Willow Smith accompanied her mother on a trip to Capital Hill to talk about human trafficking in the United States on November 14, 2012. Jada delivered an amazing speech that called for more stringent rules in the area of human exploitation while Willow watched with admiration. The 12-year-old was sporting new braces with every smile.
When asked if she was missing school to see her mom speak Willow said, “No, this is school.” The youngest of the Smith clan became concerned about the high rate of human trafficking among women and children a few months ago.
“She did her own research and realized that there were young girls her age in this country being trafficked for sex. She was like, ‘Mommy — you don’t know what’s happening!’ I was like, ‘Hold up, pause right there!’ And, she was like, ‘I’ve got to give my voice to this. These young girls out there need me,” said Pinkett-Smit in an interview recently.
While she is aware of the human trafficking situation in other countries, Jada was surprised to learn that so many children were being exploited in the United States. “I was actually really quite ashamed that I didn’t know about this particular situation in our country, because when you think about human trafficking, you think about it ‘over there.’ Wherever ‘there’ is. When you talk about modern-day slavery, you don’t see chains. It’s all about the mind. … So, it’s a very layered, complex issue that’s going to take some time for us to figure out how to pull apart. … Right now, we just have to get aware,” explained the actress.
Photos:Kris Connor
