Approximately 300,000 children under the age of 18 are lured into sex trafficking each year. Girls are typically brought into the sex trade as young as twelve years old. Boys can be entrapped into the illicit trade at an even younger age. Sex trafficking tends to occur in impoverished neighborhoods, urban centers and along interstate highways. Most victims tend to be those associated with the foster care system, runaways or black. Forty percent of sex trafficking victims are African Americans. It is estimated that 62% of suspected victims are African American. In the District of Columbia over 2,500 cases have been reported as of 2017. It is reported that over 1,600 of these cases involve children. The same year in which controversy sparked over the amount of missing black girls in the District who received little to no media coverage. This form of modern-day slavery is prevalent in Washington, D.C. and is affecting our youth.
Sex trafficking is far from a victimless crime; it is, in fact, a multi-billion dollar industry that operates throughout the United States. Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, harboring or transporting for compelled labor or sexual acts. Human trafficking can also consist of forced marriages, organ removal, and domestic servitude. Sex trafficking can include but does not require movement. More than 2,000 children go missing each year in the District of Columbia. The Polaris Projectstudy determined that the number of cases reported to a national trafficking hotline surged 25 percent. As of 2019, more than 100 children have been rescued from sex traffickers in the metropolitan area. When black and brown children are missing, little national attention is given to their plight. According to Natalie Wilson of the Black & Missing Foundation, black children who go missing, receive less media attention than white kids.
Communities of Color: Myths & Misconceptions
Youths who are victims of sex trafficking go through a process of manipulation. These kids are often targeted regarding lack of family support, bullying, and even struggling for social acceptance can make them targets. Often youth are groomed or tricked into false beliefs based on words told to them. The process can start off as innocent with toys, candies, compliments, etc and gradually began to escalate. By building a connection, sex traffickers begin to brainwash and manipulate their victims. Hallmarks of child sex trafficking can include unexplained absences from school, bragging about making or having a lot of money, evidence of physical abuse, sexualized behavior and acting withdrawn. Victims’ home life can revolve around violence, substance abuse, sexual abuse and more and will shape the perception of their predators as a saving grace. Boys can account for 13% of human trafficking.
Due to a lack of resources for male survivors, there are limited resources for them. Thus in which research regarding abused male survivors is scarce. Statistically, 0.4% of cases are identified, meaning the majority of cases are not. The representation of sex trafficking in the media warps the perception of who’s at risk. Any child who has been abused or abandoned no matter their gender can become a victim of child trafficking. The image the media shows of who a victim might be is often not who it is. Anyone can become a victim. Trafficking can take place anywhere as the main goal is exploitation and enslavement. Many common misconceptions and beliefs hinder us from being aware of our surroundings and noticing when these situations are out of the ordinary.
Sexually exploited youthsdo not have the freedom and are not able to escape. Victims of sexual exploitation often suffer from physical, emotional, and mental abuse. One of the least acknowledged facts regarding child trafficking is an alarming number of black victims. Black youth between the ages of 12-19have or will experience higher violent interactions than their white counterparts. This is because the narrative of the topic is victim vs exploiter. Case in point, Cyntoia Brown-Long was sentenced as a teen to life in prison for killing her abductor. Black girls are often labeled as the perpetrator rather than a victim. This makes them easy targets for predators. In 2013 60% of prosecuted minors were arrested for prostitution.
