The Hartford Courant Should Apologize for Slavery . . . Again

The hypocrisy of human trafficking runs deep in America.

A prominent “Vision” and “Values” plaque hangs in the spacious lobby of the Hartford Courant offices on Broad Street in Hartford, Connecticut. The proud display is a public declaration of their corporate philosophy and mission so all the world will know the Tribune owned newspaper is devoted to work that “will change our culture.”

Indeed, the Hartford Courant has a long history of cultural change. It has been the paper of record in Connecticut for more than 200 years. With a modern-day circulation of 200,000-300,000 it began as a weekly, the Connecticut Courant, on October 29, 1764. The paper now claims the title “America’s oldest continuously published newspaper” while adopting the slogan, “Older than the nation.”

According to its website, “It’s the newspaper in which George Washington placed an ad to lease part of his Mount Vernon land. It’s where Noah Webster’s “Blue-Backed Speller” was first published. Thomas Jefferson sued this newspaper for libel – and lost. And Mark Twain tried to buy stock in this paper but his offer was turned down.”

It also claims that, “During the Revolutionary War, the Courant had the largest circulation of any newspaper in the colonies and was an influential backer of the rebel cause.”

When the nation became divided over the issue of slavery, “The Courant was inspired by a visit Abraham Lincoln made to Hartford.” Becoming a staunch supporter of Lincoln’s campaign to become president, the paper printed the headline, “‘VICTORY, VICTORY, WE’VE GOT ‘EM.’” upon his election.

However, the Courant was not always opposed to the idea of slavery throughout its long history. In 2002, the paper published a self-expose entitled, “Complicity: Slavery And The Courant - Promoting And Protecting Human Bondage.” The extensive and well researched series of articles reported that, “On April 29, 1765, the Connecticut Courant published its first slave-related ad: ‘Joseph Enos of Union seeks the return of Bristol, his 30-year-old runaway slave.’ The next week, an anonymous advertiser offered for sale a ‘likely, healthy good natured NEGRO BOY, about 15. Inquire of T. Green.’ T. Green was Thomas Green, the first publisher of the Courant.”

For the next 58 years, according to the article, the Courant ran “slavery advertisements” and “that by publishing these ads, the newspaper was promoting and protecting the very institution of slavery.”

In 2000, referring to its advertising from over 150 earlier, the Hartford Courant had already issued a public apology “for its role in slavery.” Perhaps it was an attempt to “Apply high standards of ethical behavior in all that we do,” as stated on their “Vision” and “Values” plaque.

Seven years after their apology a landmark Human Trafficking trial was held in the Hartford, Connecticut Federal Court. In the testimony of that trial the Hartford Advocate, a local newspaper owned by The Hartford Courant and typical of alternative weeklies across America, was mentioned over 70 times. Why? Because Dennis Paris, the defendant in the trial, used the newspaper’s classified “Back Room” advertisements for what he – and the Advocate - called an "Escort" service. These ads were his sole channel for selling his victims, one of whom was 16 years old, another just 14.

This was not an isolated case. Since the 1970’s, the Hartford Advocate's “Escort” section had been used by the pimps to sell - and by “johns” to purchase - young women in and around Hartford, one of America’s wealthiest cities.

In June, 2007 Dennis Paris was convicted of human trafficking crimes including “sex trafficking of a minor.” He is now serving a 30 year sentence in federal prison. The Department of Justice proved his was not an “Escort” business. It was a human trafficking ring operating out of motel rooms south of Hartford on the Silas Deane Highway and the Berlin Turnpike.

Yet, even after the DOJ determined these ads were doubtlessly used to promote human trafficking, the Hartford Advocate continued to run their weekly "Escort" listings in print, online and on their exclusive Facebook page. They refused to stop taking money from the pimps who were buying the ads and selling their girls. In fact, for decades the Hartford Advocate and The Hartford Courant made money from human trafficking - or as President Obama simply calls it, “slavery.” This was a practice no different from those ads the Courant ran in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries.

In 2010, several of my colleagues and I began a campaign to force the Advocate to remove these ads. These efforts included articles, news reports, radio and television interviews, public awareness events, and successfully writing and passing legislation in Connecticut that was designed to pressure media from publishing human trafficking advertisements.  

The Hartford Courant was, of course, opposed to this legislation. The paper went so far as to publish an embarrassing letter calling the effort “doomed to failure.”

