Global Issues

I love chocolate. When I wrote an ode for my creative writing class, I chose chocolate as the topic, using phrases like “creativity-stimulating tranquilizer” and “life-sustaining pleasure center” to describe the source of my addiction.

But despite my strong feelings about chocolate, I haven’t yet switched to fair trade chocolate, which ensures that no slave labor or other unethical labor practices went into producing the candy I love so much. Up until now, I’ve been satisfied with consuming the Hershey chocolate bars I find in the pantry (or steal from my mom). When I read the Change.org’s blog “Is Hershey’s Secret Ingredient Child Slavery?”, I decided to change my habits. I can’t live with eating chocolate that could be produced by children who are beaten, unpaid, and forced to work long hours.

A little research revealed that it won’t be that difficult for me to find slave-free chocolate to purchase until the bigger brands like Hershey go fair trade. Even though I love Reese’s peanut butter cups, Kit Kats, and Caramellos (all Hershey’s products), I’d much rather consume fair trade chocolate than fuel slavery, so I’m going to start making different choices.

Chocolate company Cadbury has made a commitment to going fair trade, starting with products in the UK, but Hershey owns Cadbury in the U.S. As a marketing analyst told the Washington Post, fair trade is a more popular topic in Britain. It’s our generation’s job to make fair trade a popular demand around the world, in order to convince companies like Hershey to make their chocolate slave-free.

Take Action:

1. Send a letter to Hershey’s Vice President of Global Sourcing and Vice President of Marketing. You can easily send this letter through Change.org, which provides a suggested message. It takes ten seconds: all you have to do is enter your name, e-mail, and zip code. However, feel free to personalize the letter as you wish, mentioning your favorite Hershey’s candy or your feelings about fair trade chocolate.

2. Make a phone call. Call Hershey headquarters (1-800-468-1714, option “0″) and ask them to go fair trade. The International Labor Rights Forum held a Call-In Day campaign earlier this week, so you can still call and voice your support for slave-free chocolate. Check out their web site for a suggested call-in script and more details.

Good Sources for Fair Trade Chocolate:

1. Whole Foods carries Theo Chocolate, Divine Chocolate, and Equal Exchange chocolate.

2. Trader Joe’s sells fair trade chocolate bars and truffles (check out this candy blog about the tantalizing truffle treats). 

3. Don’t have a Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s near you? Look up stores around you that do sell fair trade chocolate.  Use the Theo Chocolate store locator, the Divine Chocolate store locator, and the Fair Trade Certified products store locator (check “cocoa”).

4. Order chocolate online. Check out the Global Exchange store, Theo Chocolate store, Divine Chocolate through SERRV, and even more chocolate links on the Global Exchange site.

5. Still need more ideas? Check out this Slave-Free Chocolate Table, a detailed list of organic and/or fair trade chocolates from the StopChocolateSlavery web site. Look under the “fair?” column to see if the chocolate brand is fair trade.

UPDATE: This blog has been edited to make a correction. Mars hopes to sell entirely sustainable chocolate–not fair trade chocolate, as originally reported–as certified by the Rainforest Alliance, by 2020. As Stephanee pointed out, Rainforest Alliance Certification has different standards than Fair Trade Certification. The error has been deleted. Thank you Stephanee for correcting me; I regret the error. See comments section for details.

Friday, June 19 is “Juneteenth,” the celebration of the emancipation of African-American slaves in the United States. June 19, 1865 marks the day that Major General Gordon Granger and his Union soldiers came to Galveston, Texas to liberate the slaves there — two and a half years after Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation declared all slaves in the ten Confederate states (including Texas) free.

Read more about the history of Juneteenth on Juneteenth.com, where you can also find Juneteenth celebrations in your area and a powerful collection of art and quotes that depict the experience of living through the Middle Passage.

Unfortunately, slavery still exists today, from people forced into unpaid labor to children captured in brothels. So, what does it take to end modern-day slavery? We can look to two notable abolitionists from the past for answers: Abraham Lincoln, the president who freed slaves in America, and William Wilberforce, the politician who stopped the slave trade in Britain.

When comparing Lincoln and Wilberforce, a common attribute stands out: a compassionate commitment to their moral duties. When they saw something wrong, they were disturbed on a profound level, to the point that they worked tirelessly at their jobs to see their hopes come true. If our generation is going to end slavery — as teen abolitionist Zach Hunter hopes — then we have to emulate this quality of fierce dedication in our everyday lives.

Want to make a difference to modern-day slavery? Check out Justin Dillon’s Steps Against Slavery at the end of this post, this post on socially conscious shopping, the Love 146 e-mail newsletter for abolitionists, Not for Sale, and the International Justice Mission. Oh, and here’s your Facebook status for Juneteenth: “(Your name) is an abolitionist.” (Go ahead, update your Facebook right now — you know you want to. See, that was easy.)

