Atop the U.S. Capitol building stands a statue (the dark figure at the top of this picture) with an interesting history.

The statue is named "Freedom." Its original plaster cast, shown here, stands inside the Capitol rotunda today.

And one of the artists that created "Freedom" was a slave by the name of Phillip Reid.

According to the Associated Press, "Reid was owned by a Maryland sculptor and ironworker who had been contracted to bronze a plaster copy of the Statue of Freedom, the statue that sits today on top of the Capitol Dome...

... Reid — a mulatto slave from South Carolina — was the only person who was able to figure out how to separate the sections [of the plaster model] so they could be moved to the foundry for casting.

Reid later is believed to be the person put in charge of bronzing the Statue of Freedom, and was officially thanked for his work in an address to Congress in 1928 by one of the statue's admirers."

Reid was hardly the only slave to have contributed to the building of the U.S. Capitol. In fact, as fate would have it, on Wednesday, June 16 -- the second day of a two-day stay of the CIW's Modern-Day Slavery Museum in the shadow of the Capitol on the National Mall -- the US Congress finally recognized the contributions of countless slaves to the construction of one of the best-known symbols of American democracy.

From the Associated Press article, "Slaves who built Capitol honored":

"... Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., a former civil rights leader who chaired a congressional task force that studied the contributions of slaves to the Capitol, told onlookers that the plaques help reveal a part of the Capitol's history that has been overlooked by many.

'Imagine, in Washington's oppressive summer heat and humidity, to chisel and pull massive stones out of a snake- and mosquito-infested quarry," Lewis said. 'Imagine, having to fight through the bone-chilling winter in rags and sometimes without shoes. Just imagine, the United States government paying your owner, not you, but your owner $5 a month for your labor. This Capitol, the most recognizable symbol of our democracy, was not built overnight, it was not built by machines. It was built through the backbreaking work of laborers and slave laborers.'"

So, as the top four Congressional leaders gathered for an hour-long ceremony inside the Capitol memorializing the slave labor that contributed to its construction, outside was gathered a crew of CIW members and allies staffing a museum dedicated to the history and evolution of slavery in Florida agriculture, with a particular focus on the scourge of forced labor that continues to taint the country's trillion-dollar food industry today.

Or, in the words of one Florida grower quoted in the famous Edward R. Murrow documentary, "Harvest of Shame," words that make up part of the CIW museum's exhibit on debt peonage in the early 20th century:

"We used to own our slaves, now we just rent them."

Fittingly, the CIW pursued an inside/outside strategy during the two days that followed Monday's emotional ceremony at the State Department. Inside, the CIW's Anti-slavery Coordinator -- and newly minted "Hero" -- Laura Germino toured the halls of Congress, meeting with several Representatives and Senators through the auspices of the Helsinki Commission.

During a reception for the 2010 State Department "Heroes" sponsored by the Commission, Ambassador Luis CdeBaca -- speaking in front of a blow up of a photo from a CIW march -- took the opportunity to invite all those in attendance to tour the CIW slavery museum...

... outside on the Mall. Situated between the Capitol on one end...

... and the Washington Monument on the other, the museum enjoyed its highest profile setting in the four months of its existence.

In fact, the setting was so good that some people couldn't quite believe the museum was even supposed to be there, and we had frequent -- but always friendly -- visits throughout the day from the local constabulary to inspect our permits.

DC being DC, the museum attracted a wide range of visitors throughout its two-day stay, from high-ranking government officials such as Robert Moossy, above, Director of the Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit of Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice...

... to local workers curious about the hidden history of farm labor exploitation in the Sunshine State.

But all good things must come to an end, and so, finally, after a whirlwind, three-day visit to the Nation's Capital, it was time to pack up the museum and start the long ride back to Immokalee.

So, under the watchful gaze of Freedom, our exhausted -- yet excited -- crew returned home, filled with a renewed determination to honor the lives of those whose labor has been stolen for centuries in Florida's fields.