“The Florida Modern Slavery museum is an invaluable enterprise for educating the citizens of Florida and the nation on the continuing absence of economic justice for low income workers, especially agricultural workers. For too long, political representatives and ordinary citizens have ignored the recurring instances of enslavement in contemporary Florida. Indeed, for too long, there has been insufficient light shining in on the low pay and indecent working conditions of agricultural workers in this state. The mobile Florida Modern Slavery museum is impressive and imaginative approach to shedding new light on these old issues. There is much we can learn from this endeavor and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the enlightening organization responsible for this educational tour.”

Patrick Mason
Professor of Economics, &
Director, African American Studies Program
Florida State University

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“Today, as in the past, many Florida field workers lack the basic civil rights, and human rights, that would guarantee them fair treatment and fair compensation for their strenuous labors. All Americans have a civic duty to learn about the hardships and struggles of the men, women, and children who grow our food, for these workers are our neighbors and fellow citizens. The shameful conditions exposed in this exhibit are part of a larger history of coerced labor in Florida. In order to overcome that history, we must confront it, and enlist the energies of employers, political leaders, retail food industry leaders, and consumers to eradicate once and for all the abusive labor practices documented here. I commend the Coalition of Immokalee Workers for launching this traveling exhibit, which illustrates in such a graphic and moving way the plight of many Florida farmworkers today.”

Jacqueline Jones
Professor of History, University of Texas at Austin

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“Slavery. In the 21st century. It is not something drawn up from the macabre mind of Stephen King or Dean Koontz. As this exhibit makes clear, this is not fiction. It is real. Painfully real. Four hundred years of slavery in Florida, and 145 of those coming after the Civil War, are the result of the continued violation and debasement of workers’ human rights. As document after document, photograph after photograph, court case after court case all attest, human bondage is wrong. There is no gray area. Yet, still it persists in the lush agricultural fields of Florida. Martin Luther King, Jr. said it best when he averred that “When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.” But this exhibit and the tireless efforts of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers make clear that this battle is far from over.”

Carol Anderson
Associate Professor of African American Studies
Emory University

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“Florida has a long and sordid history of forced labor, including chattel slavery, the convict-lease, and debt peonage. Unfortunately, even now workers trapped in slavery still pick some of the crops that we eat every day. Modern-day slavery persists because it remains in the shadows. CIW is one of the leading grassroots antislavery organizations working today to expose the conditions of peonage in Florida agriculture. Their ‘Mobile Modern-day Slavery Museum’ will bring this practice to light and help secure justice for the state’s farmworkers. I urge you to pay attention to this important event when it comes to your community.”

Alex Lichtenstein
Associate Professor of History, Florida International University