Why Are You Weeping Sister?

Human trafficking is nothing new. In 1909, it was called white slavery, even though women and children of all races were victims. A pamphlet was published at the time included some case histories, and one of those young, unnamed women was eventually called to testify before the joint houses of Congress, during the hearings on passage of the Mann Act. Why Are You Weeping, Sister? is the story of one of those young women, who I called Gwendolyn Graham. Kidnapped by a cadet, a procurer for brothels and pimps, she is taken to a brothel. The title is from a poem, written in 1905, for a pamphlet which ultimately led to the passage of the Mann Act in 1910.