By Vanessa Adams | Photographer
Sitting in history class, I learn about slave trades and brutal racism, but as I leave my seat and open social media, I see we are right back where we started. So many people are blind to the harsh truth of our world, and we can’t keep using an oasis to describe the dystopian earth we know.
We’re a lucky enough species that we have the privilege of empathy, and we need to use that to fuel a greater society.
The Walk Free organization defines slavery as “… situations of exploitation that a person cannot refuse or leave because of threats, violence, coercion, or deception.” Approximately 50 million people are illegally enslaved around the world. To put that into perspective, that’s 155% of Texas’ population or the entire population of Spain.
Modern slavery succeeds when we ignore it. Slavery can include forced marriage or labor, human trafficking and much more. According to the same Walk Free organization study, countries experiencing large amounts of debt usually have the highest number of enslaved peoples. This isn’t something we can just breeze over.
According to the American Jewish Committee, 73% of American Jews say they have experienced anti-semitism online, and more than half say they’ve changed their behavior strictly due to fear on anti-semitism.
Thousands of American Jews everyday feel like they can’t safely go out due to the hate crimes experienced by others. No one should have to live in constant fear of being themselves.
Based on a June 2017 analysis from US News and World Report, Mississippi had 5 reported Ku Klux Klan groups. That’s hard to believe, but it’s true. Many people think that these groups are declining, if not gone, but it’s quite the contrary. These hate groups are still large and constantly hurting so many people.
According to US News and World Report, nationwide there is estimated 3,000 Klan members and unaffiliated people who identify with the Klans ideology. In the same study, they also found that more than half of the existing groups have formed in the last 10 years.
While we believe that we are progressing towards a new and improved society, the reality is that we are constantly moving backwards.
We teach history like it’s the past. Maybe it’s because we’re uncomfortable with the topics, but your comfort doesn’t make a change. Speak about these topics. Be uncomfortable. It’s not a conspiracy theory, it’s hard hitting facts.
We, as Americans, are privileged and given a cushy idea of the past. But its not the past, its the present, and we cannot let it be the future.
