JOIN OUR COMMUNITY - Sign up for our eUpdate to get updates about our work, our action, and our cause.

sign up

Give the gift of Freedom.

Donate Today

   This riveting book by Kevin Bales and Ron Soodalter exposes the extent of
   slavery in America today, and what you can do to end it.



A Blight on the Nation
We tend to think of our America as the country where slavery has no place. The dire truth is we are pretty far from freedom. Slavery is alive and flourishing. Thousands come on the promise of a better life, handing their savings to traffickers who make promises they never intend to keep. Today we may call it human trafficking, but make no mistake: It is the slave trade.

Eating, Wearing, Walking and Talking Slavery
Slavery probably crept into your life several times today. Every one of us, every day, touches, wears, and eats products tainted with slavery. Slave-made goods and commodities are everywhere in our lives: cotton, coffee, cocoa, steel, rugs, and cell phones. And the list goes on.

You Can Stop It
Slaves can be found in all 50 states, working as farmhands, domestics, sweatshop and factory laborers, gardeners, restaurant and construction workers, and as victims of sexual exploitation. As citizens, we need to recognize the warning signs, know what to do with our suspicions, and be ready to help survivors who’ve been rescued.



Praise for "The Slave Next Door"


"Most Americans believe that slavery in our country ended with the Emancipation Proclamation. They are wrong. "The Slave Next Door" exposes slavery in today's America in all its forms, and sounds a call to arms to government, corporations, and private citizens alike."
-Kerry Kennedy, Founder, Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights


"This is a book to make you angry. Bales and Soodalter show us the manifold ways that unfree labor is woven into the American economy. And, most important, they show us what we can do to stop it."
-Adam Hochschild, author of Bury the Chains and King Leopold's Ghost


About the Authors

Dr. Kevin Bales is the world's leading expert on modern slavery. For more than 13 years Bales has traveled the world researching slavery, consulting with governments, interviewing former slaves and slave holders. He tells the stories of those who cannot speak for themselves.

In his book, "Disposable People," Kevin introduced the world to the issue of slavery. In "Ending Slavery," Kevin explained how we can eradicate slavery forever. Kevin holds a doctorate from the London School of Economics, and is an emeritus professor of sociology at Roehampton University in London. He is president of Free the Slaves.


Ron Soodalter is a writer, a passionate educator, and a respected historian. A lifelong student of American history, he has taught extensively, and currently serves on the board of directors of the Abraham Lincoln Institute.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in American history from Boston University, a master’s in education from New York University, and a master’s in American folk culture from the State University of New York. Ron is the author of "Hanging Captain Gordon: The Life and Trial of an American Slave Trader," the non-fiction account of the only man in U.S. history to be executed for the crime of slave trading.





I AM THE CHANGE