The Men of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Speak Out Against Sex Trafficking Town Hall Meeting April 11th

LAS VEAGS, Nev. - March 24, 2013 - PRLog -- Las Vegas is gearing up for an Important and Explosive event targeting “Human trafficking” with the “Gentlemen Don’t John” campaign.   This community forum event will bring the reality of the sex trafficking problem to a new awareness by reaching out to community leaders, members and organizations to stand up and speak out against the crime.  April 11, 2013 the Phi Beta Sigma Western Region and Nu(me)r.a.l.s. are reaching out to Las Vegas to attend this FREE event from 5pm -7pm at the Tropicana Hotel & Casino.

From April 11th through the 14th, hundreds of members and supporters of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity will convene in Las Vegas for the fraternity’s 2013 Western Region Leadership Conference. The organization’s San Diego Chapter, best known for its exemplary leadership and representation of the African American man, has recently partnered with a San Diego based non-profit organization for girls called Nu(me)r.a.l.s. Together, the two organizations are kicking off a campaign created by Nu(me)r.a.l.s. called “Gentlemen Don’t John,” in an effort to get more men of color to speak out against the atrocity of sex trafficking.

With around 40% of the girls trafficked in this nation being African American, Nu(me)r.a.l.s. Executive Director and Founder, Chida R. Warren-Darby, thought it imperative to get more African American men to commit to speaking out against the issue as well as urge other men not to “john.” “Sex Trafficking has gotten a lot of national attention in recent years, but not enough light has been shed on the fact that the number of victims being trafficked is extremely high in the Black community.” Sex trafficking occurs when people are forced into or coerced into the commercial sex trade against their will. Child sex trafficking includes any child involved in commercial sex.

According to the Polaris Project, an organization committed to combating trafficking of any kind, sex traffickers frequently target vulnerable people with histories of abuse and then use violence, threats, lies, false promises, debt bondage, or other forms of control and manipulation to keep victims involved in the sex industry.

Statistically, the African American community is plagued with many peripheral issues that directly impact trafficking; such as high unemployment, and unfavorable school dropout rates. “We hope that if men, such as the brothers of Phi Beta Sigma, stand up to speak out against trafficking, that it would have a positive effect on young Black men and women who are directly or indirectly engaged in trafficking,” states Warren-Darby. “Unfortunate ly there are parts of our culture that promote pimping and gaining status and finances through sex. Our music videos and songs have had the ability to bring numbness to the issue of sex trafficking, causing many to grow callus towards the issue. I’m setting out to change that!”

Nu(me)r.a.l.s. (New Me, Restored and Liberated Survivor)  strives to positively reconstruct the minds of young women who  are statistically fighting for their lives. Staggering statistics suggest, more and more teen girls are falling victim to pitfalls such as abuse from peers and family members, unplanned pregnancies, high school graduation failures, suicides, and crime. Nu(me)r.a.l.s. is designed to help our young women combat  and recover from poor decisions, ensuring that they will not  stay a “statistic” or become one.  Too many times, the negative lure of social and environmental influences steer them down a dark path that prohibits them from being able to see the bright future that all of them are capable of achieving. Nu(me)r.a.l.s.  promotes self love, coupled with social education, parental  education, lessons on effective communication and a myriad of  other tools needed to help them successfully maneuver through  the maze of pressure that complicates their lives. We believe, love for self leads to self-confidence, and self-confidence will catapult a person above the quicksand of negative statistics. Nu(me)r.a.l.s. is committed to redefining our nation’s negative  statistics about young women and transforming those numbers  into positive ones, one teen at a time.

Registration Town Hall Meeting – April 11th 5p – 7p @ Tropicana: pbswesternregion.org