John Prendergast
Encyclopedia
John Prendergast is an American human rights activist, author, and former Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council
. He is the co-founder of the Enough Project
, a non profit human rights organization affiliated with the Center for American Progress
. Prendergast is also a board member and serves as Strategic Advisor to Not On Our Watch.
, focusing primarily on peace and human rights. At the end of 1996, he joined the National Security Council as Director for African Affairs and thereafter served as a special adviser to Susan Rice at the United States Department of State
. As a special adviser, Prendergast was part of the facilitation team behind the successful two-and-a-half-year U.S. effort to broker an end to the war between Ethiopia
and Eritrea
. Prendergast left government in 2001 to become Special Adviser to the President of the International Crisis Group
on Africa issues, and in 2007, with Gayle Smith he co-founded the Enough Project, housed at the Center for American Progress
.
Under the Enough Project umbrella, Prendergast has helped create a number of initiatives and campaigns. With George Clooney
, he helped launch the Satellite Sentinel Project
, which aims to prevent conflict and human rights abuses through satellite imagery. With Tracy McGrady
and other NBA players, Prendergast co-founded the Darfur Dream Team: Sister Schools Initiative to fund schools in Darfur
ian refugee camps and create partnerships with schools in the United States. He helped launch two campaigns under Enough: the Raise Hope for Congo Campaign, highlighting the issue of conflict minerals
, and Sudan Now, focused on bringing peace to that embattled country.
Prendergast is the author or co-author of ten books. His previous two books were co-authored with Don Cheadle
: Not On Our Watch, a New York Times bestseller and NAACP non-fiction book of the year, and The Enough Moment
: Fighting to End Africa's Worst Human Rights Crimes. His most recent book, Unlikely Brothers
, is a dual memoir co-authored with his first little brother in the Big Brothers program.
Prendergast has appeared in four episodes of 60 Minutes
,
and helped create African characters and stories for two episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
, one focusing on the recruitment of child soldiers
and the other on rape as a war strategy. Prendergast has also traveled to Africa
with NBC
’s Dateline, ABC
’s Nightline
, The PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and CNN
’s Inside Africa.
He has appeared in several documentaries including: Sand and Sorrow
, Darfur Now
, 3 Points, and War Child. He co-produced Journey into Sunset, and is Executive Producer of Staging Hope: Acts of Peace in Northern Uganda, both about Northern Uganda
, and partnered with Downtown Records
and Mercer Street Records
to create the compilation album Raise Hope for Congo, combating sexual violence against women and girls in Congo.
National Security Council
A National Security Council is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security...
. He is the co-founder of the Enough Project
Enough Project
Enough is a project of the Center for American Progress , based in Washington, D.C., created to end genocide and crimes against humanity. Its Co-Founders are John Prendergast and Gayle Smith; its Executive Director is John C. Bradshaw, J.D....
, a non profit human rights organization affiliated with the Center for American Progress
Center for American Progress
The Center for American Progress is a progressive public policy research and advocacy organization. Its website states that the organization is "dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through progressive ideas and action." It has its headquarters in Washington D.C.Its President and Chief...
. Prendergast is also a board member and serves as Strategic Advisor to Not On Our Watch.
Career
In the latter half of the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s, Prendergast worked for a variety of organizations in the U.S. and AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, focusing primarily on peace and human rights. At the end of 1996, he joined the National Security Council as Director for African Affairs and thereafter served as a special adviser to Susan Rice at the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
. As a special adviser, Prendergast was part of the facilitation team behind the successful two-and-a-half-year U.S. effort to broker an end to the war between Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
and Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
. Prendergast left government in 2001 to become Special Adviser to the President of the International Crisis Group
International Crisis Group
The International Crisis Group is an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization whose mission is to prevent and resolve deadly conflicts around the world through field-based analyses and high-level advocacy.-History:...
on Africa issues, and in 2007, with Gayle Smith he co-founded the Enough Project, housed at the Center for American Progress
Center for American Progress
The Center for American Progress is a progressive public policy research and advocacy organization. Its website states that the organization is "dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through progressive ideas and action." It has its headquarters in Washington D.C.Its President and Chief...
.
Under the Enough Project umbrella, Prendergast has helped create a number of initiatives and campaigns. With George Clooney
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...
, he helped launch the Satellite Sentinel Project
Satellite Sentinel Project
The Satellite Sentinel Project, or SSP, was conceived by George Clooney during an October 2010 visit to Southern Sudan with Enough Project co-founder, John Prendergast...
, which aims to prevent conflict and human rights abuses through satellite imagery. With Tracy McGrady
Tracy McGrady
Tracy Lamar McGrady, Jr., is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Detroit Pistons.Entering the league after graduating from high school, McGrady eventually became a seven-time All-Star. He led the league in scoring in 2003 and 2004. He has also played for the Toronto...
and other NBA players, Prendergast co-founded the Darfur Dream Team: Sister Schools Initiative to fund schools in Darfur
Darfur
Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...
ian refugee camps and create partnerships with schools in the United States. He helped launch two campaigns under Enough: the Raise Hope for Congo Campaign, highlighting the issue of conflict minerals
Conflict minerals
Conflict minerals are minerals mined in conditions of armed conflict and human rights abuses, notably in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, by the Congolese National Army and various armed rebel groups, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda...
