About

The Free Project is a growing network of college students fighting to bring an end to slavery worldwide.

Free Project chapters share a common commitment to fighting modern slavery. Chapter leaders at each campus self-determine the projects they want to undertake and the anti-slavery organizations they want to support (local, national and international). The Free Project at one campus might host a fundraiser to support Polaris Project, for example, while The Free Project at another might decide to work with Free the Slaves. The Free Project offers a number of resources, including grants, to get chapters active on their campuses. See the Resources page for more information.

The History of The Free Project

The Free Project began in September 2010 when a group of passionate college students from four campus anti-slavery organizations in the Washington, DC/Maryland area decided to come together to pilot a global student organization to fight slavery.

The four founding schools were Georgetown University (Students Stopping the Trafficking of People), George Washington University (Trafficking Free GW), University of Maryland (Students Ending Slavery), and the Corcoran School of Art + Design (Don’t Buy Chocolate From Strangers).

Each faced the challenges of starting and growing an anti-slavery student organization on our campuses and we knew there would be strength in numbers. They agreed to choose a common name and identity and adopt a common charter, so that they could share resources such as websites, calendars, communication tools, marketing materials, administrative support and more. This allows them to fully participate in the things they love the most — raising awareness and hosting fun events!

In 2013, the organization Historians Against Slavery took over leadership of the Free Project.

TFP is a project of Historians Against Slavery. We are grateful for the generous support of our funders.

About Historians Against Slavery

We are a group of scholars who bring historical context and scholarship to the modern-day antislavery movement in order to inform activism and develop collaborations to sustain and enhance such efforts. Historians Against Slavery was founded by James Brewer Stewart in January 2011. Our motto is: Using History to Make Slavery History.

Visit historiansagainstslavery.org for more information.

Staff

Matthew Mason, Co-Director of Historians Against Slavery, Brigham Young University
Stacey Robertson, Co-Director of Historians Against Slavery, Central Washington University
Nicole H. Scalessa, Director of Communications, haswebsitemanager@gmail.com

Board

Jason Allen, Camden County Historical Society
Elizabeth Swanson Goldberg, Babson College
Michael Landis, Tarleton State University
Talitha LeFleuria, Florida Atlantic University
Matt Mason, Brigham Young University
Randall Miller, St. Joseph’s University
Stacey Robertson, Bradley University
Stephen Rozman, Tougaloo College
Zoe Trodd, University of Nottingham
Robert Wright, Augustana University

Service Fellows