In this panel hosted by Fransina Hall‑Russ of the Coach Tate Foundation, experts including Kim Brattain discuss human trafficking as a modern‑day form of slavery that affects both children (sex trafficking) and adults (labor trafficking). They describe how vulnerable youth are groomed through seemingly innocuous offers—candy bars, new shoes, McDonald’s meals, or nail appointments—and how social media platforms have shifted recruitment from sites like Craigslist to Backpage and other online venues. The conversation highlights systemic risk factors such as broken homes, parental addiction, and foster‑care placement, emphasizing the need for early education of children, parents, and school staff. Panelists advocate for grassroots community awareness, invoking the “If you see something, say something” ethos, and call for legislative action. They reference North Carolina’s pending Bill 855, which would create a state human‑trafficking hotline and integrate trafficking education into schools. Throughout, the speakers stress that while legislation is important, immediate, one‑on‑one education and community vigilance are essential to protect potential victims.
Chapters
Good afternoon. My name is Fransina Hall-Russ, and I am founder of the Coach Tate Foundation, and we are here today to discuss a very important subject that is vital to all of us. What is human trafficking? And we're privileged today to have several expert guests on our panel to discuss this most important issue. And I'd like to start to my right with Ms. Kimberly.
Thank you so much. Human trafficking is a crime, and it's where individuals are forced, coerced, and bribed into working for no money and without any interest or benefit for themselves. Usually the age range is children for sex trafficking and adults for labor trafficking. And those individuals who find themselves in human trafficking situations are those who are at the mercies of others. They're vulnerable, they need an opportunity, they have no choice.
Human trafficking really hits at my heart because it could be any one of us.
It truly could be any one of us.
This is essentially modern-day slavery. And so we've all learned that when we don't address history, it repeats itself, and that's what's happening.
Well, let me say what Harriet Tubman said when you talk about that modern-day slavery. It just reminded me of one of her statements when she said, I freed 1,000 slaves, and check this out, and I could have freed 1,000 more if They knew they were slaves.
Absolutely, absolutely. And that goes to if you know and bringing that awareness, bringing that awareness, because it could be any of us here today. We had an individual here in Charlotte who was coming off of her college campus and was abducted, and we are very grateful that years later she's been rescued and we work a great deal with her, but she has experienced Absolutely horrific things that could easily be avoided if others would join us in this grassroots effort.
Well, 20 years ago, you go into our local schools and it would be very difficult to find a handsome young boy or a pretty young girl that had been approached by a predator. Today, you go into an urban school and the majority of handsome young men or pretty young girls have been approached in one form or another by someone with predatory intentions.
from mentoring some girls that I come in contact with, and we talk about the discussion of human trafficking or, you know, sexual experiences or awareness about that. And I was just floored by how many of them had already been enticed or approached and already kind of tinkering on the line with if this is something, because I want those new KDs, which are tennis shoes by somebody.
Yeah.
But they want those new shoes, and they're thinking, this is a way for me to get it. It won't be but one time or whatever, but they don't realize the It's a cycle that takes them to it. And as an adult, if somebody approaches us on our Facebook page like, I like you, I think you're cute, most of us are gonna go, whatever, and end that conversation. But if a child who's looking to hear that and giving them a little attention, they're ready and open.
How do we protect against this crime? And what are the solutions? You mentioned $32 billion in profit.
Yes.
It's a business.
It's a business.
But does that 12-year-old child understand it's a business?
Absolutely.
When he gets approached by somebody with a candy bar—
They're just in vulnerable situations all the way around. There's no one at home that's actively training them or teaching them. There's no— the signs are already there that they're in the foster care system. They also have already been trained in human trafficking, trained sexually to provide favors for men. because they've already been abused in some way or touched, that's inappropriately. And those are all signs to let us know that this is happening and it's real. We have to educate our children and our parents to be aware when this is happening. Yeah, the candy bar issue is something that may be attractive, but if you're a young girl and you're just waiting to hear somebody say, you're pretty.
Yes.
I'll buy you McDonald's today. I'll take you to get your nails done, because what, every girl wants her nails done. That's an opportunity into her heart in a place That only certain people are allowed. But a trust is gained there when McDonald's is offered or fingernail polish or those kinds of things. And when that's offered to a 12-year-old girl who's searching and longing for a special hand or a touch to show that they love them, their heart becomes available to that predator.
Law officials are finding that social media is playing a big part in human trafficking. So where you used to see Individuals use Craigslist, they've now moved to using Backpage, where individuals who would use Craigslist to solicit services will now post children that are being trafficked.
Human trafficking still, both in the U.S. and internationally, is still an underground activity that's, that's going on. So bringing it to the grassroots level, how do we make people in a community aware that this is happening around them? You go into the restaurant and there's people there that they tell you, your waiter tells you, oh, I work here 7 days a week and I stay with several other waiters in the same house. We sleep in the same room and all my money is going toward another cause and I'm not getting any of it.
Thank God.
You hear these conversations in restaurants. You see these things going on around us, and it's not until we are able to really recognize, hey, this is what it is and this is what we're seeing, that the whole community Everyone knows I'm a very big proponent in our industry as an international security consultant of the if you see something, say something program. If you see something, say something doesn't just apply to terrorism. It also applies to these grassroots problems like human trafficking.
I want to ask the questions of the parents. What are we doing? What are we doing at home?
Unfortunately, sometimes the homes are so broken.
That's it.
There's not parental involvement. Mothers can be in situations where there are addictions, and fathers may not be present, so their guidance is not there. And it's unfortunate, but there are some vulnerable children out there. And those vulnerable children go to school with my children or your children.
Right now, before our House coming in May, will be a Bill 855. And within that bill, there's a couple things that will be addressed. that are really important to us. So we're currently missing some key points. One of the points we're missing is, as a state, we don't have a hotline. So if any of us here saw someone where we suspected something, it felt uncomfortable, it just didn't sit right, and we saw some of the indicators that Kimberly spoke of, we don't know where to call. There's not a state hotline.
Right.
There's the Polaris National Hotline, but what this Bill 855 will do is establish a state hotline. That residents of North Carolina can leverage and report suspected incidents of human trafficking.
Absolutely.
The other thing it'll do is integrate into our school systems the education piece, and you spoke to that. So what are we doing with the teachers, the parents, the students, the educators? So working with our school systems here for previous trainings, you've had a lot of nurses say, I've had students come to my office where I interpreted the situation to be I thought it was going to be one thing, but now that I'm learning more about human trafficking, I'm understanding that this young child is probably being coerced into a situation and they don't know how to have a voice.
I think it's great and I support that. I'll lobby for it. But tomorrow morning, when we leave these doors today, that issue doesn't go away and it doesn't wait on a bill. You are absolutely correct. So we have to be— I believe we have to be cognizant day to day. And we have to educate one person at a time, one child, one family, one mother.
Absolutely.
And we have to do it one-on-one, in groups, and we expect— we grow from the inside out. I think it behooves all of us to continue these discussions.
Absolutely.
And to continue what you're doing, you know, the research, representing in the community and with our legislators, 'cause we have elections coming up. And I believe with protections in place, education, we have an operations center that we can look at as creating ways ways ourselves to secure our communities, one community at a time. And everybody else, they'll catch on.
