On the Occasion of the 2008 International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

Power concedes nothing without demand. It never has and it never will. ~ Frederick Douglass

December 2, 2008

Dear Friends,

Less than 150 years have passed since the demands of Frederick Douglass and the Abolitionists helped end institutionalized slavery in America. Celebrations ensued; it was over. Unfortunately, the need for one person to enslave another has proven to be a disease more chronic than cured. As it goes, just when were certain the last ember of slavery has been extinguished it emerges again from the shadows transformed - driven by an unrelenting lust for power and profit.

As I write on this day, December 2, 2008, there are an estimated 27 million people living in a state of servitude in all corners of the world - most of whom are women and children. I, along with the entire Frederick Douglass family, ask for a renewed vigilance against this determined enemy of Human Rights. The Emancipation Proclamation is a hallowed document that set free millions of slaves in the United States. But modern-day slavery is much more complex and dangerous than ever. It will take more than a single stroke of the pen to stop. It will take thousands.

Stand beside me in commemorating this day: the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, as designated by the United Nations in 1949. I ask that you commit to learning and teaching about the plight of millions that remain enslaved. If we are united in our efforts and unyielding in our will, we shall succeed.

Please take a moment to read the pledge below. By adding your signature to this important document, we can raise our voices in unison to help shed light and rage against the practice of modern-day slavery and human trafficking here in the U.S. and around the world.

Truly yours,

Nettie Washington Douglass
Great great granddaughter, Frederick Douglass
Great granddaughter, Booker T. Washington
Chairwoman
Frederick Douglass Family Foundation
www.fdff.org
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On the Occasion of the 2008 International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

We the below, having realized our responsibilities as humankind, join in support of the below pledges.

Whereas We Realize

That slavery, while abolished and made illegal all throughout the world by the passage of many laws, covenants and treaties, both years ago and in recent times, remains a blight and reality upon many people who are treated inhumanely; and

That myriad persons have been and/or are still suffering forms of enslavement, servitude, and exploitation, by force, coercion and various other means, for profit and/or the pleasure of others; and

That millions of persons so maintained and procured for such exploitation and servitude live virtually throughout the entire world as well as in our own communities; and

That women and children suffer disproportionally in the illegal and immoral trade and subsequent exploitation of persons and are specifically targeted by traffickers because of vulnerabilities of age and strength as well as social and economic status; and

That all persons have inherent rights and amongst those being primarily the right to personal freedom and to live a life of dignity; and

That all forms of slavery, human trafficking, and servitude are repugnant to the sensibility of all humanity; and

We Therefore Now Unite and Pledge

To commemorate December 2nd of each year, the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, as designated by the United Nations in 1949, with a renewed determination to end the practice of slavery and human trafficking, and

To join and to recruit others, in this and other efforts, to help create the needed changes, to develop the broad awareness, to build effective organizations, to support each other in this cause,

Agreed and Accepted: