Out of Diversity, a Unanimous Demand

"Holocaust memorial day has just been observed," she said. "This pricks the soul of everyone who has ever studied and mourned the loss of fellow Jews and fellow human beings."

Some Sudanese immigrants said they were pleased to see a wide range of people at the rally.

"It makes me feel wonderful that there are people that actually care about what is going on in the world," said Emtithal Mahmoud, 12, whose father is a member of the Darfur Alert Coalition. "People that want to make a difference, people who want to help." Emtithal's family was forced to flee their homeland when she was 5.

Sharon Benveneste, 67, of Havertown, Pa., came to town with a group representing five or six congregations from the Philadelphia area.

"We hate the idea of wholesale killing anywhere in the world. But this is so dastardly, what is happening in Darfur. And hopefully we will convince our government to help stop the raping and the killing in the villages," Benveneste said.

The rally also drew veterans of the civil rights movement, including Al Sharpton and Benjamin Chavis Muhammad, who was executive director of the Million Man March about a decade ago and is president of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, an advocacy group, as well as elected officials from both major political parties.

Sharpton, who at times has clashed with Jewish leaders, said: "I think it is historic, but the historic part of it will only mean something if we stop the genocide. We can't just have this as a picnic of interdenominational, interpolitical harmony. We must go to our respective constituents to have it stop."

Staff writers Karlyn Barker and Lisa Rein contributed to this report.