Mobile museum of modern slavery's last day in Philly today, on Independence Mall

The Web site for the award-winning alternative weekly, the Philadelphia City Paper.

email
font size
comments
0
share
options
 

Mobile museum of modern slavery's last day in Philly today, on Independence Mall

POSTED: Thursday, July 29, 2010, 5:40 PM
Filed Under: Labor | News

Yes, slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865, but yes, it still goes on: In 2008, we saw the most recent federal slavery conviction by the federal government, who charged employers of tomato pickers in Immokalee, Florida with "beating workers who were unwilling to work or who attempted to leave their employ picking tomatoes, holding their workers in debt, and chaining and locking workers inside u-haul trucks as punishment," as the Coalition of Immokalee Workers puts it – a charge that amounted, prosecutors said, to slavery.

Among the worst abuses was imprisonment in the trucks, as the Ft. Myers News Press reported in December, 2008:

One of the victims, Mariano Lucas Diego, spoke of what he'd endured: beatings and nighttime imprisonment in a truck, where the family's captives would have to urinate and defecate in the corners.

The Coalition is on tour now in a truck – like the one Mr. Diego was held captive in – they call the "Florida Modern Day Slavery Museum," which will be on Independence Mall until 8 P.M.


Arbutus
Posted 2010-07-29 14:55:32
Thanks for letting people know about this - I had no idea it was here. I'm going to run down there after work.
Posted by Isaiah Thompson @ 5:40 PM  Permalink | Post a comment
Comments  (0)


About this blog
Here at The Naked City, you'll find breaking news, analysis, gossip and surprises about everything from crime and politics to the beating pulse of city life itself. We're good listeners, too:

Daniel Denvir: daniel.denvir@citypaper.net

Ryan Briggs: ryan.briggs@citypaper.net

Samantha Melamed: samantha@citypaper.net

The Naked City on Twitter: @CPNakedCity @danieldenvir @rw_briggs @samanthamelamed

Topics:
Blog archives:
Past Archives: