On behalf of Free the Slaves, we stand in solidarity with the growing global outcry against racial violence and for racial justice in the United States.
Free the Slaves is appalled by the ongoing systemic injustices directed at Black people and other people of color in the United States. Though the protests we have seen in recent weeks are powerful responses to the vigilante killing of Ahmaud Arbery and the police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, these are just the latest, and most visible, manifestations of longstanding anti-Black violence, racist policing, and institutionalized white supremacy – all of which are legacies of slavery in the United States.
Since its founding in 2000, Free the Slaves has been a leader in the fight to eradicate all forms of modern slavery throughout the globe. This work necessarily involves a shared commitment to dismantling slavery’s root causes, which include racism and white supremacy, poverty and prejudice, and all forms of discrimination and exploitation that both perpetuate slavery and persist after its abolition.
As a human rights organization, we understand the urgent need for brave and intentional moral leadership in this moment. We also understand that freedom work is a long-term struggle. It always has been and always will be. As we continue to stand for the values of social justice, equal rights, and human dignity, we will work in solidarity with other individuals and institutions of conscience to move freedom forward in the United States and everywhere in the world.
And that can only happen if we demand – clearly and emphatically – that Black Lives Matter.
Bukeni Waruzi | Executive Director, Free the Slaves
Timothy Patrick McCarthy | Board Chair, Free the Slaves
