by Rebecca Kilborne
Marketing & Communications Manager
President Lincoln’s Cottage

Greetings Petworth neighbors!

We want to share some inspiring events that happened last month behind the gates of President Lincoln’s Cottage. From June 23-28th, 15 students from the US and abroad gathered at the Cottage for the annual Students Opposing Slavery International Summit to develop their ideas on combating human trafficking. As we hope you know by now, the Cottage is where Abraham Lincoln developed the Emancipation Proclamation, so it is a fitting place to continue the fight for freedom.

The students' ideas culminated in final projects they presented at the end of that week. Two local students who participated (who both happen to be named Vivian) showed their DMV-savvy by drafting legislative bills that will assist in the fight for freedom.

Vivian Monaco (16) from Arlington, Virginia proposed a bill to expand and enforce protections for migrants who are issued temporary H-2A visas for agricultural work.

The idea was ignited by a talk by the anti-human-trafficking organization, Polaris, on the first day of the Summit. Listening to the talk, Monaco learned about the prevalence of labor trafficking in urban environments like DC, but also on farms across the United States. Large-scale farming operations often violate or find loopholes with workers’ H-2A visas, resulting in exploitation of migrant workers. “We hear a lot about rights in America: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It’s shocking to learn that there are a lot of people who don’t have these rights and never will," Monaco said.

Monaco’s bill establishes fines for violators, ensures oversight over the currently problematic recruitment process, and ensures contracts are upheld in the native language of the worker. She will focus on specific districts in California where the levels of H-2A violations are sky-high.

Vivian Yu (18) from Oakton, Virginia plans to introduce a bill to combat a different aspect of human trafficking: preventing a particular circumstance that can increase vulnerability for young Americans in school.

Yu’s bill, the Title IX Training and Education Act, would address the social isolation that often occurs when students are bullied or harassed. Social isolation is, not surprisingly, a strong precursor to trafficking. The bill was inspired by her personal struggles with school administration after a harassment situation, mandates that the Department of Education facilitate student advocacy by educating students on their Title IX rights, and training for administrators on how to advocate for their students when these rights are violated. She plans on going to Capitol Hill with other impacted students and approaching different school boards to lobby for the bill.

Other students at the Summit also presented ideas that were both compelling and practical. Students are working to share information with their own school communities, create websites with resources for survivors and the wider public, developing a podcast to share awareness, and planning advocacy partnerships with Amnesty International, UNICEF, Girl Scouts and other non-profits.

“These were some of the brightest young change-makers that we have hosted at President Lincoln’s Cottage in the eleven years that we have been convening the Students Opposing Slavery Summit,” said Callie Hawkins, CEO & Executive Director of President Lincoln's Cottage. “We look forward to seeing them enact their projects and apply the information they learned at the Summit as they move forward with their advocacy work.”

We hope you are inspired by these stories, and let the young people in your lives know about our next award-winning summit. We will be accepting applications for the 2025 Summit later this winter, so stay tuned!