Harriet Tubman Award

To read about past winners of the Harriet Tubman Award, click here.

In 2013, Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT) created an award to honor a member or members of the trucking industry whose direct actions help save or improve the lives of those enslaved or prevent human trafficking from taking place.

The Harriet Tubman Award, which carries with it a $2500 check, is named in honor of famed abolitionist Harriet Tubman, whose courageous personal actions resulted in the transportation of 300 slaves to freedom through the Underground Railroad and whose overall role in the freedom movement was instrumental in the freeing of thousands more. Born into slavery in 1820, Miss Tubman was the first African American woman buried with full military honors and the first to have the inaugural Liberty ship named after her – the SS Harriet Tubman – by the US Maritime Commission.

“Because of Harriet Tubman’s connection to transportation through the Underground Railroad and her heroic work to free thousands of slaves, TAT believes she epitomizes the symbol of freedom a trucking anti-trafficking award represents,” said Kendis Paris, TAT executive director. “We decided an award of this magnitude was important to present, because we want to be able to know about and recognize – both at the local and national level — the real truckers against trafficking and celebrate their efforts both within and out of the industry.”

Criteria and Selection

To be considered for the award, you – and/or additional people involved in the situation that resulted in making a call to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) or local law enforcement — must be employed members of the trucking/travel plaza industry. You must be able to provide all the details requested for the event or situation you relate. These will be vetted by TAT’s award selection committee. For company employee winners, the executives of your company will be notified to set up an award presentation ceremony; you will be honored in TAT’s publications and on our website. If you’re an independent driver, you will be contacted to discuss how and when you’d like to receive the award. TAT promotion will still apply.

Nomination Process

If you would like to be considered for this award or know someone who should be considered for this award, here are the steps you need to follow:

You can either contact TAT directly at tat.truckers@gmail.com or contact your company executives or state association with the following information and have them fill out a report and send it to tat.truckers@gmail.com:

·       First and last name of the person or people involved in making the call.

·       Date, time and location of the call made to the NHTRC – 1-888-3737-888 – or to local law enforcement

·       How did the hotline (NHTRC) and law enforcement respond?

·       What is the name of the police department that responded?

·       What happened when police came? Was anyone arrested (pimp, john, victim)?

·       Do you know if the victim was able to access victim services through the hotline?

·       Contact information of the person submitting this nomination

Once TAT has vetted the information, if there is a success story, the nomination will be submitted to the TAT award selection committee for consideration.

If you’re a TAT partner, please click here to read about establishing an internal reporting system to discover and recognize your company’s TAT heroes.