Statistics show that African-American men kidnap and traffic the majority of America’s sex trafficking victims. However, these traffickers are marketing and selling the services of their victims to a largely white, affluent base. Most people who pay for sexual favors generally have disposable income. For example, Jason Rodger or DJ KID has trafficked 700 black females. His criminal history of kidnapping, harboring and forcing minors to perform sexual acts go back far as 2011. The white south Carolina promoter also has AIDS that wasn’t reported to other parties until a 13-year-old victim revealed it. Rodgers is in custody but the story receives no coverage from mainstream media. This is because black victims are ignored. The suspects’ page is still active in which he boasts about his triumph: “I’m 36 with 693 BODIES (All Black females), WBU?” Social and economic impacts on society can contribute to why certain areas are a hotspot for trafficking. The rise of social media has allowed it to become more accessible to order sex. While this can reduce violence among adult sex workers who work for themselves, the Internet has not been positive for young victims. Websites such as Backpage, Kik, Snapchat, and Instagram distribute services of young minors globally. Backpage CEO was even arrested in 2016 for conspiracy to commit pimping and other charges. The apps have been involved in over 1,000 child abuse cases. Youtuber Matt Watson’s video explained how predators even time stamp videos and comment when minors appear in a sexually explicit manner. These operations can be hidden under ordinary business establishments. To help put a stop to human trafficking the District of Columbia passed the Prohibition of Human Trafficking Act of 2010.
What Can Be Done?
Tina Frundt, Executive Director of Courtney House created the Washington, D.C. organization to help children who have gotten out of the illegal industry and to educate others to recognize indicators of possible sex trafficking. The organization encourages citizens who suspect children are being victimized to report their suspicions to law enforcement and in doing so possibly save lives.
Sex trafficking has been reported in hotels, brothels and massage parlors but victims can be recruited anywhere. There is no specified region for human trafficking as it is a global business. Workers and bystanders are being trained to recognize victims of child trafficking and online predators.
Gentrification and the rise of tourism in DC has made the city a sex tourist destination. The DC Bill Community Health and Safety Act of 2019 will also make it harder to find victims. By removing criminal penalties for engaging in sexual exchange trafficked victims are at risk. A better solution would be the Equality Mode as it would not hold the sex workers accountable but it would reprimand buyers. By providing options for victims to exit the lifestyle, this approach would make buying people a criminal offense. The model would help reduce the demand for sex trafficking. Becoming more educated on the topic can help save a life. Report any pages, threads or profiles that mention, discuss and engage in fetishizing lascivious acts with minors. Social media has helped these acts to spread through online feeds featuring child pornography and snuff films. Educate minors to become more aware of online predators, child exploitation and sex trafficking. The main goal of sex traffickers is to find the means to exploit the victim or have the victim leave home to engage in sex. As a reminder child sex trafficking is a genderless crime and can target anyone.
How To Report :
To help defend human dignity and end child exploitation the following options to report are listed below:
Report child abuse/neglect hotline: 202-671-(SAFE) or 7233. Representatives will ask for the following: General information regarding minors such as their name, gender, address, etc. The extent of abuse witnessed and any additional information.
Some people in specific professions, teachers, chiropractors, dentists and more can take FREE training classes. To access these free training courses click here. To report sexual implicit videos, images, text messages, etc involving minors please visit: http://www.missingkids.org/gethelpnow/cybertipline
Baylor University offers recommendations to discuss the conversation and educate youth here. By noticing these signsand spreading awareness, you can help at-risk youth and save a life.
To contact safe havens for victims: The Courtney House: call 202 525 1426. The Black and Missing Foundation can be reached at 877 972 2634.
On November 27, 1999, my son Gary Hopkins, Jr., was gunned down by an Prince George’s County police officer. This was years before smartphone videos made it possible for us to watch unarmed Black folks die at the hands of police on our social media feeds every week or so.
Along with mothers from across the nation who’ve lost their children to what is essentially state-sanctioned violence, I have been fighting to change the criminal justice system for the last twenty years. On October 26, 2019, we plan to celebrate the life of Gary Hopkins, Jr and those of other loved ones lost. It will be a day of healing, storytelling, performances and activism.
Grassroots DC is a partner in this event and will be presenting a short video about Gary Hopkins, Jr., one that we hope to eventually turn into a feature-length documentary. Below is the budget for the event. If you can support this effort, please go to our GoFundMe page and make a donation. You can also send a check to the Coalition of Concerned Mothers, 3304 Asher Street, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772. If you can’t support, please share this post with those who can. Thank you.
