The film Amazing Grace is being released to coincide with the bicentennial of the abolition of the slave trade by Great Britain. Britain is marking the occasion with a special £2 coin with a chain connected to the 0 in 1807. The end of the slave trade is certainly something worth remembering and celebrating.

It would be even better to celebrate the complete end of slavery, but that has not happened yet. It is estimated that up to 27,000,000 people live in slavery today. It includes men and women who are forced to work in sweatshops. It includes traditional chattel slavery in countries like Niger, Chad and the Sudan. It includes girls and young women forced into prostitution in Asia.

Before the slave trade was abolished, William Wilberforce presented a petition to the British Parliament with 390,000 signatures calling for abolition. Amazing Change is seeking to present a petition to the U. S. Congress and world leaders with the same number of signatures. I would encourage you to visit the site, read the information and add your name to the petition.

It may seem a small thing to sign such a petition. Change often takes a long time and tireless effort. There may well me more we can do than sign a petition. But dare we do less?