{"409221":{"#nid":"409221","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Activist Films Bring Light to Human Trafficking in Atlanta","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EHuman trafficking is one of the nation\u0027s largest unregulated industries, impacting thousands of men and women in the United States every year. While the practices of sex and labor trafficking are carried out in motels, brothels, and restaurants all over the world, Atlanta is not immune to the influence of the pervasive underground industry.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn fact, Atlanta topped the list of eight different cities impacted by the sex trade in a \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.urban.org\/research\/publication\/estimating-size-and-structure-underground-commercial-sex-economy-eight-major-us-cities\/view\/full_report\u0022\u003Estudy\u003C\/a\u003E conducted by the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.urban.org\/\u0022\u003EUrban Institute\u003C\/a\u003E, a public policy think tank, and the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.justice.gov\/\u0022\u003EDepartment of Justice\u003C\/a\u003E. The city falls prey to a burgeoning human trafficking industry due to its prominence as an international travel hub, providing access to the same commercial air and ground routes that draws business and travelers\u0026nbsp;\u2014 and potential customers\u0026nbsp;\u2014 to Atlanta.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStudents and professionals in the \u003Cstrong\u003ESchool of Literature, Media, and Communication\u003C\/strong\u003E seek to bring light to the issue of human trafficking through the use of film by portraying the personal narratives of those affected and providing a call to action.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe main thing that was so surprising for me was that human trafficking is happening right in our backyard. I mainly understood it as a global issue. But it\u2019s happening in Atlanta, right under our noses,\u0022 said Jack McRee, an undergraduate student who took part in an internship collaboration between LMC Chair\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.iac.gatech.edu\/faculty-and-staff\/faculty\/bio\/utz\u0022\u003ERichard Utz\u003C\/a\u003E and advisor\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/lmcdegree.lmc.gatech.edu\/people\/\u0022\u003EJill Ann Hertel\u003C\/a\u003E (LMC), the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.civilandhumanrights.org\/\u0022\u003ENational Center for Civil and Human Rights\u003C\/a\u003E (NCCHR), and the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/theihti.org\/\u0022\u003EInternational Human Trafficking Institute\u003C\/a\u003E (IHTI).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring his internship with IHTI, McRee created a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/vimeo.com\/110329664\u0022\u003Evideo\u003C\/a\u003E focused on getting people involved in the human trafficking prevention movement through the \u003Cem\u003EDo Something\u003C\/em\u003E campaign, encouraging students to host a film screening, inviting a speaker to come talk about human trafficking prevention, or helping to raise awareness.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Working on my film I saw places that I had visited where human trafficking is happening only a block or two away. That\u2019s what sparked my passion for it. If it\u2019s happening so close, why aren\u2019t we doing anything about it?\u0022 said McRee. \u0022The video [aimed to get] students fired up about learning about human trafficking and how they can get involved in the fight.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter the video\u0027s positive reception, McRee was invited by the NCCHR to speak at the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/humantraffickingsearch.net\/wp\/student-convening-signals-a-new-era-of-human-trafficking-activism\/\u0022\u003ENational Student Convening for Human Trafficking Activism\u003C\/a\u003E to students from all over the country seeking to make a difference. He spoke about the power of using visual media to create social movements and engage people in social justice activism, a merging of disciplines already familiar to those who learn, teach, and practice in LMC.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe School\u0027s video production coordinator, John Thornton, is embarking on a documentary project of his own, leveraging the personal narratives of trafficking victims to bring awareness to the issue in Atlanta. Growing out of an interview Thornton heard on the radio while commuting to work, the project is currently titled \u003Cem\u003ENot for Sale\u003C\/em\u003E and follows the triumphant stories of three sex trafficking survivors.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022This young lady was telling her story and I thought it was very compelling. She ran away from home and got caught up with the wrong person, and that person forced her into sex trafficking. She was able to escape,\u0022 Thornton recalled. \u0022I listened to that interview for about forty-five minutes and I just kept thinking, \u0027This is a fantastic story to tell. I wish I could do more.\u0027 So I decided to make a documentary about the issue as it relates to Atlanta.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Human sex trafficking is a really big problem in Atlanta because we\u2019re a destination city. People want to travel here, and they can enjoy themselves illegally by participating in sex trafficking. We also have one of the world\u2019s busiest airports so it\u2019s easy to get people in and out.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThornton plans to explore the supply and demand for commercial sex acts, exposing the individuals who traffic women and the jobs that support trafficking women.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMy goal with the documentary is to make people so angry about the issue that they go out and do something about it. If that occurs, then I count that as a success,\u201d Thornton said. \u201cIt\u2019s important to be aware and to understand the signs of people that are trafficking. It\u2019s important to know what the average person can do to shine a light on the situation and do something about it.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cem\u003EEdited from an original article by Whitney Rudeseal \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EInterested in learning more? A joint minor in Social Justice Studies, a collaboration between the School of Literature, Media, and Communication and the School of History, Technology, and Society, maps the evolution of race, gender, and environmental issues in relation to new scientific and social realities. Contact \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:lisa.yaszek@lmc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ELisa Yaszek\u003C\/a\u003E for more information.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELMC undergraduate student Jack McRee and video production coordinator John Thornton are seeking to bring light to this issues of human trafficking through the affordance of film, portraying personal narratives of those affected and providing a call to action.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"LMC undergraduate student Jack McRee and video production coordinator John Thornton are seeking to bring light to this issues of human trafficking through the affordance of film, portraying personal narratives of those affected."}],"uid":"27498","created_gmt":"2015-06-01 14:04:47","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:18:25","author":"Rachel Miles","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-06-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-06-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"442361":{"id":"442361","type":"image","title":"The National Center for Civil and Human Rights","body":null,"created":"1449256190","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 19:09:50","changed":"1475895182","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:02","alt":"The National Center for Civil and Human Rights","file":{"fid":"203115","name":"civil_and_human_rights.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/civil_and_human_rights_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/civil_and_human_rights_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":9002,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/civil_and_human_rights_0.jpg?itok=AFVyXenJ"}},"409231":{"id":"409231","type":"image","title":"Jack McRee","body":null,"created":"1449254195","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 18:36:35","changed":"1475895137","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:52:17","alt":"Jack McRee","file":{"fid":"202218","name":"jack_mcree_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/jack_mcree_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/jack_mcree_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":69444,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/jack_mcree_0_0.jpg?itok=lOlB9E46"}}},"media_ids":["442361","409231"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/110329664","title":"Do Something video"}],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELisa Yaszek\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:lisa.yaszek@lmc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elisa.yaszek@lmc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}