On April 2nd Orlando YAYA partnered with UCF’s Campus Peace Action’s Tent City and Student Labor Action Project at UCF to host the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ Florida Modern-Day Slavery Museum. This event was part of Farm Worker Awareness Week! The museum was housed in a box truck that was a replica of the truck where workers were beaten and chained in a recent slavery case. The museum explained the history and evolution of slavery in Florida agriculture from the era of chattel slavery, through sharecropping, and modern-day slavery in the fields today.
YAYAs tabled outside the museum and invited visitors to join us for the CIW ‘s Farm Worker Freedom March in Lakeland, FL at the Publix headquarters on April 16-18.
Walking through the museum was a great opportunity to learn more about the seven slavery cases that the CIW has investigated since 1997, and to see news articles and photos about the cases. Many UCF students were shocked to learn that slavery still occurs in Florida today, and signed up to join YAYA and fight for justice in the fields.
We would like to thank YAYA members who volunteered at the info table during this event: Carolina Agudelo, Juan Barredo, James Quill, Leslie Cordero, Richard Gaiser, Thomas Hellinger, Jessica Wolff, Sarah Wissig
