A brief history of inhumanity:
Three centuries of forced agricultural labor on the banks of the St. Johns...
"Evans' workers walked in the footsteps of the slaves that Rolle brought to Florida in the 1700's. Their sweat mixed with the same soil..."
this map one of many reasons why the CIW decided to roll out the Modern Day Museum, to teach how this forced labor ie modern day slavery still exists, but little by little, the CIW has helped put an end to some of this forced slavery...please read further below.
The map, which a CIW delegation first came across at the British Museum when in London three years ago to receive the Anti-Slavery International award, allows us to trace the arc of three centuries of forced labor, not just at the state level but within the confines of one particular North Florida community. The story of this community -- of this soil -- is the story of the evolution of slavery in Florida writ small.
Rollestown
The story begins on the banks of the St. Johns River in the 1770's on a plantation owned by Denys Rolle, a former member of the British parliament. According to the University of North Florida's historical archives:
"The Rolle estate at 'the narrows' on the St. Johns River was unmanageably large, stretching for twenty-three miles along the St. Johns River from Federal Point to the north shore of Dunn's Creek... The towns of East Palatka, Hastings, Spuds, and San Mateo, and the fields of potatoes, cabbages, and winter vegetables that surround them, now occupy portions of a three-county conglomerate once owned by Denys Rolle." (Note: the plantation sits east of the river, just inside the north-east quadrant of the map above; the map below is a detail showing the exact location of the Rolle plantation.) .... for the entire article please log onto http://www.ciw-online.org/a_brief_history_of_inhumanity.html#inhumanity
This is how many of the farmworkers have been treated in the near past...until the CIW started working with the people .. the workers to put an end not only to the sub-poverty wages, but to modern day slavery as well.
This past weekend, April 16 - 18, 2010 people from all across the United States boarded buses, cars, trains, planes all to embark on the Farmworker Freedom March which began in Tampa, FL all the way to the doors of Publix - Corporate Headquarters in Lakeland, FL. The line of people - allies from across the country stretched as far as the eye could see, the people walked for over 20 miles in solidarity with the farmworkers to voice their concern at how Publix Corporation, the largest privately owned grocery store in the South continues to refuse to work with the ciw to ensure that there is justice in the fields...up until the eve of the march this refusal on the part of Publix to work with CIW was 'no', then on the eve of the march Publix came out publicly and stated that they are not purchasing tomatoes from the two farms, too little too late is the response from our friends @ CIW.
Publix still refuses to meet with the CIW and negotiate a better way on their part to handle the worsening situation at hand. It is not a workers vs employer, it is a human rights issue as well, the workers deserve to earn a living wage, be treated fairly, and with justice, again the CIW wants to work with Publix, but until the moment they actually sit across from each other at the table the issue remains unresolved. This momentous march was only the tip of the iceberg, if people, students, parents, people of faith, and most of all the works came out to this grand march, then we are resolved to keep working in solidarity for justice!