Bringing Attention
to Human Trafficking and Slavery
Red Sand Project Starts Community Conversations
As the daughter of a human rights lawyer, Molly Gochman was inspired early on to transform the world by helping others. As an artist, she also realized her path would be different from her dad’s but no less powerful. Using her passion and talent for seeing the world as an artist would be a unique way to create conversations about the human condition, namely the fact that an estimated 40.3 million individuals live in slavery. This engagement of an important albeit tough conversation artistically influenced by Gochman in 2014 is known as Red Sand Project.
“Installations”
in which red sand fills the cracks of sidewalks have been created for the past seven years throughout 70 countries and counties in all 50 states including Monroe. Following Gochman’s lead, red sand fills the cracks of sidewalks along community walkways, law enforcement offices, health care facilities, and business or store fronts.
This red sand is symbolic, each and every grain representing those who fall through the cracks—whether it’s the cracks of our social, economic, and political systems or those of our own consciousness. Local residents will soon be seeing new installations of red sand in the cracks of their own county for the third year in a row. Monroe STOPe plans to do its part in sharing the vision of this moving and thought provoking artistic expression, sometimes called “Artivism”.
The process of filling sidewalk cracks with red sand requires participants and observers to be mindful of something that is usually overlooked. The simple act of placing sand in a crack or posting a photo on social media of a local installation may seem inconsequential, but small actions build upon each other to make transformational change.
“We can’t merely walk over the most marginalized people in our communities—those who fall through the metaphoric cracks.”
- Molly Gochman
It has become Molly’s mission with Red Sand Project to invite everyone to connect and to take action against vulnerabilities that can lead to exploitation. Does this happen in Monroe County? Are residents at risk? Where do we stand among the millions of enslaved individuals? The most vulnerable people in our communities carry the greatest risk of losing their freedom.
In observance of World Day Against Trafficking in Persons (typically the last week in July), a Monroe STOPe advocate will be visiting each community in Monroe County to provide Red Sand Project bags for participation in the Red Sand Project locally. Photos of installations at each community member, organization, and business that participated are posted on the Monroe STOPe facebook page each year. "Monroe STOPe is a victim-service agency addressing domestic violence victimization needs in our area, and does not have expertise in the specific area of human trafficking. STOPe works with individuals who have been victimized by a family member or intimate partner, and oftentimes such victimizations (domestic violence and human trafficking) overlap wherein the trafficker is a family member, especially in rural areas like ours. This overlap justifies our efforts with regard to trafficking and empowers our team to fight against human trafficking as well as domestic violence. In times where trafficking is identified as a form of victimization, please trust that our agency will provide access to care through appropriate referrals and collaboration with other entities who are experts in the field of assisting such survivors in East Tennessee,” said Director of Monroe County Health Council Heather Rhymes.
In 2015, Molly added “Earthworks” — large-scale, site-specific outdoor land art installations — to Red Sand Project. Stretching hundreds of feet long in the shapes of political borders, earthworks highlight the ways in which borders, drawn arbitrarily through history, divide communities and make individuals more vulnerable to trafficking. Red Sand Project has installed four earthworks to date, with more planned in the future. Monroe STOPe is currently seeking opportunities to add an “Earthworks” permanent installation for Red Sand Project within the county. If you'd be willing to participate in the Red Sand Project through the installation of a large scale display, our team would be thrilled to meet and discuss such possibility.