“IT TAKES A VILLAGE” – A CELEBRATION OF GARY HOPKINS, JR.’S LIFE
I. SUMMARY
Gary Hopkins Jr. was an artist, writer, and a full time college student, whose life was taken by the police in 1999. Marion Gray-Hopkins, Gary’s mother, is hosting the first commemoration event after 20 years since his death, with the hope to (i) celebrate Gary’s life and achievements, (ii) bring together families who were affected by state violence locally and nationally to grow the movement against police terrorism, and (iii) collectively heal through this weekend long event, centering around an artistic ceremony and installation.
II. ABOUT
A. Context:
Gary Hopkins, Jr., at the time of his death, was 19 years old, the youngest child of Gary
Hopkins, Sr. and Marion Gray-Hopkins. Gary was the brother of Tahlita, Antwon and Tashia; he
was also an uncle, cousin, nephew, and friend to many. Gary was also an aspiring rapper,
writer, and producer, who was a full time college student majoring in mass communications with
a business minor. On the night of November 26, Gary attended a dance where one of his
friends got into a verbal altercation with another young man. Following the event, on early
morning November 27, 1999, after breaking up the altercation and getting everyone into their
cars, Gary was sitting on the window ledge of the lead vehicle when a police officer used his
patrol car to block them from exiting the venue. The police officer got out of his car with his gun
drawn, went up to Gary and placed the gun to his temple. The officer then pulled him off the car
by the collar of his shirt when Gary stumbled backwards another officer, who was moonlighting
at the dance, shot Gary in the chest killing him.
The officer who shot Gary was charged with manslaughter, which, following a bench trial, was
acquitted by the judge. No charges were filed against the officer who precipitated the incident,
although he was under investigation for several excessive force violations.
B. After Gary’s Death
Gary’s murder at the hands of law enforcement and the failure of the State to restore justice to
him and his family have led Marion Gray-Hopkins, his mother, to become an activist against
police terrorism, advocating for policy and legislative changes. Marion began her activism work
with Prince George’s County People’s Coalition against Police Brutality and later began to
partner with ONUS Inc.; Families United 4 Justice; American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU); Code
Pink; Progressive Maryland; Campaign for Justice, Safety, and Jobs (CJSJ); A Mother’s Cry;
Black Lives Matter DC; and Amnesty International.
Marion’s activist work has led her to speak out against police terrorism locally, nationally, and
internationally. Marion spoke at Rio De Janeiro, Brazil to support the “Beyond Borders”
Conference; and Kingston, Jamaica for the “Broken but Not Destroyed Campaign.” She
currently serves as a board member with ACLU Maryland, and co-founded and serves as the
President of the Coalition of Concerned Mothers (COCM).
III. Case for Support
We appreciate you and your willingness to support the movement against police terrorism and
specifically this event to commemorate the life of Gary Hopkins Jr.. With you support, we hope
to achieve:
– Bringing 20 mothers from out of state and 20 local mothers who were affected
by police brutality to Washington, DC to attend the full day event.
– Having 150 participants (including mothers) at the commemoration ceremony
for the evening program.
– Reaching 7000 people on social media, before and after the event.
– Strengthening the foundation of this work: (i) healing: centering impacted mothers
and families and creating a space for them to share their experiences, move
through trauma and grief with community; we believe that impacted mothers
need to be cared for and be well before they advance the work of the movement;
(ii) building: when individuals are well, the community can be well; we believe the
healing and collective sharing of mothers will set a strong foundation for trust
building, relationship building, strategies building and thus, movement building;
(iii) outreaching and modeling: police brutality and racial profiling of young black
men have historically contributed to the enactment of white supremacy in
America; by creating this space to share and grow together, this commemoration
event will not only center Gary’s life, Marion’s experiences and those of local
mothers, but also serve as a model for other spaces to be created nationally with
the same purpose: taking steps to heal from white supremacy and fighting for
collective liberation.
IV. ‘IT TAKES A VILLAGE’ EVENT DETAILS
1. General Programming
The event is expected to take place from the evening of October 25 to end of evening
October 26, 2019 (location TBD), with the bulk of activities taking place on Saturday, October
26. Below is a break-down of the key parts of the program:
2. Artistic components
Art has long been the tool that uplifts our collective voice, helps us reimagine our reality, and
inspires us to create a liberatory future. For this event, the programming heavily relies on the
arts to achieve Marion’s vision and objectives to heal and find collective power with local and
national mothers who were affected by police terrorism.