No matter, the law went into effect on October 1, 2012. On November 2, 2012 I was informed the ads were being pulled by the newspaper.

Since they had recently published our efforts as “doomed” I was a bit confused. After requesting clarification I received this email from the Courant’s Communications Manager, Jennifer T. Humes, “For more than a year, we have been in the process of re-positioning the Advocate Weekly newspapers - which includes the Hartford Advocate, the New Haven Advocate and the Fairfield Weekly – moving them from an “alternative” publication and to a go-to ‘entertainment’ resource. The most recent step in that process was the decision to no longer publish classified advertising which consists of massage/escort and adult spa ads. In order to remain relevant to our readers, the Advocate Weekly newspapers will continually evolve to meet the changing interests of those we serve.”

One advertising account representative at the company told me she was informed of the decision this way, “They told me they were cleaning up the back pages of the Advocate.”

It is an important moment in the life of the Hartford Courant, a proud Connecticut company. There is no question these were profits often taken from the sexual victimization of young people. Will the Courant’s “high standards of ethical behavior” once again move them apologize for “promoting and protecting human bondage?” Or will they say nothing about their money-making relationship today’s slave masters – the pimps?

Right now, you can go to the Hartford Courant’s “Mission” page and comment on this violation of human rights. Tell them to do as they did the last time they were complicit in slavery - apologize. The only difference now is that the people to whom they owe the apology are still alive and waiting for justice. Remind them that among the declarations on the plaque hanging in the lobby of the Hartford Courant is the statement, “We are responsible for our own destiny.” Tell them it is unfortunate that for so long they did not allow the same freedom of choice to so many of the citizens they serve.

A Hard Fought Victory

In 2007, a landmark Human Trafficking trial was held in the Hartford, Connecticut Federal Court. In the testimony of that trial the Hartford Advocate, a local newspaper that is typical of alternative weeklies across America, was mentioned over 70 times. Why? Because Dennis Paris, the defendant in the trial, used the newspaper as his sole channel for advertising his victims in what he claimed was an "Escort" service. One of his “escort” was 16 years old, another just 14. Read more about this case and the Hartford Advocate’s involvement in this Vanity Fair Magazine article or in my book, “The Berlin Turnpike: A True Story of Human Trafficking in America.”

Yet, even though the Department of Justice proved these ads were used to promote human trafficking, the Hartford Advocate continued to run these weekly "escort" advertisements in print, online, and even on their own Facebook Page. For years, the Hartford Advocate, owned by The Hartford Courant, "the nation's oldest continually running newspaper," which is owned by the mammoth Tribune Company, made money from this suffering every week.

In 2010, several of my colleagues and I began a campaign to force the Advocate to remove these ads. Along with my book, these efforts included articles, news reports, radio and television interviews, public awareness events, and successfully writing and passing legislation in Connecticut.

After thousands of hours of work and people calling for the Advocate to remove these abusive ads, they continued to be published five years after they were proven by Federal Prosecutors to be complicit in human trafficking crimes.

Then, on Friday, November 2, 2012 I was informed the ads were being pulled by the paper. After requesting clarification, I was sent this email by, Communications Manager Jennifer T. Humes, “For more than a year, we have been in the process of re-positioning the Advocate Weekly newspapers - which includes the Hartford Advocate, the New Haven Advocate and the Fairfield Weekly – moving them from an “alternative” publication and to a go-to ‘entertainment’ resource. The most recent step in that process was the decision to no longer publish classified advertising which consists of massage/escort and adult spa ads. In order to remain relevant to our readers, the Advocate Weekly newspapers will continually evolve to meet the changing interests of those we serve.”

One advertising account representative at the company told me she was informed of the decision this way, “They told me they were cleaning up the back pages of the Advocate.”

Indeed, they are. Five years after the trial of Dennis Paris concluded that these ads were promoting slavery, the Advocate has finally cleaned house by removing the ads.

As this one newspaper takes up the courage to stop running these ads, then other publications and websites should be highly motivated to do the right thing and end them as well.

Ads Selling Sex With Minors Must Not Be Tolerated

Since the Hartford Courant and its subsidiary publication, the Hartford Advocate, will not act to prevent sex trafficking in Connecticut by refusing “escort” advertising, Connecticut legislators must intervene to end this open practice of modern day slavery.

