today is the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in great britain

[ourbluenation]

"If to be feelingly alive to the sufferings of my fellow-creatures is to be a fanatic, I am one of the most incurable fanatics ever permitted to be at large." William Wilberforce, British Abolitionist

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But even after 200 years, the modern slave trade is alive and well....

27 Million: Number of people in modern-day slavery across the world

Sourced by the UN, New York Times, Amnesty International, The Christian Science Monitor, and Free The Slaves, among others.

800,000: Number of persons trafficked across international borders each year

Sourced by the US State Department, International Justice Mission, and Antislavery.org, among others.

17,500: Number of foreign nationals who are trafficked into the U.S. every year

Sourced by the US House Of Representatives, and the Polaris Project, among others.

91: Number of cities in the United States with reported cases of trafficking

Sourced by Georgia State Representative Jack Kingston, Freetheslaves.net, and Polaris Project, among others.

50: Percent of all victims are children

Sourced by the US House of Representatives Committee on International Relations, and the US Department of State, among others.

$50 Million: US Government budget for efforts against human trafficking

Sourced by the US State Department.

$19 Billion: US Government budget for efforts against drug trafficking

Sourced by the White House Drug Policy website.

20 Million: Number of bonded laborers in the world

Sourced by Free The Slaves.

218 Million: Estimated number of children working aged between five and seventeen

Sourced by the International Labor Organization.

126 Million: Estimated number of children who work in the worst forms of child labor - one in every twelve of the world's five to seventeen year olds.

Sourced by the International Labor Organization, UNICEF, and the US Embassy in Uruguay, among others.

300,000: Estimated number of child soldiers involved in over 30 areas of conflict worldwide, some younger than 10 years old.

Sourced by UNICEF, the BBC, and Amnesty International, among others.

http://www.theamazingchange.com/index.html

[ourbluenation]

1. Ten things you can do to end modern day slavery...

1. Sign the Petition. Become an abolitionist by signing The Petition to End Modern Day Slavery. Click Here To Print a Petition. Take the petition to your school, church, family, friends, et al., and then send it to us (mailing address provided on petition)

2. See Amazing Grace. This film is a great introduction to the work of William Wilberforce, an original abolitionist. Learn how you can carry on his legacy.

3. Raise funds to free slaves. Use the tools on this website, such as Loose Change to Loosen Chains, to start your own fundraising campaign.

4. Educate yourself. Use the resources on the site to learn about the horrors of historical and modern day slavery.

5. Show solidarity. Buy The Amazing Change t-shirt and tell friends and family about your mission to abolish slavery.

6. Create a Clapham Circle. William Wilberforce was part of a group of friends and neighbors called the Clapham Circle. They met regularly to discuss ways to advance the cause of abolition. You can form your own Clapham Circle. Have weekly meetings with friends or neighbors in your community to discuss the issue of modern day slavery. Download tools from this website to facilitate your discussion.

7. Blog. Write about modern day slavery and The Amazing Change in our online community or on your MySpace, Xanga or Facebook profile. Include a link to our website so friends can learn how to get involved.

8. Ask others. Talk to leaders in your community, school or church about The Amazing Change. and encourage them to become involved.

9. Read More. Read books about modern day slavery like Not for Sale by David Batstone.

10. Volunteer. Pass on the legacy of William Wilberforce and donate your time to The Amazing Change by joining the street team, creating a Clapham Circle, or fundraising to free slaves.

http://www.theamazingchange.com/wycd.html

[demrabble]

2. Just Saw "Amazing Grace"

I just got back from seeing the film, "Amazing Grace".

It's the story of William Wilberforce's effort to end slavery in the British Empire.

[ourbluenation]

3. I've been looking at the website for the movie. how was it?

[regnaD kciN]

4. Not to be picky, but...

...it's the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade. The outright abolition of slavery in the British Empire took another 26 years.

Amazing Grace cheats a little with the facts to make it seem like Wilberforce's big triumph came when he was still a young man (or at least so that the movie could have a big feel-good victory scene at the end). In fact, the ending of the slave trade was merely a step on the way for him -- he carried on his fight for emancipation, battling against the same lack of success as shown in the film, for those 26 years. His final vindication, the complete abolition of slavery, came too late for him to join in the celebration -- he died a month before passage of the Emancipation Act for which he had worked for more than fifty years.

[malaise]

5. Very important day for

those of us whose ancestors were grabbed from Africa. This weekend I will reread Eric Williams seminal work Capitalism and Slavery. Yes, we made England wealthy. Our free labour built cities like Liverpool.