldn’t get in contact with the youth group leader to get more details, but I can certainly do so if you’d like more information).

On April 17th, Elliot Dlin, director of the Dallas Holocaust Museum, took the completed Art for Darfur tent to Hurst High School in Euless, TX for Nicholas Kristof’s, (Pulitzer Prize winner and columnist for the New York Times) Dallas World Affairs Council talk, “Reporting from Darfur: First Genocide of the 21st Century.”   The Tent of Hope was set up on the auditorium stage of the high school, and several hundred Junior World Affairs Council students from all over Dallas watched Kristof’s speech and were educated on the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

In May, the Dallas Peace Center became more involved with Tents of Hope as members of that group, Paulette and Bob Cooper, who had journeyed to Darfur with Thirst No More, a Texas non-profit that drills and repairs water pumps there, spoke of their experiences in Sudan to local high school students.  At these high schools the Art for Darfur tent was set on the stage on the auditorium during Darfur rallies and educational classes.  At one high school in Frisco, the tent sat in the cafeteria for a week before their Darfur Rally.  Also, a high school in Keller, TX received the Defend Darfur Dallas tent for a week and painted it as part of their educational program.

On August 15th, Defend Darfur Dallas hosted a Movie Night at the Dallas Holocaust Museum showcasing George Clooney’s “Sand and Sorrow,” and Peace Center members Paulette and Bob Cooper spoke as the featured speakers.  The Art for Darfur tent was set up in the foyer of the museum for more than seventy attendees to look at.  At that event a number of people asked about the tent, and made plans to display the tent at their events before November.

On September 13th, the DDD tent was displayed and painted as the main event at the Crooked Tree Coffeehouse in Dallas.  The tent painting was co-sponsored by Dallas Artists Rally for Urgent Relief (D.A.R.F.U.R.) in Darfur and Defend Darfur Dallas.  The tent painting was open to everyone, and many people, including a large group of Dallas International School students, painted on the tent throughout the evening while listening to live music.  A videographer, Quinton Hershiser, recorded the event for a Youtube video that will be featured on the homepage of the Tents of Hope website.  The video was completely unscripted, and featured Laura McCarthy, director of Defend Darfur Dallas, Paulette Cooper, member of the Dallas Peace Center, and Elliot Dlin, director of the Dallas Holocaust Museum.

 At a silent auction gala by D.A.R.F.U.R. on September 20th benefiting Thirst No More, the Art for Darfur tent was set up outside the building for visitors to look at before attending the auction.  The tent was also used to promote the upcoming professional artist tent painting in October.  Attendees enjoyed art donated by amateur and professional artists, and the Amber Chand Collection baskets that were made in Darfur by women in the refugee camps.

On October 8th, the DDD tent traveled to El Centro College in Dallas for a day long presentation by Dallas area speakers and a film screening of “Sand and Sorrow” and “The Devil Came on Horseback.”  Students of the college painted the tent throughout the day while listening to the speakers.

In mid-October the DDD tent went to the Dallas International School for a week and was completed by the students.  Children of all ages from around the world painted messages on the tent.

Also in mid-October, D.A.R.F.U.R. sponsored the painting of two new tents by four professional artists under Brenda Taylor Productions.  These four artists will design and paint the tent during an event featuring live music and speakers.  This event will be the closing ceremony of the Dallas Tent of Hope campaign, and the tents will then be shipped to D.C. for the national Gathering of the Tents.

For more information on the groups listed above please visit our Links page.