We at The Dragonfly Home are heartbroken and outraged by the violent and unjust deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. We grieve the loss of their lives. We also grieve the legacy of racism in the United States that has led to innumerable unjust deaths of people of color throughout our nation’s history.
The Dragonfly Home stands against all forms of racism and in solidarity with those who fight for justice every day. We remain committed to combating racism in every aspect of our organization.
Racism forms the roots of human trafficking and we see its effects at Dragonfly every day as we listen to the experiences of people we serve. We see the intersectionality of racism, oppression, marginalization, and the crime of human trafficking. People of color are disproportionately impacted by human trafficking. Also, people of color who experience human trafficking are commonly viewed as criminals rather than victims of a crime, and therefore may not even be referred to services like ours.
Dragonfly serves survivors of human trafficking. Period. That is the only qualification for our services. Survivors of human trafficking who access our services can expect fair, respectful, and equal treatment regardless of race, color, religion/creed, gender, gender expression, age, national origin/ancestry, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or legal status. This has been, and always will be, the heartbeat of our organization.
Many people approach us, hearts broken by the brutal exploitation of human trafficking, wanting to know how they can fight against this horrifying crime. The truth is, if you want to fight human trafficking, you must kill it at the roots—and that means standing against racism.
What are some practical ways to do that?
1. Listening. We can listen to the experiences, the stories, and the points of view of people whose background and history is different from ours. This step is crucial because it builds empathy and compassion.
2. Educating ourselves.There are numerous films, documentaries, podcasts, books, Ted Talks, and other resources we can access to learn about biases we don’t recognize in ourselves and other ways that racism hides in our society. Check out these links for resources:
3. Donate. We can support organizations around the country dedicated to combating racism every single day. Here are some suggestions for local and national organizations:
Urban League of Greater Oklahoma City
We at Dragonfly will continue working to combat racism and stand for justice in our fight to end human trafficking.