It would honor our fallen heroes most this Memorial day if everyone living and working in the United States of America was actually free. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

Shelley Seale, a guest writer here on StopChildSlavery.com, has written an excellent review of a new book called The Slave Next Door. In her review she asks the question, “When did the U.S. government last use slave labor to build something? 1776? 1865?”

According to The Slave Next Door, the answer is 2003.

As I sit here today, enjoying the freedom paid for by the blood of brave young American men and women and honoring their memory, I can’t help but be saddened. As Shelley put it:

In The Slave Next Door we find that slaves are all around us, hidden in plain sight: the dishwasher in the kitchen of the neighborhood restaurant, the kids on the corner selling cheap trinkets, the man sweeping the floor of the local department store. In these pages we also meet some unexpected slaveholders, such as a 27-year old middle-class Texas housewife who is currently serving a life sentence for offences including slavery.

Weaving together a wealth of voices—from slaves, slaveholders, and traffickers as well as from experts, counselors, law enforcement officers, rescue and support groups, and others—this book is also a call to action, telling what we, as private citizens, can do to finally bring an end to this horrific crime.

Take a few moments to go read Shelley’s excellent review.