, and Sudan Now, focused on bringing peace to that embattled country.
Prendergast is the author or co-author of ten books. His previous two books were co-authored with Don Cheadle
Don Cheadle
Donald Frank "Don" Cheadle, Jr. is an American film actor and producer. Cheadle rose to prominence in the late 1990s and the early 2000s for his supporting roles in the Steven Soderbergh-directed films Out of Sight, Traffic, and Ocean's Eleven...
: Not On Our Watch, a New York Times bestseller and NAACP non-fiction book of the year, and The Enough Moment
The Enough Moment
The Enough Moment: Fighting to End Africa's Worst Human Rights Crimes is the second book co-authored by actor Don Cheadle, and co-founder of the Enough Project and human rights activist, John Prendergast...
: Fighting to End Africa's Worst Human Rights Crimes. His most recent book, Unlikely Brothers
Unlikely Brothers
Unlikely Brothers: Our Story of Adventure, Loss and Redemption is co-authored by human rights activist and Co-Founder of the Enough Project, John Prendergast and his "Little Brother", Michael Mattocks.-Summary:...
, is a dual memoir co-authored with his first little brother in the Big Brothers program.
Prendergast has appeared in four episodes of 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
,
and helped create African characters and stories for two episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
, one focusing on the recruitment of child soldiers
and the other on rape as a war strategy. Prendergast has also traveled to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
with NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
’s Dateline, ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
’s Nightline
Nightline
Nightline, or ABC News Nightline is a late-night news program broadcast by ABC in the United States, and has a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. It airs weeknights, usually for 31 minutes. Created by Roone Arledge, the program featured Ted Koppel as its main...
, The PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
’s Inside Africa.
He has appeared in several documentaries including: Sand and Sorrow
Sand and Sorrow
Sand And Sorrow: A New Documentary about Darfur is a 2007 American documentary film about the Darfur crisis that is narrated and co-executive produced by George Clooney...
, Darfur Now
Darfur Now
Darfur Now is a 2007 documentary film examining the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. It was written and directed by Ted Braun and produced by Don Cheadle, Mark Jonathan Harris and Cathy Schulman. Executive Producers were Jeffrey Skoll and Omar Amanat...
, 3 Points, and War Child. He co-produced Journey into Sunset, and is Executive Producer of Staging Hope: Acts of Peace in Northern Uganda, both about Northern Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, and partnered with Downtown Records
Downtown Records
Downtown Records is a record label owned and operated by Downtown Music LLC. Music on the Downtown label is distributed by Universal Music's Fontana Distribution and, for certain releases, as a joint venture with Atlantic Records and also for select releases, by Alternative Distribution Alliance...
and Mercer Street Records
Mercer Street Records
Mercer Street Records, is an imprint of Downtown Records, a unit of Downtown Music LLC. Since 2010, the superstar Grammy/MTV VMA-winner Cyndi Lauper, is signed to the label.-See also:* Downtown Music LLC* Downtown Records* Downtown Music Publishing...
to create the compilation album Raise Hope for Congo, combating sexual violence against women and girls in Congo.
Books
- Unlikely BrothersUnlikely BrothersUnlikely Brothers: Our Story of Adventure, Loss and Redemption is co-authored by human rights activist and Co-Founder of the Enough Project, John Prendergast and his "Little Brother", Michael Mattocks.-Summary:...
by John Prendergast and Michael Mattocks, published by Random House, May 17, 2011 ISBN 9780307464842 - The Enough MomentThe Enough MomentThe Enough Moment: Fighting to End Africa's Worst Human Rights Crimes is the second book co-authored by actor Don Cheadle, and co-founder of the Enough Project and human rights activist, John Prendergast...
: Fighting to End Africa's Worst Human Rights Crimes by John Prendergast with Don Cheadle, published by Random House, 2010 ISBN 9780307464828 - Not On Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond, by Don Cheadle, John Prendergast, published by Hyperion, 2007 ISBN 9781401303358
- Crafting Peace: Strategies to Deal with Warlords in Collapsing States, by Sasha Lezhnev, John Prendergast, published by Lexington Books, 2006 ISBN 9780739117651
- Blood and Soil: Land, Politics and Conflict Prevention in Zimbabwe and South Africa, by John Prendergast, published by International Crisis Group, 2004 ISBN 9780976085300
- God, Oil & Country: Changing the Logic of War in Sudan, principal author, John Prendergast, published by International 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 9780585380308
- Frontline Diplomacy: Humanitarian Aid and Conflict in Africa, by John Prendergast, Center of Concern (Washington, D.C.), published by L. Rienner, 1996 ISBN 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 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 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 9780962805820