just read: Not For Sale

Myth: In our country slavery was abolished at the conclusion of the civil war.

Truth: we may not be openly engaging in transatlantic trade of Africans, but slavery is alive and well within the borders of the US. We are a destination, transit and supply location for the modern day slave trade. I've posted about this before here and here.

I recently finished reading the book NOT FOR SALE which is about the global slave trade and how we can stand against it. Due to my work I am very familiar with the issues highlighted in the book and could write a novel myself filled with stories of human exploitation encountered around the world.

There are some statistics in this book that you might find surprising:

• over 100,000 people live enslaved at the moment in the US
  
• an additional 17,500 new victims are trafficked across our borders each year
  
• over 30,000 more slaves are transported through the US on their way to other International destinations


• more slaves are in bondage today than were bartered in four centuries of the transatlantic slave trade

I share these particular statistics because so many of my readers reside in the United States. There are similar statistics from all over the world. You don't have to have a job like mine to make a difference, you can make a difference in your community. You can become an abolitionist without leaving your home town. The author of the book says:

"I am convinced that every single individual can make a valuable contribution to arrest the global slave trade. If you doubt that fact, it is probably because you underestiate the power of your personal resources...Truly, the hardest step to take is the first one: the commitment to take action. The ensuing steps have a way of revealing themselves." -David Batstone

I was recently on an airplane with a man who lives in Charlotte, NC. He has become very passionate about ending slavery and human trafficking. He started within his community and discovered there was no where for those who are freed from bondage to go. Reintegration programs are hard to come by, so he decided to do something. He started asking companies to hire these women who had been enslaved. He told me a story of a woman who had been trafficked and forced to perform sexual acts with men. The police realeased her thanks to the anti-trafficking laws in our country (prior to these laws we would prosecute the victims as prostitutes, so they were violated not only by their capture but also our policies). He had a company willing to hire her and needed a place for her to stay for a couple of weeks. He called churches, he asked friends. The result: no one was willing to allow this woman in to their home. They viewed her as a Jezebel. He was shocked at the lack of compassion for a woman trying to pull the pieces of her life back together. This is just one example of an action that could have made a difference, if he had found anyone willing to act.

Open your eyes and hearts. Once you do that, I am convinced you will be used to alleviate human suffering. How can I be so sure? There is suffering all around us waiting on individuals to respond.

Citizen of the world

Recently, when I was traveling with my colleague from Africa. We were at dinner with the William's family in Virginia. There were many conversations about world events. My colleague referred to me as a "citizen of the world." I'm not sure what that means, but I like it.

What do you think it means to be a citizen of the world? Is it just reserved to someone who travels as much as me or is it broader? what would the results be if we all considered ourselves citizens of the world?

Weddings 101

A few weeks ago Kenyon and I attended the wedding of some friends, Alex and Kenisha. Actually, they were already married, this was a vow renewal ceremony. It was a beautiful ceremony and we had a great time at the reception. The reception included dancing - which I absolutely love to do. Some favorites are the cha-cha slide and the cupid shuffle.

Fastforward a couple of weeks and we are invited to another wedding. This time it is wedding of one of my colleagues. A converstion ensued with Kenyon that made me laugh hysterically and also pointed out to me the influence culture has on weddings.

Case One: Cupid Shuffle
This dance is often seen where black people gather, do a search on youtube if you think I'm lying. Personally, I love it and if I'm in the room where the song is playing you will find me on the dance floor. Here is one example I found online so you know what I'm talking about.


Case Two: La Marcha
This is a tradition at latin weddings. It gets everybody up, out of their chairs and on the dance floor - which is where most of us want to be anyway, it just announces that it's time for the dancing to begin because we expect it anyway. I did a search on youtube and couldn't find a good marcha video, so here are some pictures from my friend Deann's wedding and our own wedding reception in New Mexico.

Case Three: Chicken Dance
I have never attended a black or Hispanic wedding where the chicken dance was present. However, it is a regual favorite at white weddings. In fact, we were talking about this again at work and someone said, they always have the chicken dance at weddings. I replied, "not always." Here is an example I found online for the chicken dance in case you aren't familiar with it.

After these recent discussions, what I'm learning is that what dance you do at weddings may be a product of your culture.

Kenyon asked if my colleague will be playing Jamie Foxx's "Blame it" song at her wedding reception. I seriously doubt it, her culture dictates that she is most likely to have a string quartet or four piece jazz band for background music to the conversation. But, maybe she will surprise me?

What kind of music would you expect to hear at a wedding? One from the above selection, or maybe something else?

welcome to America!

I was recently in Fredricksburg, Virginia visiting a friend over the weekend. I had a colleague with me from Africa. He is a native Kenyan and looking at attending graduate school in the States next year. One morning as we were leaving we went out to our borrowed car and what did we find? Eggs all over the car!

The car we were borrowing is usually driven by a 16 year old boy in the household. I'm sure the eggers were targeting him and not us. We got in the car, drove to the nearest gas station and began washing the windows so we could continue on with our very packed schedule for the day. I've never been a fan of egging or TP'ing. I know some people think it's just kids being kids, but I've always (even when I was young) considered it vandalism.

As we are wiping down the windows my colleague said something that caused me to dislike this juvenile form of entertainment even more. He said, "there are families in Africa who would have loved to receive these eggs to feed their children, here they are just throwing them away." Wow! Talk about a reality check!

The only response I could come up with is, "welcome to America!"

We don't have to go all the way to Africa to find hungry children. There are hungry children in America who could have eaten those eggs. Then I thought about my own life. Do I have wasteful practices? Could my wasteful practices help these?

I may not be throwing eggs at a car, but there are wasteful things I do weekly if not daily. How can I stop being wasteful even in the midst of the wealth I am surrounded with? How can I change my perspective to be more considerate of those in need?

wrong number

I recently changed phone providers. I heart Verizon Wireless. I have been a loyal customer for years. When I took this job they issued me a Blackberry from AT&T. When my contract was up I asked to change service providers and return to my beloved Verizon. They agreed, but I had to change phone numbers. Fine.

Ever since I have been getting calls from creditors non stop. Some lady named Stephanie had this phone before me. How do I know her name? Because I am constantly asked for her by credit card companies, banks that hold loans and other credit agencies. I have to convince them I am NOT Stephanie and please stop calling my phone. This happens nearly everyday. Stephanie, wherever you are, get your house in order girl!

These phone calls are incredibly annoying. Has this happened to anyone else?