Outstanding WMNF radio story 
on Modern-Day Slavery Museum adds to growing body of coverage on unique exhibit!
First, there was the definitive article on the CIW’s Modern-Day Slavery Museum, from the editor of The Nation magazine. Then, the museum crew itself added its own unique video contribution to the documentation of its landmark tour.
Now comes an excellent, in-depth radio report from community radio station WMNF in Tampa. If you have five minutes this morning, it’s really worth a listen.
As the museum embarks on its final two weeks on the road ahead of next week’s big Farmworker Freedom March, it is settling into communities along Florida’s I-4 corridor, beginning in Tampa. And its mission to raise awareness of the human rights crisis in Florida’s fields is gaining steam every day. Here’s an excerpt from a University of Tampa article on the museum’s recent two-day stay on campus (“Exhibit shines light on farmworker conditions,” 4/1/10):
| “Christine Merry ’11 had trouble believing the kinds of conditions some farmworkers are subjected to until she spoke with members of the Student/Farmworker Alliance.
The national network of students and youth organize with farmworkers to eliminate sweatshop conditions and modern-day slavery in the fields. Merry said her eyes have been opened to the atrocities, from denying workers fundamental rights such as sick days and healthcare to the unimaginable abuse of chaining them up at night in the back of a box truck which was recently discovered in a 2008 federal court case. ‘I was shocked that modern day slavery even existed in the U.S., let alone right here in Florida,’ said Merry, a finance and management major. ‘My first reaction was, ‘how can we help?’… … Janice Law, director of UT’s Academic Center for Excellence and history lecturer, said she thinks the most important thing about this exhibit is that it will educate students on the horrors of daily life for the modern day farmworker. “Hopefully students will realize the importance of the choices they make in selecting where they shop and eat,” Law said, “and what they can do to contribute to the elimination of these labor practices.” read more |
So, treat yourself to some ear-opening radio this morning, check out the big museum news page for more on its groundbreaking tour, and stay tuned to this site in the days ahead as final preparations begin for next week’s Farmworker Freedom March!