The 2012 General Assembly has the opportunity to seriously address sex trafficking in Connecticut by passing H.B. 5504 “An Act Concerning Commercial Sexual Exploitation of a Minor.” On Monday, April 3, 2012, the Assembly’s Judiciary Committee voted unanimously in favor of the Bill and now it waits approval from the House, Senate and Governor. The law will make advertisers “guilty of commercial sexual exploitation of a minor” if they run “escort” ads involving anyone under the age of 18. It is aimed directly at “escort” advertisements like those carried regularly in the AdvocateNewspapers, Kensington based Extreme New EnglandMagazine, and on websites like Backpage.com. These “escort” agencies have proven to be nothing but a front for those who are often guilty of human trafficking crimes, also known as modern day slavery.

What about “legitimate” escort agencies? There aren’t any. The very idea is absurd. It is common knowledge among law enforcement, the “johns” paying to have sex with women, and the pimps who are selling them that “escort” advertisements are thinly veiled promotions for prostitution. And frequently within the world of prostitution hides the crime of trafficking in humans. This is certainly the case in Connecticut where the truth about the Hartford Advocate’s “escort” ads was revealed by Federal prosecutors during the 2007 trial of Dennis Paris.

Paris, a pimp who operated out of motels south of Hartford on the Silas Deane Highway and the Berlin Turnpike, was convicted of “sex trafficking of a minor,” among other crimes, and is now serving a 30 year sentence in federal prison. During the trial, Jeremiah Donovan, his defense attorney, asked Paris a key question about his so called “escort” business. It dealt with how Paris advertised one of his victims, Marianne, to men in Connecticut.

“How did it come about that you had people who wanted to go out on dates with Marianne?”
“They would call numbers that I advertised,” Paris explained.
“And where would you advertise?” Donovan asked.
“Hartford Advocate. It’s like a local, I don’t want to say trade paper, but it’s a free paper. They have an escort section.”
“Now, the Hartford Advocate has never been charged so far as you know with promoting prostitution, right?” Donovan asked.
“Not yet,” Paris replied.
Nearly five years after the trial in which the Advocate was cited over 60 times as Paris’s exclusive channel for selling his girls, has the publication stopped running these advertisements?

Like the pimp said, “not yet.”

The paper’s publisher, Joshua Mamis, brushed off the paper’s complicity by stating in part, “We routinely examine our advertising standards and practices, including advertising relating to adult businesses, to ensure that we meet the needs of the community that we serve.”

Translation: The ads won’t stop. Not yet.

What kind of “escort” advertisements do the Advocate’s “standards and practices” allow? One  recent example from the paper reads: “Sasha & Milani 2 GIRL Specials Petite & Busty Come indulge in all your Fetishes And Desires GFE & GREEK AVAIL NO RUSH IN/OUT 24/7 TOYS AVAILABLE 860-xxx-xxxx.”

The new legislation is an important first step in motivating the Advocate to change its policies and permanently remove is “escort” advertisements. Yet, the Advocate is in not alone in the marketing of flesh in Connecticut. Backpage.com, a website owned by Village Voice Media, began running online “escort” ads in Connecticut last November. Days later, SimsburySchedule police made the first reported prostitution arrest in the town’s 300 year history. The two people arrested had placed their ad on Backpage.com. One had a previous arrest for promoting prostitution of a girl under 11 years old.
Backpage.com’s complicity in sex trafficking is so profound that Goldman Sachs recently sold their 16% ownership in the company citing the “escort” ads as the singular reason for dumping the stock.

All those in Connecticut who continue to profit from “escort” ads selling trafficking victims can say, “not yet.” Dennis Paris, a Connecticut pimp convicted of “sex trafficking of a minor,” can say, “not yet.”

Connecticut lawmakers do not have the option to join the others in saying, “not yet.” They must take action now. They must say, “never.”

TEN Underage Girls Victimized by “ESCORT” ads

This article is based on the dedicated research and writing of human rights advocate, William Hayes, of VillageVoicePimp.com.

Ten underage girls are the latest to be victimized and sold online by Village Voice Media, the alternative weekly newspaper chain which owns the classified web site, Backpage.com.

Numerous reports from all over the United States tell of underage girls being held in bondage and sold through the “adult” section of Backpage.com, which has become a notorious trafficking center for pimps and their customers, every day men called “john” or “hobbyists.”

And while ten victims in one law enforcement operation seems astounding, it really should come as no surprise.