Our program has been in touch with friends, families of Gary Hopkins, Jr., as well as local artists
in the DMV to tap into the resources and power within our community.
a. Performances
During the official commemoration ceremony on October 26 evening, there will be various
performances to celebrate the life of Gary Hopkins, Jr., including:
– Spoken Word performance.
– Gospel singing performance.
– Dance performance.
b. Art Workshop
After the Emotional Healing session, an art workshop will be offered for mothers to reflect and
create arts on their own experiences; drawing from their personal story and adding to the
collective voice and vision of the movement.
c. Art Installation
Our programming will be centered around an artistic installation, hereby referred to as an artistic
altar (references and inspirations below). The altar is inspired by various religious and spiritual
practices, where the altar is believed to be a sacred place where we can connect to the spirits of
our deceased beloveds. It’s also a place for family members, friends, and acquaintances to
show love and respect for people who passed away through prayers and offerings.
This altar will: (i) serve as a visual celebration of Gary’s life, as the artists will create both 2D
and 3D suspended and installed art pieces that represent Gary’s dynamic personality, yearning
for social change, loving compassion as well as his own artistic passion; (ii) an interactive altar
where folks can give offerings in multiple ways throughout the event.
*These images serve as the centerpiece’s inspiration only – the final installation will be created
by our artists as it pertains to Gary Hopkins Jr. and the current movement against police
terrorism.
d. Artistic Offerings
There are two formal sessions of artistic offerings:
(i) after the art workshop: all art created during the art workshop will be installed by mothers
onto the altar to showcase and build collective narratives on the effects of police terrorism on
families as well as share their healing process.
(ii) at the end of the commemoration (after dinner), mothers, general participants as well as
donors, sponsors will have their own rounds of offering. See section V for details.
There are also opportunities for participants and mothers to give offerings at any convenient
time, either through prayers or written notes that can be installed on the altar.
V. BUDGET
VI. Donation Options
Our work in this movement heavily relies on the support of donors and sponsors. We deeply
appreciate any support we get, and want to include our donors and sponsors in our
programming as much as we can. Donors and sponsors will get their own round of
acknowledgement and offerings: each support, regardless of the amount, comes with a candle.
Donors will take part in our offering ceremony and place their candles on the altar to celebrate
and honor the life of Gary Hopkins, Jr. along with family members and friends (other participants
are also asked to donate a minimum of $20 to attend the evening program and will also
participate in the offering sessions with their candles). Additionally, we have three suggested
levels of donations with additional benefits outlined below:
The Visionary: $10,000 and above
The Change Agent: $5,500 – $9,500
The Collaborator: $1,000 – $5,000
Thank you very much for your time and support for this event and the movement against
police terrorism. We look forward to working with you!
February may be the shortest month of the year, but Black History Month really begins on the third Monday of January, which is the day we honor Martin Luther King, Jr. The federal government encourages citizens to celebrate the day through volunteerism, calling it a “day of national service.” But many District of Columbia residents understand that we truly honor Martin Luther King, Jr. through political activism and not volunteerism.
Today, every elected official wants to hang their hat on the mantle of Martin Luther King, but many can’t claim that position without some hypocrisy. In the fall of 2018, an overwhelming majority of District of Columbia council members overturned Initiative 77, a proposal placed on the ballot by District residents that would have gradually raised the minimum wage for tipped minimum workers from $3.89 to $15 per hour in eight years time. Would Martin Luther King, Jr., have backed Initiative 77? His support for Memphis sanitation workers, right before his assassination, suggests that he would have.
Most of the citizens who showed up in Anacostia to participate in this year’s Martin Luther King Jr Peace March despite this year’s frigid cold, were to honor King’s activism. The video below is a testament to the continuing struggle not only for civil rights but also human rights in the District of Columbia.
