Every year on December 2, the United Nations observes the
International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, a date that asks the world to
look squarely at something many people would rather believe belongs entirely to
the past. The image most of us carry when we hear the word slavery is a
historical one: ships crossing oceans, chains on wrists, plantations and
auction blocks. That history is real and it still shapes the world today. But
the day itself was created for a different, more uncomf...
