NEW YORK - March 15 - Former NBA star Manute Bol and former Sudanese slave, Simon Deng, will hold a press conference TODAY, at 1:00 PM, at the UN Dag Hammarskjold Plaza (47th and 1st Ave.) to commence a 300-mile walk from New York to Washington, DC.

The purpose of the walk is to shed light on the genocide and modern-day slavery in Sudan, and to call for U.S. government action to stop the violence and enslavement of black African Sudanese.

Manute Bol, known for his advocacy on behalf of Sudan, is the second tallest player to appear in the NBA and holds the all-time NBA record for the most blocked shots per minute. Spanning five states, the walk will stop in 19 cities -- including Philadelphia and Baltimore -- and will end in front of the Capitol on April 5th. The first stop will be in Fort Lee, NJ.

See: http://sudanfreedomwalk.org

At nine, Deng, a native of Southern Sudan was captured and sold to an Arab family in Northern Sudan. He was enslaved for over three years until he escaped. Now 44, Deng speaks on his difficult childhood and about the atrocities that continue to plague Sudan. One of the first 40 Sudanese to come to the US on political asylum, Deng has emerged a national leader among the 250,000 Sudanese Refugees now living in the US.

The Sudan Campaign is the direct action effort of a coalition of organizations working on behalf black Africans in Sudan that have suffered violence and slavery at the hands of their government. Partner organizations include Christian Solidarity International, the Center for Religious Freedom at Freedom House, the Institute on Religion and Democracy, the National Black Leadership Roundtable, the Institute on Religion and Public Policy, the American Anti-Slavery Group and others

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