Not for Sale Vision
How we end slavery once and for all is the twenty-seven-million-person question.
The Denver chapter of Not For Sale exists because 27 million people are enslaved. We are not an end in our own right. We long for the day when slavery is fully abolished and we can throw a party and disband. But until that day comes, we will face the twenty-seven-million-person question.
As Pam and Rose have done before us (and continue to do with the Denver chapter, but in a less time-intensive role), Michelle and I have been discussing that question in the context of this chapter. How can we, as individuals living in Denver with families, jobs, and other responsibilities, work to re-abolish slavery?
Here are some of our thoughts:
- This is way too hard of a thing to do alone. Truthfully, it is too expansive and too heartbreaking of a reality to deal with by yourself, and its too easy to try to do it all in a burst of energy and flame out. We all need encouragement and hope to keep going. Thus, we desire to work alongside others and do it in a sustainable manner.
- This is a complex and difficult problem. It interweaves complex issues in areas including culture, economics, belief systems, politics and values. Thus, we desire to be always learning more about the reality of slavery in order that we might fight it in as smart of a way possible.
- There is no single thing that we can all do to abolish slavery. Thus, it will take many people each operating out of their strengths and in areas where they hold sway to make a difference.It is primarily about living as an abolitionist, not merely going to abolitionist meetings.
As a result, we see our roles (as co-directors) as that of equipping you to be an effective abolitionist, working in a sustainable and smart way, operating out of your strengths and in your areas of influence.
We picture monthly meetings as working towards this end as well, split between an educational piece on slavery and work being done (local, national or international), and breaking into various focused teams such as:
- Education Team (working to educate us and the community)Consumer Team (working to help us be better consumers and not pay for slavery)Fundraising Team (working to raise funds for prevention and aftercare)Advocacy Team (working to know and craft local laws)Local Intelligence Team (working to understand and prevent local slavery)Faith Engagement Team (working to engage churches, synagogues and mosques in the fight)Communications Team (working in areas such as social media, marketing, and other forms of communication)Help us find out more about your vision, desires and abilities by taking a short survey at: NFS Denver Survey
- Come this Wednesday (3/16) from 6:30-8:00 to our mini-meeting / social hour at Metropolis Coffee (http://www.metropolisdenver.com/)
Michelle and I are working hard to pick up what Pam and Rose have built, and to move forward. If you have suggestions or questions, please feel free to email us at this address.
Lastly, we are working on improving our communications. Michelle is working on getting Facebook and Twitter going again, while I am working on getting our email list purged from unsubscribes and old emails.
Thanks,
Michael Graf and Michelle Maldonado