Artists, Activists Join to Fight Child Sex Trafficking

by Daisha Wilber and Audrey Galex

Through story, music, movement and mutli-media performance, a coalition of Atlanta artists and activists calls on Atlanta’s leadership to confront child sex trafficking in the metro area by putting a face on the facts.

The premier event of the arts-in-action initiative, Facing Child Sex Trafficking: Atlanta’s Dirty Little Secret, will be performed Thursday, January 30, 2014, at 7 p.m. at the Universalist Unitarian Congregation of Atlanta, 1911 Cliff Valley Way NE in Atlanta.  The event is free and open to the public.  A VIP reception begins at 6:30 pm and refreshments will be served following the program.

For most of us, it’s easy to look away. No one wants to admit that every child in every neighborhood across the Atlanta area is at risk of falling prey to prostitution. The victims could be your children, siblings or the sweet, innocent faces you see playing in your neighborhood every day.

According to FBI statistics, Atlanta ranks among the top 14 cities in the United States for domestic minor sex trafficking. And some 300 girls across Atlanta are lured into trafficking every month.

“History has shown us many times how artists have been at the helm of transformational change,” said Yewande Austin, artistic director of the Facing Project-Atlanta.

“They tell stories that illustrate the crisis: about the girls and boys caught up in sex trafficking, about a young man who went from pimp to preacher, about gay teens who are trafficked and how human trafficking flourishes on America’s highways.”

Facing Project-Atlanta has brought together a cross-section of artists including singers, songwriters, musicians, dancers, spoken word artists, visual artists, authors, journalists and producers. Among them, Alphonso Jackson, Kodisha Soul Scribe, Meek, Jonathan Blanchard, Jeff Peri, Jasmine Spells, Jamele Wright, Jennifer Denning and young ladies from Little Debbie’s Second Chance Homes.

These groups will share resources to produce the event: Youth Spark, Street Grace, The Mercy Project, Wellspring Living, Voice Today, Out of Darkness, Living Water for Girls, Tapestri and 4Sarah.  Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta (FAMA) is co-sponsoring Atlanta’s Facing Project, which will be broadcast on Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasters (AIB-TV).

Ms. Wilber and Ms. Galex are the co-founders of Facing Child Sex Trafficking.