Poor Mojo's Newswire

In spite of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the UN in 1948 stating that “slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms,” the figures accompanying the modern slave trade seem inconceivable in a global society that prides itself upon its modern-day values and emphasis on human rights.

1. There are more people in slavery now than at any other time in human history.
2. The value of slaves has decreased.
3. Slavery still exists in the US.
4.Slavery is hidden behind many other names, thus disguising it from society.
5. The least known method of slavery is the most widely used.
6. Human trafficking has recently been described as “the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world.”
7. To buy all bonded laborers out of slavery could cost as little as $40 per family.
8. Free the Slaves believe it is possible to end all slavery within 25 years.
9. Many slave-produced goods might reach your home without you realizing their origin.
10. Your actions affect global slavery.

Even knowing that, there was a certain cold logic at work that seemed hard to refute. Given that the highway has to go somewhere, the most likely place for it is where the land is cheap. Jim Crow still ruled the South in those days, so black neighborhoods were frequently poor neighborhoods, and the residents lacked the political clout to save their homes.

Then I read Tom Lewis’s Divided Highways (Penguin, 1997), and I started to ask if that highway really needed to exist.

The dream of the Interstate Highway System was to end traffic congestion forever. With the advantage of hindsight, Lewis makes it clear that the dream never had a chance. Once a highway is built, new homes, stores, and workplaces will naturally spring up in proximity. With more destinations now in reach of the freeway, traffic grows to fill all available lanes. Expand the number of lanes and more cars show up to choke them as well.