By Miranda Browning
Since 2009, End Slavery Now has globally partnered with anti slavery organizations with the common goals of teaching the public about the issues at hand, connect with organizations, and taking actions to end slavery. While modern slavery is often linked to the anti-trafficking landscape by public perception, this movement focuses on multiple facets of anti-slavery: bonded labor, domestic servitude, forced marriage, sex trafficking, and child labor. When the organization grew too large for its original office in 2013, it moved office and joined the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. So…why Shine a Light on Slavery?
There are an estimated 21 million to 45 million people trapped in some form of slavery today. It’s sometimes called “Modern-Day Slavery” and sometimes “Human Trafficking.” At all times it is slavery at its core.
© 2023 End Slavery Now
The statistics surrounding these atrocities vary by organization and study, however, there is an undeniable truth that it is a pandemic. A human issue that in one way or another we are all connected to or affected by. Whether you own clothing or products from companies who engage in unethical labor practices or if you’re a survivor of exploitation – you cannot ignore the issue. Shining a light and spreading education and awareness is the very least we can do to take action against these evils in the world.
It is also important to say here that the history and lived experience of Black Americans should not be minimized or overlooked by the anti-slavery and anti-trafficking movement. I deeply believe that to engage in those movements is to also acknowledge and take a stance of anti-racism. As an individual and as an organization, we seek to evolve – to grow and learn in the realms of anti-trafficking and anti-slavery while respecting the lived experience of those affected by it and using the language that best honors those individuals.
Miranda Browning is the Creative Marketing Director of Grit Plus Gumption Farmstead, a 501c3 nonprofit.
If you’d like to know more about getting involved with Grit Plus Gumption and the work that we do, please email us at info@gritplusgumption.org and connect with us on social media.