Props to Di Luong, first-time Grassroots DC videographer, and John Goodine, whose editing skills get better and better every day.
The Supreme Court ruled in 1968 that police must have objective evidence providing “reasonable suspicion” of criminal activity before they can forcibly stop a citizen, and they must have an independent basis for fearing the person is armed before they frisk him. Reasonable suspicion is when a police officer believes that an individual has a weapon which poses a danger to the officer, the officer may stop that individual to search or frisk the individual for a weapon.
Reasonable suspicion requires objective evidence. A reasonable suspicion is not a Black person doing things that a bigot thinks they shouldn’t be doing. Reasonable suspicion is not an unwillingness to comply with an “unlawful” police order. The police can’t say, he didn’t want to be searched, and therefore I came to the reasonable conclusion that he probably has a weapon, which allows me to search him against his will. It’s this kind or circular logic that makes understanding what is and what isn’t a lawful police order difficult to determine.
Anyone, but especially Black people, risks their safety if they refuse to comply with a police order, lawful or not. So, chances are when a police officer or several police officers stop you in the street, you’ll likely comply. Understanding your rights, as they are laid out in the really excellent video below, can help keep you safe.
If the police behave professionally, they’ll let you know why they’re stopping you. They should say something like, we’re looking for someone who just robbed the convenience store wearing those same sneakers that you have on. Or something like that. In other words, what is the reasonable suspicion they have that you have or intend to commit a crime. If they don’t give you that information and then they demand that you comply with a physical search or “frisk,” what do you do?
To be sure, if the police do not have reason to believe that an individual is armed, above and beyond their suspicion that they have or might commit a crime, then an order from the police to comply with a frisk is illegal because it violates your constitutional right against unreasonable search and seizure. They can ask you to give up your constitutional rights, but they can’t order you to do it. At least, they can’t legally order you to give up your constitutional rights.
But it’s just a frisk, right? The word itself sounds benign enough. But having a heavily armed stranger ask you to put your arms on a car or a wall and spread your legs while he or she checks your pockets and runs their hands over your body in search of a weapon, isn’t benign. I don’t want a stranger putting their hand in my pocket, sliding their hand between my buttocks or beneath my breasts, do you? I certainly wouldn’t want a police officer doing that to any child of mine, as they did to the children in the video below. The entire encounter is recorded in this Facebook post.
Stop Police Terror Project-DC, one of the many groups within the DC Movement for Black Lives Coalition, has been working to end abusive stop and frisk policies for years. They have pushed for the passage and funding of the Neighborhood Engagement Achieves Results (NEAR) Act. The main goal of the NEAR Act is to reduce violence in the District of Columbia by using a community-based public health approach to violence prevention and intervention instead of perpetuating broken and ineffective “war on drugs”-style methods like stop and frisk.
One of the key provisions of the NEAR Act is data collection. It mandates that D.C. police officers maintain records on each stop and frisk by filling out 16 data points after each instance, including the race or ethnicity of the individual and reason for the stop. Despite the fact that the D.C. Council has provided the DC Metropolitan Police Department with $150,000 to ensure that this data collection happens, the police department has to date failed to comply.
81.6 percent of police stops in the District of Columbia between 2010 and 2016 involved Black people.
What we do know from the limited stop-and-frisk data that the police have provided is that from 2010 to 2016, 81.6 percent of police stops involved Black people. In addition, a report from the Office of Police Complaints, an independent body that reviews and investigates resident complaints, found that 89 percent of use-of-force incidents by police involved a Black individual from Oct. 1, 2016 through Sept. 30, 2017. Office of Police Complaints numbers are useful, but they can only record those incidents that lead to a civilian complaint. One has to wonder what the numbers would look like if the DC Metropolitan Police Department were actively compiling them as each incident occurred.
89 percent of use-of-force incidents by police involved a Black individuals from Oct. 1, 2016 through Sept. 30, 2017.
