When
Willow Smith first alerted her mom
Jada Pinkett Smith about human trafficking after watching a YouTube documentary about Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony
forcing African children into slavery, the actress was spurred to take
action. According to the State Department, an estimated 14,500 people
are trafficked to the U.S. annually and other estimates state that
between 21 million and 27 million are currently enslaved around the
world. On Tuesday, Willow,
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith wore
"Free Slaves" T-shirts during their visit to Capitol Hill to urge the
government to take action against human trafficking. They also brought
three survivors before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"Fighting slavery doesn't cost a lot of money. The costs of allowing it
to exist in our nation and abroad are much higher," Pinkett Smith said.
"It robs us of the thing we value most, our freedom."
She called for an extension of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act,
which provides funding to combat human trafficking, helps victims and
implements policies on the issue. Pinkett Smith also plans to launch her
own campaign to raise awareness and incite action against slavery.
