Read:
Leviticus 26:13

Explain:
The International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition preserves the memory of the transatlantic slave trade. The number of African men, women, and children transported as slaves is estimated to be in the tens of millions, making the transatlantic slave trade the largest deportation in history. The economic, social, political, and cultural effects of the slave trade continue to shape the lives of people in Africa, Europe, the Americas, and the Caribbean. August 23 was chosen for this observance to commemorate a slave uprising on the night of August 22-23, 1791, in what is now Haiti and the Dominican Republic. That uprising played a key role in the eventual abolition of the slave trade.

Pray:

• Give thanks for the abolition of the slave trade.
• Give thanks for living in a time when there is a global awareness of the evils of racism and of the need to respect human rights.
• Pray for an end to ongoing problems with racism and human rights violations.
• Pray for those who suffer because of the lasting effects of the slave trade.