from the City University of New York and has published several previous books on sex work and prostitution. Her consulting clients have included the United Nations, the US Agency for International Development, and the Hilton Foundation. Her writing has also appeared in outlets such as HuffPost, The Guardian, and the Daily Beast.
Ditmore applied the "Page 99 Test" to her new book, Unbroken Chains: The Hidden Role of Human Trafficking in the American Economy, and reported the following:
Page 99 of Unbroken Chains: The Hidden Role of Human Trafficking in the American Economy contains the last paragraph of a chapter about domestic work, which readsVisit Melissa Ditmore's website.Domestic work continued to be a source of employment for women, particularly Black women, throughout the Jim Crow era. Segregation did not stop at a home’s threshhold. Vinella Byrd described being a domestic servant during the civil rights era, saying, “The man didn’t want me to wash my hands in the wash pan” (that is, the kitchen sink). She was also denied access to the bathroom, so she prepared food without washing her hands. Hazel Rankins said, “I would not only clean the bathroom but I’d take a bath in the bathtub.”The Page 99 Test worked well on Unbroken Chains, giving a good sample, containing some ugly information, examples of how this affected people’s lives, and how some people resisted or changed their situations. This paragraph about maids in mid-20th century sits alongside personal stories of people in trafficking situations in agriculture, manufacturing, sales crews, and prostitution, including historical examples involving indentured servants, enslaved people, and prison laborers.
Compulsory labor is woven into our economy since the colonial era, and the experiences of these individuals foreground the high cost of cheap labor. Unpaid labor is paid for in deaths, injuries, and isolated tragedies. The human costs involve missed opportunities for people to live well and shine. Unbroken Chains comprises accounts of indigenous and African enslaved people, European and Chinese laborers who borrowed money for their travel costs guaranteed against their future work, and Americans, Asians and Latin Americans who accepted job offers that were not as promised. Even as these personal stories can be sad, no one should doubt that their own actions can have impact, in actions like decisions about purchases, and larger movements with people organizing at their workplaces. The concluding chapter offers suggestions for individuals to take action.
--Marshal Zeringue
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