Latest Slavery News

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo delivers her speech, during the inauguration of a park honoring 'Solitude', a woman who fought for the liberation of slaves on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, in Paris, Saturday Sept. 26, 2020. Hidalgo plans to erect a statue in honour of Solitude at the site, the city's first statue honoring a Black woman. Amid global protests against monuments to white men linked to colonialism or the slave trade, French leaders have pushed instead to erect new monuments to more diverse, lesser-known historical figures. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)

Paris names park after Black woman who resisted slavery

Sep. 26, 2020 7:05 AM EDT

PARIS (AP) — The city of Paris inaugurated a public garden Saturday honoring a woman who fought for the liberation of slaves on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. Mayor Anne Hidalgo also announced plans to erect a statue to the woman, Solitude, at the site in northeastern Paris. It will be the...

FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020 file photo, Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., speaks during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, about a U.S. China trade agreement, accompanied by Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, right. On Friday, Sept. 25, 2020, Sens. Wyden and Brown said the government needs to ban the import of products made with child or forced labor after an Associated Press investigation found widespread exploitation in the palm oil industry, from debt bondage to outright slavery. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

US senators demand action after AP exposes palm oil abuses

Sep. 25, 2020 6:31 PM EDT

Lawmakers said Friday that the U.S. government needs to ban the import of products made with child or forced labor after an Associated Press investigation found widespread exploitation in the palm oil industry, from debt bondage to outright slavery. U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown and Ron Wyden —who spearheaded...

FILE - In this Sept. 20, 2017 file photo, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg reacts to applause as she is introduced by William Treanor, Dean and Executive Vice President of Georgetown University Law Center, at the Georgetown University Law Center campus in Washington. On Friday, Sept. 24, 2020, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming Ginsburg wanted to lower the age of consent for sex to 12 years old. This bogus claim first emerged during Ginsburg’s 1993 confirmation hearings when official testimony misinterpreted a recommendation by Ginsburg in a 1977 report published by the United States Commission on Civil Rights. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen last week

Sep. 25, 2020 2:13 PM EDT

A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts: ___ Ruth Bader Ginsburg did not advocate lowering the age of consent CLAIM: The...

A little girl holds palm oil fruit collected from a plantation in Sumatra, Indonesia, Nov. 13, 2017. An Associated Press investigation has found many palm oil workers in Indonesia and neighboring Malaysia endure exploitation, including child labor. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)

Palm oil labor abuses linked to world’s top brands, banks

Sep. 24, 2020 10:32 PM EDT

PENINSULAR MALAYSIA (AP) — Jum’s words tumble out over the phone, his voice growing ever more frantic. Between sobs, he says he’s trapped on a Malaysian plantation run by government-owned Felda, one of the world’s largest palm oil companies. His boss confiscated and then lost his...

FILE - In this image made from undated, file video footage run by China's CCTV via AP Video, Muslim trainees work in a garment factory at the Hotan Vocational Education and Training Center in Hotan, Xinjiang, northwest China. China on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020, lashed out at the passage of a bill by the U.S. House of Representatives that threatens sanctions over the alleged use of forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region, calling the accusation a lie. (CCTV via AP Video, File)

China blasts US House bill, denies forced labor in Xinjiang

Sep. 23, 2020 6:37 AM EDT

BEIJING (AP) — China on Tuesday lashed out at the passage of a bill by the U.S. House of Representatives that threatens sanctions over the alleged use of forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region, calling the accusation a lie. Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the bill “maliciously...

FILE - This Nov. 4, 2019, file photo shows cargo cranes at the Port of Tacoma in Tacoma, Wash. U.S lawmakers are pushing for a ban on exports from an area of northwest China following a report that found widespread use of forced labor. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

Congress seeks to block goods from China over forced labor

Sep. 22, 2020 5:23 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan bill aimed at keeping goods out of the U.S. that are made with the forced labor of detained ethnic minorities in China passed overwhelmingly Tuesday in the House of Representatives despite concerns about the potential effects on global commerce. The House voted 406-3 to...

FILE - This Jan. 23, 2015 file photo shows Winston Churchill's family home at Chartwell, England, which is cared for by the National Trust. Britain’s National Trust which looks after hundreds of the country’s well-loved historic sites, published a report Tuesday Sept. 22, 2020, said 93 of its sites have connections with aspects of the global slave trade or Britain’s colonial history. Churchill led the administration of colonies and has been criticized for opposing Indian independence. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP, File)

UK's National Trust details historic sites' links to slavery

Sep. 22, 2020 10:30 AM EDT

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s National Trust, which looks after hundreds of the country’s well-loved historic sites, has detailed how dozens of its properties have links to slavery and colonialism. A report published Tuesday by the heritage and conservation organization said 93 of its sites have...

FILE - In this May 22, 2020 file photo, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker answers questions from the media, from his office at the Illinois State Capitol, in Springfield, Ill., in front of a painting painting depicting a political debate in Charleston, Ill., on Sept. 18, 1858 between Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln. (Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register via AP, Pool File)/The State Journal-Register via AP)

Douglas statue comes down, but Lincoln had racist views, too

Sep. 20, 2020 8:29 PM EDT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — With the nation racing to come to grips with centuries of racial sins, officials plan to remove the Capitol lawn statue of Stephen A. Douglas, whose forceful 19th century politics helped forge modern-day Illinois but who also profited from slavery. Just inside the Statehouse hangs...

FILE - In this April 5, 2018, file photo, people walk through the Princeton University campus in Princeton, N.J. The Trump administration has opened an investigation into racial bias at Princeton University, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020, saying that the school's recent acknowledgment of racism on campus amounts to a

Princeton faces federal inquiry after acknowledging racism

Sep. 18, 2020 6:53 PM EDT

The Trump administration has opened an investigation into racial bias at Princeton University, saying that the school's recent acknowledgment of racism on campus amounts to a “shocking” and “serious” admission of discrimination. In a letter to the university on Wednesday, the U.S....

Teacher on leave for 'pretend you are a slave' assignment

Sep. 18, 2020 5:42 PM EDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A high school teacher in Iowa has been placed on leave for assigning students to "pretend you are a black slave.” The Iowa City Press-Citizen reported that the assignment for an Iowa City school district online learning program for students assigned to different schools asked...

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