Federal prosecutors reported that two members of a Fairfax County, Virginia Crips gang pleaded guilty to charges of running a prostitution ring that recruited and trafficked local high school girls. Gang members Michael Tavon Jeffries, 21, and Christopher Sylvia, 23, both of Virginia, admitted their role in the trafficking operation in federal court in Alexandria.

Prosecutors said that members of the Underground Gangster Crips approached young girls on street corners, the Washington D.C. Metro, Facebook and even in school, telling them that they were pretty and could earn money by having sex with men.

At least 10 underage girls from Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia were lured by the gang into prostitution and were held captive through threats and violence, including rape, court records say. However, since the girls are minors, federal law dictates these crimes as human trafficking violations, not prostitution.

Jeffries, a member of the gang, and Sylvia, an associate, pleaded guilty to sexual trafficking of a minor. They face from ten years to life in prison.

“We have a zero-tolerance, one-strike policy toward juvenile sex trafficking in this district,” said U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride. “Anyone we find who entices or forces a young girl into the vile world of prostitution will pay a very heavy price for their actions.”

Court records show that Jeffries admitted that he worked as a bodyguard for the ring, collecting proceeds from “johna,” advertising the girls on Backpage.com and paying for hotel rooms, where the sex for sale occurred. Sylvia admitted to transporting girls to jobs.

Both are scheduled to be sentenced in July. Attorneys for both men declined to comment.

Now, the attention has turned to Village Voice Media and Backpage.com executives, Jim Larkin and Michael Lacey. The two are silent over the growing backlash against Backpage.com and the website’s “adult” ads where the ten girls were – and thousands of others across America are – regularly sold.

However, Village Voice general counsel Elizabeth McDougall is doing most of the talking for the company, continually attempting to defend Village Voice Media and Backpage.com.

Days after the two men in the Virginia case pleaded guilty to the pimping of the ten underage girls, McDougall participated in a panel discussion about sex trafficking on MSNBC. While child advocates on the panel argued that the trafficking of just one child was one too many, McDougall agreed that the sex trafficking of minors is a “social atrocity.” However, she maintained that if Backpage.com shut down its adult section, the pimps would just migrate to off-shore sites where they would be beyond the jurisdiction of U.S. authorities.

By that reasoning, McDougall is to keeping the problem alive right here in the U.S. no matter the human cost, so that Village Voice can continue making an estimated profit of $25 million a year from the adult ads. Others have said that her argument is akin to saying that drug dealers shouldn’t be moved off of school playgrounds because the police will know where to find them. Dangerous logic.

Two States are attempting to address “Escort” ads by enacting laws that would put pressure on publishers like Village Voice Media and the Tribune Company – both of which run print and online version of “Escort” and “Adult” advertising. Washington recently passed legislation that would make publishers liable for accepting “Escort” ads which include minors. Connecticut is now considering a similar law.

Tribune Owned Newspapers Complicit in Human Trafficking Advertising

Dennis Paris

Photo courtesy Vanity Fair

(The following story is based on an excerpt from The Berlin Turnpike: A True Story of Human Trafficking in America.)

The hypocrisy of human trafficking runs deep in America.

A prominent “Vision” and “Values” plaque hangs in the spacious lobby of the Hartford Courant offices on Broad Street in Hartford, Connecticut. The proud display is a public declaration of their corporate philosophy and mission so all the world will know the Tribune owned newspaper is devoted to work that “will change our culture.”

Indeed, the Hartford Courant has a long history of cultural change. It has been the paper of record in Connecticut for more than 200 years. With a modern-day circulation of 200,000-300,000 it began as a weekly, the Connecticut Courant, on October 29, 1764. The paper now claims the title “America’s oldest continuously published newspaper” while adopting the slogan, “Older than the nation.”

According to its website, “It’s the newspaper in which George Washington placed an ad to lease part of his Mount Vernon land. It’s where Noah Webster’s “Blue-Backed Speller” was first published. Thomas Jefferson sued this newspaper for libel – and lost. And Mark Twain tried to buy stock in this paper but his offer was turned down.”

It also claims that, “During the Revolutionary War, the Courant had the largest circulation of any newspaper in the colonies and was an influential backer of the rebel cause.”

When the nation became divided over the issue of slavery, “The Courant was inspired by a visit Abraham Lincoln made to Hartford.” Becoming a staunch supporter of Lincoln’s campaign to become president, the paper printed the headline, “‘VICTORY, VICTORY, WE’VE GOT ‘EM.’” upon his election.

