The December Abolitionists

Abolition [ab·o·li·tion], noun: the action or an act of abolishing a system, practice, or institution.

A man named William Wilberforce once said, “So enormous, so dreadful, so irremediable did the [slave] trade’s wickedness appear that my own mind was completely made up for abolition. Let the consequences be what they would: I from this time determined that I would never rest until I had effected its abolition.”

He never did rest. Wilberforce’s life was poured out on behalf of the abolition of the slave trade; before his death, he would see some of the fruits of his hard labor in England. Yet, even as Wilberforce celebrated the downfall of the transatlantic slave trade, he would have continued to mourn if he knew what awaited the world in the next decades.

Wilberforce could never know that in the year 2017, more than 27 million people would be in slavery.

And only 1-2% are estimated to ever be rescued.

We like to pretend that abolition has ended; after all, the transatlantic slave trade is abolished, and people are not targeted simply for the color of their skin. But in reality, the slave trade has never thrived at any point in history more than it does today.

Yet, most of the world just keeps living like millions and millions of people are not being exploited.

However, every December, a platform is built for a new, innovative generation of abolitionists. Although they fight for freedom year round, December sees the culmination of their efforts. The platform is Dressember, and people all across the world are joining in this one-of-a-kind abolitionist movement.

Dressember began as a style challenge, but turned into something so much greater. Women can do anything in a dress-even fight slavery. What started as simply figuring out how to wear a dress every day during the cold December month evolved into a massive fundraising and awareness campaign that has captivated the globe.

It’s even grown to include men-wearing ties for freedom is worth it.

Having raised over three million dollars to directly fund anti-trafficking efforts, Dressember advocates fight for the dignity, value, and freedom of every man, woman, and child on this planet.

This will be my second year as a Dressember advocate. No, it’s not always fun, comfortable, or enjoyable. Yet, even on the days where the temperature is showing negative numbers and sweatpants are calling my name, being slightly inconvenienced is completely worth it if it helps to advance freedom and justice in our world.

Freedom will not be accomplished by an individual; as Benjamin Franklin put it, “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.” You can now say you never cared, but you can’t claim to have never known.

Slaves across the world need your prayer, your voice, your efforts. What will you do about it?

Want to check out my Dressember campaign? Click here.