Southeast Student Helps Shine a Light on Slavery

Southeast Missouri State University junior, Kurt McDowell, had students and locals questioning the large red X's blazed upon the back of his hands on Feb. 27. McDowell was eager to answer their questions and spread the word about his passion for the End It Movement against slavery and sex trafficking.

McDowell became aware of slavery and sex trafficking over two years ago while at a conference in Atlanta, GA.

"The End It Movement started around 2012. I was in Atlanta at a conference and they started talking about this. They were like, 'Starting today we're going to get this out there,' and I was like, 'This is awesome,'" McDowell said.

The End it Movement is like a middle man. It's putting a face on slavery. The End It Movement is made up of 10 organizations--Love 146, The A21 Campaign, IJM (International Justice Mission), and Polaris Project are just a few of them.

"They all do their individual parts. IJM [International Justice Mission] and A21 [The A21 Campaign], for instance, go into to brothels, go into brick factories, and rescue these children--boys, girls, women, and men that can't do anything. They'll rescue them, they'll liberate them, they'll free them. They will take them into their own little camps, offices, homes and rehabilitate them," McDowell said. "It's a traumatizing experience that they've all been put through, whether is sex trafficking or industrial work. They will rehabilitate them in their homes, train them, and educate them to live a life that they can happily be in. They also take the people behind the slavery, who capture, who imprison, who beat and they put them behind bars and bring them the justice they deserve."

The End It Movement helps these companies do what they do. They raise money and disperse it in the need that the companies ask for.

"The End It Movement collects all of the money and goes towards funding an IJM field operation. Somewhere in the middle of last year, they freed 250 slaves on one mission. It was the second biggest rescue ever and it only meant to rescue a few," McDowell said.

McDowell is passionate about spreading the word about the End It Moving and is making efforts to help where he can. He utilizes social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to try to get people's attention. McDowell will also walk around town sporting a hat, phone case, or shirt that displays the cause. Recently, McDowell has paired up with Chosen Fitness as a way to help raise money for the End It Movement.

"I was in the conference again in Atlanta [GA] this January and as I am staring at the Georgia Dome, where this passion got started in me, one of my associates called me and he was like, 'we want you to be a part of a business with us. 50 percent of everything we make goes to the End It Movement and to the organizations behind it,'" McDowell said. "It's a supplement company. If you want post workout stuff, pre workout stuff, multivitamins, fish oils. The whole thing is basically you walk into GNC. Anything you see in there, more than likely, we sell. We're also in the works of getting our own product. "

McDowell walks around as the face of Chosen Fitness. The company covers a wide range of people between the ages of 20 and 40-years-old.

"They [Chosen Fitness] felt like I was passionate enough that they could have me on. I could reach a younger generation. A generation that is more involved. The generation that is crying out to end slavery, that has been the battle cry for the last two, three years. Yeah, older people are getting involved, but this conference has raised up a generation our age and it's our generation that's going to stop it," McDowell said.

On Feb. 27, he joined in with the End It Movement shout out and wore red X's on the backs of his hands as way to catch people's attention and shine a light on slavery.

"Everyone was excited about it. Everyone made a status about it, everyone shared a picture, drew a red X, but that status, that X, didn't free anybody. It didn't do anything," McDowell said. "That cause is still breathing and it doesn't need to be. Awareness is the first step, but it's not the only step."

There is a way to check where your products come from. You can go online to slaveryfootprint.org and you can type in a product. The site will tell how many slaves are involved in making that product. It will also tell you what products do not use any slaves and what products do. By doing that, you can choose the product that doesn't use any slaves and force the companies that do use slaves to run out of money.

"The first year I was involved in it, I knew that it was important, but I couldn't figure out why I was so excited about it. God put it in my heart for some reason and it took me a little bit to figure out why. I'm still learning that but I feel like God did that because it's part of his plan for me," McDowell said.

McDowell speaks out passionately and frequently about his desire to see the End It Movement to succeed.

"I have seen people with my own eyes who have been through it. I have read about people that have been through it. They have described the stories to me. I have seen and heard their cries and it's not something that should be allowed," McDowell said. "I think of my family. I think of the ones I love and the ones I will love in my future and I don't want that for them. I want to be able to say to my kids in the future that I didn't allow it. And if it's dead, I want to be able to say that I helped that. Or if it's alive, I want to say I did my best to kill it while I could. It's a nightmare that people can't escape from and they need someone to help them out. To free them."