And then there’s the question of the policy’s effectiveness. According to research done by Stop Police Terror Project-DC, Stop-and-Frisk does not keep people safe and is rapidly becoming the most discredited policing practice in the United States. Studies of the tactic in a wide variety of cities have revealed clear racial bias and extremely low “effectiveness” as the overwhelming majority of people stopped hadn’t committed any crimes. Almost 90% of the 5 million people stopped in New York City since 2002 have been completely innocent. Each of those years, at least 80% of those stops were of Black or Brown people. In Baltimore, police conducted several hundred thousand stops a year from 2010-2015, almost exclusively in lower-income Black neighborhoods. But only 3.7% of these stops resulted in any sort of criminal citation or arrest.
As a result of the DC Metropolitan Police Department’s failure to comply with the data collection provision of the NEAR Act and because of the ineffectiveness of the policy itself, Stop Police Terror Project-DC, in conjunction with the ACLU-DC, BLM-DC and other Movement for Black Lives organizations, have launched the No More Stop and Frisk Campaign.
No More Stop-and-Frisk: Panel & Workshop Campaign Launch Saturday, January 5, 2019 6:30 – 9:30 PM Anacostia Arts Center 1231 Good Hope Road SE
Originally, Stop and Frisk was meant to interrupt crime. But because it is so often used illegally, instead of stopping crime it is far more often the only crime being committed during an encounter with the police. For more information about the No More Stop and Frisk Campaign, contact sptdc@gmail.com
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America present a film screening and discussion of the documentary
Incompatible Allies: Black Lives Matter, March 4 Our Lives
Sunday, October 21
6:00 – 8:00 PM
Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church
301 A Street SE
Washington, DC 20003
In response to the enthusiasm generated by the March For Our Lives, the largest anti-gun violence demonstration in the nation’s history, Grassroots Media DC, produced a documentary that features Black student activists in the District of Columbia. Working in conjunction with Black Lives Matter-DC, our aim was to capture the experiences Black youth have with gun violence and their perspectives on gun violence prevention and community safety. The result was Incompatible Allies: Black Lives Matter, March for Our Lives and the US Debate about Guns and Violence. Below is the trailer.
The documentary includes interviews with students from schools across the District. The video offers a perspective often excluded from national conversations about gun control, highlighting the ways that violence in white communities is often seen as a national crisis, while violence in African-American communities is often ignored.
“I became frustrated with the fact that national attention and money was being thrown at white students, while black students – who experience gun violence at far higher rates – were being ignored and left out of the conversation,” said Dornethia Taylor, a Core Organizer with Black Lives Matter who conceived of the video project. “When I heard the March for Our Lives was coming to DC, without engaging with the ways that gun violence affects black folks in our city, I decided to get local black young people together to share their stories. This video project is the result.”
Students in the video speak to a variety of differences between the dominant narrative around gun control, and the lived experiences of Black students. “As a community disproportionately targeted by police, we are very skeptical of calls for increased funding for police in schools,” Taylor added. “Further, guns have poured into our communities unregulated for decades. Piecemeal approaches to gun control that don’t address root causes of violence will not make us safer.”
After the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the students from Parkland, Florida immediately became media darlings and hailed as the only force strong enough to move the United States to adopt gun reform. To their credit, the Parkland students organized the largest anti-gun violence demonstration in the history of the nation. Recognizing that media bias gave them a platform while others with similar goals were largely ignored, they invited young Black and Brown activists to share the stage with them.
But is the gun reform that the Parkland students call for in line with the demands of the Black Lives Matter Movement, with whom they claim to have an affinity? Will March for Our Lives last beyond the mid-term elections? What can Black Lives Matter activists teach the Parkland students and the vast numbers inspired by them about organizing and sustaining a movement. Perhaps more to the point, should they even bother?
If the momentum behind the March For Our Lives turns out to be fleeting, where should those who are committed to ending gun violence direct their efforts? This documentary attempts to answer that question. At the very least, we hope to deepen the conversation about gun control, gun violence and violence in general within those communities who choose to screen the documentary.
For information about obtaining a DVD of the full documentary and/or scheduling a screening within the District of Columbia Metropolitan Area, please contact liane@grassrootsdc.org.
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