My student demographic is primarily African American or Hispanic. One of the more common themes that show up in discourses with African Americans is slavery. They did this. They did that. What I want to do is to show them, it is still going on. You are not the only ones. In fact, the current data indicates that slavery is bigger today, than when their ancestors were slaves.
The goal of a service learning enterprise is to make the volunteer experience and the issue more connected to reality. What I want to do is to shake the reality of my African American students. Slavery is in the past. No. Slavery is in the present. What are you going to do about it?
Lucy Liu recently has been producing films and documentaries focusing on this issue. Oprah and others have also focused on this issue. Regardless of celebrity involvement, I think it requires more of a grass roots vibe. It's time for people to get pissed off and to do something.
As I develop the service learning packet, I'm encountering more and more videos on the issue of trafficking.
I have mixed feelings about celebrities and causes. In my mind, I'm sure it is part of a public relations campaign, on the other hand, I know that they are probably the only way to get anything publicized.
