Free the Slaves donors all have one thing in common: a burning desire to make slavery a thing of the past.
That’s why we sent award-winning documentary filmmakers this year to spotlight four Free the Slaves donors to learn how they discovered that slavery still exits and to showcase what they are doing to end it.
Our “Why I Free Slaves” 2017 film series compilation pulls together excerpts from these four remarkable stories – a historian, photographer, musician and researcher. We asked a simple question: “When you discovered that slavery exists, did you feel a duty to take action?”
Their answers were inspiring and profound.
“I think anytime we have a chance to contribute to someone’s freedom, that is one of the most life-giving experiences we could ever have,” said musician Derek Mount in Atlanta.
“I always say to my students, where will you be in the index of the history books a hundred years from now, what will you have done in this life to be an agent of history,” said Harvard historian Timothy Patrick McCarthy.
“I can’t honestly think of a more worthwhile, longstanding but also victory-is-in-our-sights kind of problem to spend my time on than slavery and emancipation,” said researcher Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick of the University of San Diego.
“We all have something to give,” said acclaimed humanitarian photographer Lisa Kristine in San Francisco. “And I invite any one of you that happens to see this to look in yourself and find that one thing that you can give toward ending slavery.”
Our thanks to Tim, Derek, Austin and Lisa for sharing their moving stories with us this year. You can see their full profiles, as well as six other remarkable Free the Slaves supporters we profiled last year, on our Why I Free Slaves webpage.
As we wrap up 2017, we’d like to also thank all of the 1000+ donors who make the work of Free the Slaves possible every year. We don’t free slaves, you do.
