The idea behind the red X on the hand is that an individual will see the red X and question what it is. They would especially wonder what it stands for if a variety of individuals have it. It is supposed to create a domino effect- once an individual informs another individual about the End it Movement, they both have red X’s on their hands. The groups proceed to multiply because people ask and wonder about the red X’s.
The individuals that wore the red X on their hand are freedom fighters, and they are shining a light on slavery. By drawing a red X on their hand, they were telling the world that slavery still exists and they will not stand for it. It was a simple way of spreading the statistics of slavery. There are currently 27 million people enslaved, the largest that it has ever been. That is the population of Florida and Georgia combined! These individuals were trying to influence other individuals in any way they could by bringing awareness and shining a light on slavery, even brighter than ever.
According to the End it Movement, “slavery occurs when one person completely controls another person, using violence or the threat of violence to maintain that control, exploits them economically, pays them nothing and they cannot walk away.”
Slavery is constituted as labor or sexual slavery. It is typically found that 8 out of 10 cases are related sex trafficking cases and the rest are labor trafficking cases. It is also found that 161 countries are found with having human trafficking. It is approximate that 48 people a day become slaves, on the same land that abolished slavery 150 years ago. Half of those people are children.
Junior Brandi Henry participated in the End it Movement. She chose to participate because her sorority, Sigma Lambda Gamma, promotes the end of human trafficking. Since human trafficking is a form of slavery, she wants to support the movement.
“It is important because it can happen to anybody and people need to be more aware,” she said.
Brandi also mentioned that she believes more awareness needs to be raised about this issue. She thinks that continuing to have educationals and spreading awareness to people will help put an end to slavery.
Senior Christie Joyce also believes that more education and awareness can be done. There are more and more organizations, such as International Justice Mission and Redefining Refuge, which work towards bringing awareness of slavery towards college campuses and communities around the world.
The End it Movement partners with a variety of worldwide organizations to shine a light on slavery. The red X represents that you know that slavery still exists but you will not stand for it anymore; it needs to stop. Another way of spreading awareness about this is by taking a picture and using hashtags on various social media sites such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. A variety of celebrities also participated this day by displaying the red X. These celebrities included artist Carrie Underwood and author Bob Goff.
When visiting the website, their mission entails “Let’s be the generation to stand up for the 27 million trapped in slavery around the world today. In brothels. In factories. In mines. On street corners. In homes. In the shadows, hidden. Yet out in broad daylight, in plain sight here in America.”
By joining together, bringing awareness and continuing to talk about the injustice of slavery occurring in the world, more and more missions will be completed and more brothels and factories will be closed or shut down. You can go to the End it Movement website to sign up to join this moment; this is your way of saying you will not stand it anymore. We, as individuals, need to keep fighting this battle together until there is an end!