However, the Courant was not always opposed to the idea of slavery throughout its long history. In 2002, the paper published a self-expose entitled, “Complicity: Slavery And The Courant - Promoting And Protecting Human Bondage.” The extensive and well researched series of articles reported that, “On April 29, 1765, the Connecticut Courant published its first slave-related ad: ‘Joseph Enos of Union seeks the return of Bristol, his 30-year-old runaway slave.’ The next week, an anonymous advertiser offered for sale a ‘likely, healthy good natured NEGRO BOY, about 15. Inquire of T. Green.’ T. Green was Thomas Green, the first publisher of the Courant.”

For the next 58 years, according to the article, the Courant ran “slavery advertisements” and “that by publishing these ads, the newspaper was promoting and protecting the very institution of slavery.”

114 years after Emancipation, the Courant was purchased by Times Mirror in 1979, and after winning Pulitzer Prizes in 1992 and 1999, was sold along with Times Mirror and two local television stations, WTIC and WCCT, to the Tribune Company in 2000, one of the largest multimedia companies in the world. One year prior to the Tribune purchase, the Hartford Courant acquired the Valley Advocate collection of “alternative” weekly papers including the Hartford Advocate.

Founded in 1973 by two former employees of the Hartford Courant, the weekly paper provides investigative journalism from a mostly liberal or countercultural perspective often criticizing and exposing important stories focusing on corporate, political, and media corruption in greater Hartford and throughout Connecticut.

Like hundreds of similar papers in America, the Hartford Advocate has received criticism for accepting advertisements like those in the Federal Human Trafficking Trial of Dennis Paris. During the trial, the Hartford Advocate was mentioned over 60 times as the exclusive channel of advertising human trafficking victims. The Hartford Advocate’s “Escort” section was used by the pimps to sell - and the johns to buy - young women in and around one of America’s wealthiest cities.

In 2000, referring to its advertising from over 150 earlier, the Hartford Courant issued a public apology “for its role in slavery.” Perhaps it was an attempt to “Apply high standards of ethical behavior in all that we do,” as stated on the “Vision” and “Values” plaque hanging in their lobby.

Eleven years after their apology, and four years after the conviction of a human trafficker who used the Hartford Advocate to sell young women, the weekly paper continues to run advertisements for “Escorts.” Though prosecutors from the US Department of Justice proved these advertisements were used to promote human trafficking, the Tribune owned Hartford Advocate still receives money every week from those who exploit the most vulnerable among us.

Right now, you can comment on this stunning hypocrisy. Go to the Hartford Courant’s “Mission” page and comment on their complicity in this violation of human rights. If this one newspaper takes a step in the right direction by removing these advertisements, then pressure may build against the Tribune Company to discontinue them across their corporate owned publications. Remind them that among the declarations on the plaque hanging in the lobby of the Hartford Courant is the statement, “We are responsible for our own destiny.” Tell them it is unfortunate they do not allow the same freedom of choice to the citizens of the city they serve.

You Can Stop "Back Page" Human Trafficking Advertisements

In 2007, a landmark Human Trafficking trial was held in the Hartford, Connecticut Federal Court. In the testimony of that trial the Hartford Advocate, a local newspaper that is typical of alternative weeklies across America, was mentioned over 70 times. Why? Because Dennis Paris, the defendant in the trial, used the newspaper as his sole channel for advertising his victims in what he claimed was an "Escort" service. Read more about this case and the Hartford Advocate’s involvement in this Vanity Fair Magazine article.

Yet, even though the Department of Justice proved these ads were used to promote human trafficking, the Hartford Advocate continues to run these weekly "escort" advertisements in print, online, and even on their own Facebook Page. The Hartford Advocate, owned by The Hartford Courant, "the nation's oldest continually running newspaper," which is owned by the mammoth Tribune Company, makes money from this suffering every week. However, if this one newspaper takes up the courage to stop running these ads, then others will be highly motivated to do the right thing and end them as well. Here is what you can do to stop it . . . 

Go to the Hartford Advocate Back-Page Facebook page and tell them to stop running these ads. On the same page, you will notice a posting from Tribune National Account Executive Mike Uchalid, saying, "You know you want to.” He is, of course, referring to spending time with human trafficking victims, as proven by the Department of Justice in the Dennis Paris trial. Tell Mr. Uchalid, that you "don't want to" and insist he removes these ads from the Hartford Advocate, from their Website and from Facebook.