"Too often African-American perspectives on Africa are fashioned by mainstream (white) media" Rahiel Tesfamariam told a meeting of the Pan-African Informational Series on Sudan and Darfur. Ms. Tesfamariam, former editor of the Washington Informer Newspaper, said "American citizens, particularly African Americans, need to focus more on Africa as an important site in our culture and interest".

A native of Eritrea, a country that borders southeastern Sudan, Tesfamariam says "media manipulation and misinformation" distorts African Americans perceptions about Sudan and that "more Black Press is need to go there and provide more balanced reporting about this important country that historically is such an significant part of black culture".

"As a result of the reports we were receiving of protestors of slavery and genocide occurring in Sudan, last January I reluctantly decided to accept an invitation to join an African American Leadership Delegation to Sudan," Ms. Tesfamariam told the group. "My family and my friends feared for my safety in that turbulent land. But, after my arrival, the veil of the monster that was painted for me as Sudan was removed from my eyes and I begin to see a land, its people, their history and our duty to them," she said.

Tesfamariam encourages more direct African-American reports from Sudan and Darfur to counter "sensationalist" media coverage that "seeks to reduce the incredibly complex Darfur issue into one of an attempt by an Arab-dominated government in Khartoum to wipe out its black citizens in Darfur". "That neglected part of their vision is reason for African-Americans and others to learn about Africa. Africa is the mother of humankind. And African Americans need more educational and cultural stimulation toward Africa.

That focus should cease being on aid and tears and more toward encouraging involvement in sustainable economic development opportunities in Africa, and generating greater interest about Africa" said Ms. Tesfamariam.

Ms. Tesfamariam pointed out that "There is a rich diversity to Sudan. Roughly 40 percent of the population is estimated to be 'Arab' and 60 percent 'African'. Roughly 60 percent are estimated to be Muslim. There are close to 600 ethnic groups and over 100 languages spoken in the South. It is true that an Arab and Islamic identity prevails in the North, and an African and Christian identity in the South; still, it is an over-simplification to reduce Sudanese diversity to this equation". She said she supports Give Peace a Chance Coalition's (GPAC) initiatives to revitalize interest in Africa, and personally supports peace initiatives among all parties in Sudan regardless of their political affiliation.