When the CIW's Modern-Day Slavery Museum arrived in Charlottesville for the launch of the 2010 Northeast Tour, all the finest people of Virginia came out, including the Old Dominion's three favorite sons -- Messrs Madison, Jefferson, and Monroe -- under whose watchful gaze the museum crew set up the traveling exhibit at 8:00 in the morning on Charlottesville's downtown pedestrian mall.

With the museum open for business by 10 am, it wasn't long before the actual living, breathing people of Charlottesville showed up, too. And show up they did, with hundreds of area residents making their way through the museum despite temperatures over 100 degrees throughout most of the cloudless day.

Particularly strong was the turnout from local churches, including Westminster Presbyterian, Trinity Episcopal, and Charlottesville First Baptist, where pastors and parishioners alike made sure to spread the word of the museum stop during morning services.

The intense sun had one unexpected benefit -- driving museum goers toward the shaded information table, where scores of people signed postcards calling on Giant supermarket (one of Amsterdam-based Ahold's many brands) and Kroger to support the Campaign for Fair Food.

But before long, it was clear that the shade of the two small tents would not be enough. We would have to come up with something quick if people were going to to endure the sun long enough to experience the museum (the museum's many outdoor displays were not the only problem... by this point temperatures inside the truck itself were well over 100 degrees).

Necessity being the mother of invention, two new museum features were born on this scorching day in Charlottesville -- umbrellas for shade, and ice water for all! And just like that, the show could go on...

Local media covered the visit in style:

"Traveling museum displays modern-day slavery"
CBS/FOX 19 video

"A mobile slavery museum stops in Charlottesville" NBC 29 video

Charlottesville NPR

And we even had visits from a number of dignitaries, both domestic -- here Lucas Benitez of the CIW stands with Congressman Bob Filner (D-CA) who, beyond being a US Congressman was an original Freedom Rider who spent several months of his life in a Mississippi jail in 1961 for his brave efforts, inspiring many within the CIW to continue the fight for fundamental civil and human rights today --

-- and foreign! At the very peak of the day's heat, the museum was host to a delegation of visitors from Charlottesville's sister city of Winneba in Ghana. Charlottesville's mayor, Dave Norris (on right with blue shirt), who was largely responsible for securing the museum's plum location on Charlottesville's mall for the day, arranged for the visit and accompanied the delegation on its tour...

... which began with a brief orientation...

... continued with a visit to the truck itself and its exhibits on the many recent slavery prosecutions that make up the contemporary history of forced labor in Florida's fields...

... and included a viewing of the "The Orange Juice Man," the 60 Minutes video on the life and times of the infamous farm labor boss Wardell Williams. The must-see video does an excellent job of demonstrating the abject failures of government safeguards, both local and federal, in protecting farmworker rights.

Once through the museum, the Ghanian delegation didn't hesitate to share their feelings of shock and dismay at the continued existence of forced labor in US fields in 21st century. Parts of this interview with a member of the delegation are included in the Channel 19 report here.

They also took action, joining hundreds of Charlottesvillians on this day in signing postcards to Giant and Kroger.

With the day coming to a close, the Modern-Day Slavery Museum team couldn't leave Charlottesville without a final stop at one little known landmark in the heart of the old city, the "Number Nothing" house (the address is 0 Park Street), the site where enslaved Africans were sold at public auction to the planters (including many of the Old Dominion's favorite sons...) that settled the state. Today, the painted sign that once announced the auction block has faded (the strip of darker brick that covers the space between the two floors is where the letters could still be read just 20 years ago)...

... and by this plaque marking the spot, reminding passersby that on this corner once stood a stone block used for the "auctioning of both goods and slaves" until slavery was abolished after the Civil War.

Which is where the Modern-Day Slavery Museum picks up the story... and where, if you live in Washington, D.C., you can learn more about the post-Civil War history of forced labor in Florida and along the East Coast by coming out to the Church of the Pilgrims at 22nd and P Streets and checking out the second stop of the 2010 Northeast Tour. See you there!