Global News Home

Speak free

What we're talking about right now.

five pieces of clothing on a rack with a measuring mannequin to the left. Activists
Thursday February 1, 2024

Challenging myself – and you – to rethink fashion

Kiki Lindenau

I’ve always been someone who loves to buy new clothes for the sake of buying new clothes. For the longest time, I didn’t consider the consequences this may have for the world and the people who produce these garments. Then, I met Nasreen Sheik and everything changed. Nasreen is a wonderful person - and a survivor of modern slavery. Hearing about the condition in which she was forced to make pieces of clothing by hand, earning close to nothing, and only getting paid when she finished a certain number of items per day was shocking. She spoke about getting ill due to the toxins in the

Read more
Martin Luther King, Prisons, and the 13th Amendment Prison slavery
Friday January 12, 2024

Martin Luther King Jr., prisons, and the 13th Amendment

Robert Boneburg

In 1963, Martin Luther King wrote the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, which, more than sixty years later, speaks eloquently to the issues of that time and today. Dr. King's compelling discourse, written from the confines of a jail cell, aligns with the prison epistles of St. Paul and the writings of visionary figures like Thoreau, Gandhi, and Mandela – all of whom found inspiration behind bars.  The contemplation of these writings, and these lives, invites us to grapple with enduring questions that span human history: who faces imprisonment, and for what reasons? How are those within

Read more
Scaling back from overconsumption Forced Labor
Tuesday December 12, 2023

5 alternative holiday traditions: All the joy, none of the forced labor

Krysta Bisnauth

'Tis the season – to buy, buy, buy. Whether it’s gifts, decorations, or outfits for holiday events, there seems to be an ever-growing list of things we need to spend on to participate in the usual festivities. This can quickly grow expensive and stressful. But the Freedom United community has an additional burden: how do we navigate the pitfalls of supply chains tainted by modern slavery without being a total Grinch? Fortunately, the Freedom United team has some ideas! Here are the top recommendations from my colleagues for a holiday season that prioritizes meaning over

Read more
modern slavery and genocide share root causes Liberation
Wednesday December 6, 2023

Genocide and modern slavery share root causes

Krysta Bisnauth

In a world marred by the shadows of injustice and cruelty, the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime serves as a stark reminder of our collective responsibility to safeguard the fundamental human rights that weave the fabric of our shared existence.  At Freedom United, we stand at the forefront of the fight against modern slavery. As we commemorate this day, our focus extends beyond the specific instances of atrocity, urging a contemplation on the very essence of humanity—the inherent right to life,

Read more
Other slavery
Thursday November 30, 2023

Abolition is an aspiration, not a fact

Ellie Finkelstein

The terms “slavery” and “abolition” are widely recognized as referring to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, and the dates that this institution was supposedly abolished.  The history of the slave trade is taught in timelines, locations on a map, resistance movements, and mentions of historically significant figures. While this horrific history is often referred to in conversations around slavery and abolition movements today, it is regarded as a fixed moment in time with a beginning and an end – left in the past.   However, to thoroughly interrogate systems of slavery in its

Read more