But those ideas are just your springboard. You must harness your own creativity and passion, as well as the resources at your disposal, into a force for innovative change — just like Lincoln and Wilberforce did. Got ideas on how our generation can end slavery? Comment below.

For more insight into the mind of Abraham Lincoln, check out his Selected Speeches and Writings at your local book store or library. To learn more about the passion that drove William Wilberforce to end the slave trade, watch the movie Amazing Grace.

Quotes

“Slavery is founded in the selfishness of man’s nature — opposition to it in his love of justice.” -Abraham Lincoln

“If to be feelingly alive to the sufferings of my fellow-creatures is to be a fanatic, I am one of the most incurable fanatics ever permitted to be at large.” -William Wilberforce

“If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong.” -Abraham Lincoln

THE NEED: PeacePlayers International employs a daringly innovative formula for peacebuilding: the game of basketball. In areas of the world with histories of violence, prejudice, or other challenges, PeacePlayers kids play on the same team as the people who’ve been labeled their enemies, learning to admire and trust them through teamwork.

PeacePlayers trains kids in Northern Ireland, South Africa, the Middle East, Cyprus, and New Orleans, exposing each young athlete to opportunities for leadership development and cross-cultural friendships. The children in the program are usually 10-14, still impressionable enough to be open to new ideas.

THE STORY: Even though the children in the PeacePlayers program may have a lot of cultural differences, they quickly discover that they share many interests outside basketball. For example, in the ESPN article “Hooping with the Enemy,” a Palestinian child named Khaled explains that he and his Israeli Jewish friend Pini spend their time talking about music, life, cell phones, and movies. On the court, Pini and Khaled play just like any other teammates–passing the ball to each other, grinning infectiously when they score a basket, and doing chest bumps and high-fives, according to ESPN.

Pini, who originally thought of the Palestinians as his enemies, told ESPN that he grew to like Palestinians after playing basketball with them. “I saw that they are not too different from me,” Pini told ESPN. “There are differences, yes, but we both like music, basketball and computers. Of course I don’t hate them now. It’s fun to meet them and share their food … some of them are good people.”

MEETING THE NEED: Want to help PeacePlayers International? You can host your own event to raise awareness and fundraise. If you’re in a sports team at school or in your community, then your games and practices could be ideal opportunities to share how your teammates and fans can make a difference to young athletes around the world. Talk to your teammates about how your team can support PeacePlayers. At your next game, ask fans to donate to PeacePlayers when they walk in, or hold a raffle. Your fundraising efforts will go a long way: just $100 pays for the cost of one child to play basketball with PeacePlayers for a year.

You can also share PeacePlayers International through your social studies classes, volunteer or human rights clubs like Amnesty, your place of worship, or a party with your family or friends. When you host your own event, PeacePlayers International offers to send you sample invitation letters, DVD documentaries about the PeacePlayers program, press kits, FAQs, and more ideas about ways you can support these young athletes–all for free.

For more information on PeacePlayers International, visit peaceplayersintl.org.

At 2 a.m. on an April night, Malone University students walked from their college campus to downtown Canton, Ohio. As part of the international Rescue event hosted by the nonprofit Invisible Children, these students abducted themselves in honor of the African children who are abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and forced to kill. Six miles wasn’t easy for nursing major Emily Woolf, who has arthritis in her knees, but it reminded her why she’d organized the event in the first place.

“That walk was hard for me, but I just needed to suck it up,” said Emily, 19, of Louisville, Ohio. “I tried to put myself in their shoes. They have to walk farther than that. That walk changed my mindset.”

The Malone University Rescue event started with a screening of the Invisible Children documentary, followed by the walk and a prayer meeting. Event organizer and Malone student Kelsey Moon estimated that 75 to 100 people walked to downtown Canton. Emily’s Sunday school class, who wore yellow T-shirts that read “Invisible Adults for Invisible Children” and rode motorcycles, accompanied the students.

“Whenever you turn, you see all these people behind you and motorcycle escorts,” said Kelsey, 21, a nursing major from New Castle, Penn. “It was humbling to see all these people who decided to help us and are interested in ending this war in Uganda.”

When Malone students returned to campus, they wrote President Obama letters about Africa’s longest war: the conflict in Uganda. At 7:30 a.m., firetruck sirens blared. The Canton Fire Department and city councilman Thomas West symbolically rescued the students and voiced their support for the child soldiers abducted by the LRA.

To raise awareness about the Rescue, Malone students posted fliers around campus, passed out T-shirts, created a Facebook group, and shared the half-hour Rescue film with others a few days before the event.

“A lot of students were probably surprised that this is going on in the world right now—not in history,” said Alison Miller, an event organizer and Malone incoming sophomore from Ashland, Ohio. “When I talked to people, some didn’t know about it, but when they did, they wanted to get involved.”

Emily was inspired to organize a Rescue event after watching the “Invisible Children: Rough Cut” film. The documentary features Ugandan children affected by the ongoing civil war, such as Jacob, who witnessed the murder of his brother at the hands of the LRA. When the filmmakers ask Jacob about his brother, Jacob begins to sob uncontrollably with suffocating agony. The filmmakers attempt to comfort him, whispering, “It’s okay,” but Jacob’s grief is too deep for him to respond.

“The life that he’s forced to live is just so uncalled for,” Emily said. “I don’t know the words for it, but it broke me to pieces. Kids should be playing outside and coloring, not being forced to kill people.”

Three American college students produced the “Invisible Children: Rough Cut” documentary. Kelsey said she saw them as an inspiration for her own generation.

“The fact that they’re kids our age and they’re trying to help all these children–it’s awesome to see,” Kelsey said.

Alison said that uniting with other students for the same cause was one of the greatest feelings. She encouraged other young people to find that support.

“If you have something you’re passionate about, partner with other people,” Alison said. “We don’t have to be silent about it. We can speak out.”

At the end of his artistic rendition of Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song” for the Call + Response rockumentary for the abolition of modern-day slavery, music artist Matisyahu launches into masterful beatboxing, his eyes closed and eyebrows creased in intense concentration for this adrenaline-high moment. Genius rhymes roll off his tongue. Matisyahu mounts toward a creative climax that draws on every fiber of his passion. Each word is a burst of energy, throbbing at a higher level of raw inspiration.

“See the daughter of Zion is lying crying in the mist,” Matisyahu calls. “Morning light slips in, shifting through the darkness. Like a mourning wife, reminisce, having visions of her long-gone prince.”

As the closing performance of the Call + Response rockumentary, Matisyahu’s “Redemption Song” powerfully portrays the story of a young girl who has been enslaved and is calling out to the world to free her and redeem her. You can read more about the Call + Response film for the liberation of the world’s 27 million slaves at www.callandresponse.com and in previous posts.

Bob Marley’s original “Redemption Song” lyrics also fit Call + Response perfectly, asking the world to “emancipate yourselves from mental slavery” and “sing these songs of freedom.” “Redemption Song” shows that if people want to free every last slave, they must first unite to sing the same song.

The decision to film Matisyahu singing “Redemption Song” was a spur-of-the-moment one, as director Justin Dillon recalled after the North Central College rockumentary screening. Dillon had been filming Matisyahu’s other songs for Call + Response, including “Indestructible” and “Time of Your Song” in Austin, Texas. Just as Matisyahu was leaving, Dillon asked him if he’d ever sang Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song.” Matisyahu said no, he hadn’t, but Dillon asked him to give it a try anyway–on camera.

Matisyahu agreed. Dillon had just enough film left. What he didn’t know was that Matisyahu was going to freestyle the end of the song.

“He’s weaving poetry and other people’s songs and this beautiful journey, and we don’t know how it will end, because we’re running out of film,” Dillon said.

Just as Matisyahu sang the last note and bowed his head, the film ran out. Matisyahu’s inspirational performance reminded Dillon why he’s an activist.

“When you freestyle, you don’t know where you’re going to end,” Dillon said to an audience at North Central College. “I thought–that’s a lot like activism. Activism is one of the most courageous things you can do because you don’t know where you’re going or how it will end, but you’re absolutely sure why you’re doing it.”

Just as the Call + Response film is a call to liberate the world’s slaves, “Redemption Song” voices a personal request for action. Now the world must sing back, providing the united response–or chorus–to the song that Dillon and Matisyahu started.

“Why do we respond so deeply to oppression?” Dillon asked. “Because we believe it’s a verse without a chorus. We’re expecting everyone who sees the film to be the chorus. This is a bottom-up movement. I say it’s messy, I say it’s freestyle.”

LISTEN: Buy the live recording from the Call + Response rockumentary on iTunes.

RESPOND: Human trafficking, or the selling of human beings, happens all over the world, including the United States. In fact, you could be living next door to unnoticed slaves, such as in this story. Learn how to recognize the warning signs. Call the National Human Trafficking hotline if you suspect someone is being enslaved. Finally, read stories about modern-day slavery in the US on slaverymap.org. How do these stories make you feel? Respond in the comments section below.

This blog is part of a series of Call + Response music reviews. Learn more here.

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