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News
April 10, 2018
Young activist urges change Human trafficking Environmental conference looks for greener earth survivor enlightens ALBERT IVORY Staff Writer @Intellectu_Al
Courtesy of the Office of Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility
17-year-old environmental activist Xiuhtezcatl Martinez spoke at Towson on April 3 to kick off the Office of Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility’s ninth annual environmental conference.
SOPHIA BATES
Sierra said. As Martinez pursued activism, he learned more about the people being impacted by environmental issues. “After natural disasters were hitAt just 17 years old, hip-hop artting my home, I did a lot of work and ist and indigenous environmental outreach,” Martinez said. “I went activist Xiuhtezcatl Martinez wants on to educating and talking about everyone to play a part in protecting these issues, speaking at colleges and the earth. speaking at the United Nations. What “When I was a little kid, my dad I began to see would tell me more and more that as human of is the actual beings, we have When I was a little faces of people a responsibilbeing affected by ity to protect kid, my dad would this crisis.” our planet,” tell me that as Martinez Martinez said. human beings, we was also invit“Protect our ed to represent water, protect have a responsibilcivil society and our air, our land, ity to protect our address the genand our culture planet. eral assembly in the way that of the United our ancestors Nations, which have. This legaencouraged more cy that we leave XIUHTEZCATL MARTINEZ research on the behind is such Hip-hop artist, indigenous person, an important and environmental activist impact of environmental issues part of the way on humans. we live our lives Martinez advised audience memand the way we live our life.” bers at Towson to be more cognizant The Office of Civic Engagement of the effect they have on others. and Social Responsibility kicked “Overall, I think the biggest thing off Towson University’s ninth annual is to recognize the power of your environmental conference by hosting actions,” he said. “Be aware of how Martinez on April 3. you live your life. You have to take Assistant Director for Civic the responsibility as a human to Engagement Luis Sierra explained recognize ‘my actions affect the world the significance behind Martinez’s around me.” work and why he was the optimal Martinez also highlighted his jourchoice for this event. ney in music, even dropping a verse in “Xiuhtezcatl is the embodiment the middle of his speech. of the theme of the conference, of “Diversify the tactics, I play this developing leaders, inspiring action for the masses. I do it for the love of and building a greener future,” Staff Writer @sbrookebates
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the ‘gram and I do it for the passion,” he said. Martinez addressed the lawsuit that he and 20 other young activists are leading against on the federal government, in which they claim the government has failed citizens’ constitutional rights to a stable climate and future. “In December, the Trump administration took over the lawsuit and filed a legal precedent to get this lawsuit dismissed,” Martinez said. “We went to court again in December, and we heard two weeks ago that we were actually going to trial this summer.” Freshman Mikayla McCall noted the importance of Martinez’s testimonies for raising awareness about the issue of environmental protection. “I feel like the importance of an event like this is that it’s bringing awareness to issues on our globe that many college students are unaware of, or are uneducated in,” McCall said. Sophomore Kristen DeLosh hopes Martinez’s speech will spur more people to seek out information about environmental issues. “I think it’s really important, especially because a lot of people aren’t really aware of these issues, and this will actually bring their attention to these problems,” DeLosh said. Sierra said he hopes attendees will be inspired by Martinez’s speech to find ways to make their own positive mark on the world. “It was an amazing and a powerful way to start this conference,” Sierra said. “I hope that anybody in this room can embody his theme. Everybody has a role to play into making this world a better place.”
Shamere McKenzie was trafficked for 18 months before she escaped her abuser. McKenzie, who is now the CEO of the Sun Gate Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to combating human trafficking and providing educational opportunities to survivors, shared her experience with overcoming sex-trafficking as a part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month at Potomac Lounge April 3. McKenzie said victims of trafficking are often dehumanized, but that her experiences as a survivor of sex-trafficking don’t make her any less of a human being who deserves respect. “We live in a society that no longer places value on human life and because we don’t place value on human life, there are people who exploit that,” McKenzie said. Before she was trafficked, McKenzie was a college student struggling to pay her tuition. After a charismatic man complimented her and they struck up a conversation about her passions, the man offered to let her live in his basement to alleviate some of her expenses. McKenzie moved into the man’s house, then took a job at a strip club at the man’s suggestion. The job became overwhelming when she and the man got into an argument over giving a customer oral sex, then it got physical when he put his hand around her neck and threatened to kill her. “My whole life flashed before me,” she said. The abuse McKenzie endured went on for 18 months, and her trafficker abused other victims. McKenzie
escaped after the man threatened to kill her with an unloaded gun, and she sought help when she encountered a random bystander. McKenzie pulled from those experiences to earn a full scholarship to Loyola University where she got a degree in criminology and criminal justice. Human trafficking is defined as the exploitation of a human being for someone else’s profit. According to McKenzie, human trafficking can include things like forced labor and sexual acts, and traffickers can be anybody from law enforcement officials to school teachers to pastors to coaches. McKenzie also noted the difference between human trafficking and human smuggling, in which human smuggling is transportation-based while human trafficking is exploitation-based. McKenzie discussed the culture of human trafficking, including the language, code of conduct, and the consequences for disobedience. She explained that “romeo pimps” initiate romance with their victims then abuse them, “gorilla pimps” are the most violent and abuse their victims for every single thing they do, “booster pimps” use drugs to control their victims, and “sneaker pimps” don’t have a car. Continuing to talk about the different language of human trafficking, McKenzie explained, “lot lizard” is a person who gets exploited at a truck stop. She said truckers will note a person who’s wearing red, black and white, and tell fellow truckers that there is a “lot lizard: red, black, and white” and so those truckers can proposition the person for sex. - To read the rest of this article online, visit thetowerlight.com.
Courtesy of Womack Army Medical Center
CEO of the Sun Gate Foundation and sexual violence survivor Shamere McKenzie spoke at TU for Sexual Assault Awareness Month.