Let's end human trafficking...... DontSellBodies.org
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But that's exactly what happened to Jada Pinkett Smith when daughter Willow broached the topic after watching the KONY 2012 video (about a Ugandan warlord) that went viral this spring. "She did her own research and realized that there were young girls her age in this country being trafficked for sex," Pinkett Smith remembers. "She was like, 'Mommy — you don't know what's happening!' I was like, 'Hold up, pause right there!' And, she was like, 'I've got to give my voice to this. These young girls out there need me.' "
That simple directive from Willow, who has gained fame herself with a hot music career, pushed Pinkett Smith, 40, to ally herself with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the fight against human trafficking and sex slavery. The Madagascar 3 star and husband Will Smith visited the State Department Tuesday for Clinton's release of the 2012 Trafficking in Persons Report, which details the nation's anti-trafficking efforts.
"I was actually really quite ashamed that I didn't know about this particular situation in our country, because when you think about human trafficking, you think about it 'over there.' Wherever 'there' is," Pinkett Smith says.
That guilt, however, is fueling her activism for the sensitive issue. Pinkett Smith recorded the song Nada Se Compara with her band Wicked Evolution and starred in a video directed by Salma Hayek, which is posted on the site DontSellBodies.org.
Pinkett Smith is also using the macro platform of anti-trafficking to continue important micro conversations with Willow.
"She's gotten very sensitive on how she deals with her social communication (online). Because as beautiful as the Internet is, it's a conduit for this kind of activity. A lot of this happens on the Internet; young girls being sold," Pinkett Smith says. "Really with Willow, I (hope to) keep her sense of self and of owning herself and of being in contact with her own power, because a lot of these young girls get caught up in this because they're disempowered." Pinkett Smith further urges communities to empower themselves to put an end to human trafficking.
"The face of trafficking in the United States, it's really our kids who are being affected; really young girls," she says. "It's being able as a community to educate ourselves to know what this looks like. When you talk about modern-day slavery, you don't see chains. It's all about the mind. … So, it's a very layered, complex issue that's going to take some time for us to figure out how to pull apart. … Right now, we just have to get aware."
+ in Spanish 
