Park View, D.C.

To commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, the Lincoln’s Cottage will open an exhibit on modern slavery tomorrow, February 17, titled “Can You Walk Away?”  According the Cottage’s Web site, this special exhibit will challenge perceptions of slavery in America today and raise awareness of a growing humanitarian crisis. By posing the question, “Can you walk away?” this exhibit will inspire people to engage with the modern abolitionist movement and to see that slavery is an ongoing issue that requires big thinking and direct action, just as it did in Lincoln’s time.

Full press release below.

Washington, D.C. – President Lincoln’s Cottage, in partnership with Polaris Project, will open Can You Walk Away? Modern Slavery: Human Trafficking in the United States President’s Day weekend in the Robert H. Smith Visitor Education Center. The exhibit is part of a year-long commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of Lincoln developing the Emancipation Proclamation at President Lincoln’s Cottage. Can You Walk Away? bridges the perceived gap between slavery past and present, and highlights the challenges and perceptions of slavery in America today. Can You Walk Away? will be open for 18 months, from February 17, 2012 through August 31, 2013.
 
“The Cottage has an obligation to the public to explore the modern impact of Lincoln’s presidency and ideas, especially ideas developed right here at the Cottage.It’s outrageous that slavery is a growing problem in our country, especially when the ‘shackles’ of slavery were legally abolished nearly 150 years ago. Slavery is a problem in our world today that requires big thinking and direct action, just like it did in Lincoln’s time,” said Erin Carlson Mast, Director of President Lincoln’s Cottage.
 
Can You Walk Away? uses powerful imagery, video footage and compelling statistics to inspire people to consider Lincoln’s ideas about slavery, discover the harsh reality of slavery today, and take direct action to help eliminate this problem. Human trafficking is a $32 billion-a-year industry and is one of the fastest growing criminal industries in the world. Some 12 million people are held against their will in compelled service across the globe. President Lincoln’s Cottage is the authentic resource for understanding Lincoln’s perspective on slavery and his development of the Emancipation Proclamation and this exhibit connects his bold and courageous ideas with the modern abolitionist movement.

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