Phoebe Henderson
“I was born a slave of the Bradley family in Macon Georgia. My father's name was Anthony Hubbard and he belonged to the Hubbard's in Georgia. He was a young man when I left Georgia and I never heard from him since. I remember my mother, Master Hill, brought her to Texas with us in 1859. I worked in the field many a day, plowing and hoeing. I worked in the house, too. I spinned seven curts a day and every night we run two looms, making large curts for plow lines. We made all our clothes.” – Phoebe Henderson
Giftbelle Lomotey ’25
How many people today even know where their clothes come from? While the traditional crops that were harvested by enslaved people have been regulated by fair trade practices, the cotton and fashion industries have not. Consumers today can safely buy coffee, sugar, and chocolate that has been ethically grown and produced. Yet the fashion industry remains almost unquestioned in its use of slave labor from farm to factory. From cotton fields to sewing sweatshops, many unpaid hands have created the underwear you're wearing right now. While companies from Nike to the Gap have improved their sweatshops’ working conditions, there is still no international fashion brand except for Patagonia that is brave enough to be certifiably slavery free throughout its supply chain. Unless you buy your clothing used or shop using the end slavery now website, we are all supporting slavery everytime we purchase clothing.
Sources
- Federal Writers' Project: Slave Narrative Project, Vol. 16, Texas, Part 2, Easter-King. 1936.
- List of Fair Trade Companies - End Slavery Now
- Shopping Slavery-Free - Human Trafficking Search
