Contact: Maridith Geuder
STARKVILLE, Miss.--The author of the Pulitzer Prize-nominated book on modern slavery will speak March 23 at Mississippi State University.
The public program featuring Kevin Bales, author of "Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy," begins at 6 p.m. in Colvard Union ballroom. His presentation--and an open discussion to follow--are being sponsored by the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center's International Program.
Bales, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Free the Slaves and a visiting professor of international studies at the University of Mississippi, will highlight results of his research on human trafficking in the United States, including the need for increased prosecutions.
Free the Slaves is the sister organization of Anti-Slavery International, a United Kingdom-based human rights group dating from the 18th century. In addition to service as an ASI trustee, Bales has been a consultant to the United Nations Global Program on Trafficking of Human Beings. Most recently, he edited the U.N. Anti-Human Trafficking Toolkit.
Bales was awarded the 2005 Laura Smith Davenport Human Rights Award, 2004 Judith Sargeant Murray Award for Human Rights and 2003 Human Rights Award Lectureship of the University of Alberta, among other honors.
His 2005 book, "Understanding Global Slavery," was published by the University of California Press, while a new release, "Liberation and Rehabilitation in New Slavery," is forthcoming. "Slavery: A Global Investigation," a documentary based on his work, won a Peabody Award in 2000 and two Emmys in 2002.
Bales holds degrees in sociology, anthropology and economic history.
For more information about the program, telephone the Holmes Center at (662) 325-2033.