Human trafficking is sometimes presented by those working within the field as “modern day slavery” -- framing the United States’ modern efforts to prevent and end trafficking and support those who have survived it as a continuation of historical abolition of chattel slavery. While these narratives are useful in garnering public support, awareness, and funding, they do so at the expense of racial equity work that brings awareness to systemic racism’s historical roots. This presentation will trace the historical lineage from chattel slavery to the current systems and institutions in the United States which carry on its legacy of racism, and explore the modern anti-trafficking movement’s historical roots as instead located in the White Slave Traffic Act (Mann Act) of 1910. Presenters will then propose shifts in language and framing for use in U.S. advocacy that honor the continuing work of racial equity without minimizing the urgency of ending human trafficking.