Nov.

9, 2015
Lesson Inspires UT Students to Organize Human Trafficking Awareness Event
KNOXVILLE A class discussion about an enslaved African prince in the 1600s has
inspired a group of University of Tennessee, Knoxville, undergraduate students to help
stop modern-day human trafficking.
The students, who are juniors and seniors, have organized a Nov. 17 event to bring
awareness to the local sex trafficking industry, its effects on society and ways to help
end modern-day slavery.
The inaugural Human Trafficking on Rocky Top event will be held at 7 p.m. in the
Toyota Auditorium at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, 1640
Cumberland Ave. It is free and open to the public. Local experts will speak, and an
involvement fair will follow the presentation.
What most people do not know is that we have more people enslaved today than at
any other time in history. There are children younger than 13 being taken from their
families in this very city, at our own football games, who are being sold to any buyer for
sexual favors, said Sarah Primm, one of the students who helped organize the event.
To help stop these crimes, we must first learn the truth. We as UT students need to
take advantage of the resources and knowledge available to us in order to fight against
the atrocity that is human trafficking, she said.
The event was planned by students in an English 411 class, British Literature 1660
1740, taught by Misty Anderson. Anderson, a Lindsay Young Professor of English and
adjunct professor of theater, had her students read Oroonoko, Aphra Behns 1688
story of an enslaved African prince.
After viewing 18th-century slavery artifacts at the McClung Museum of Natural History
and Culture, Andersons class discussion moved from slave literature to contemporary
human trafficking. Some of the students have turned this into part of their final project.

They have worked with the Community Coalition Against Human Trafficking to provide
the content for the Nov. 17 program.
Im very, very proud of what they have decided to do with what they learned. This is
what happens in the humanities when we get our students to engage, said Anderson. I
have been teaching this novel for 20 years, but I have never been asked what Im going
to do about it. Thats the question Amadou Sall asked us, and these students have
given a thoughtful, meaningful answer by organizing this event.
Thanks to an engaging session at the McClung Museum organized by Robert Rennie,
a graduate fellow for academic programs, students were able to examine artifacts in our
UT archives, use them to think about the ethical challenges that the novel presents and
then move on to social action in the present moment. They have taken their experience
in the classroom out to the world, where they are already making a difference.
Community Coalition Against Human Trafficking strives to free individuals from injustice
and exploitation in East Tennessee. It educates, equips and empowers the community
to recognize the signs of human trafficking, take action to end this modern day slavery
and connect victims with restorative resources.
An estimated 27 million people are enslaved around the world today, which is more than
any other time in history. Human trafficking is the second most lucrative criminal industry
worldwide after drug trafficking, bringing in approximately $32 billion annually. Todays
slaves are forced into labor, service or sex slavery to make money for their owners.
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