Andover Modern Abolitionist Society

Contact Information

Alyssa Yamamoto (ayamamoto@andover.edu)

Club Description

AMAS is a relatively new organization that was founded in the fall of 2006. Although the club has changed since its founding, its goal has remained the same: to spread awareness about modern-day slavery and do whatever is possible to end human trafficking. After bringing a former slave, a restavec from Haiti, to speak at an All-School Meeting, AMAS has tried to make the entire community knowledgeable about the 27 million slaves present in the world today.

There is only a certain extent that people can discuss the tragic presence of slavery until they must truly take action. Thus, AMAS now only meets monthly to organize school-wide events that are open to the entire student body rather than solely the limited number of its club members. This past year, AMAS successfully collected signatures for the International Anti-Slavery Organization’s petition against today’s trans-atlantic slave trade. AMAS also held a documentary screening, in addition to a coffee house. The money that has been raised this past school year will be donated to the American organization Free the Slaves. So far, there is enough money to fund a freedom raid in Ghana’s fishing industry and save two child slaves, in addition to paying for the educational supplies for four former slaves. At an independent high school with such vast opportunities, it is easy for students to take individual freedom for granted. AMAS tries to open the eyes of PA students to the harsh, sometimes unimaginable realities of this world.