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University of California sells private prison holdings following student campaign
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article50987400.htmlThe University of California has dropped its investments in two companies that build and operate private correctional facilities after demands from a student group.
In late November, the Afrikan Black Coalition, which unites black student organizations at UC’s ten campuses, began calling for the university to divest about $25 million worth of shares in Corrections Corporation of America and The Geo Group.
Yoel Haile, the coalition’s political director and a master’s student in public policy at UC Berkeley, said the appeal was part of a campaign against private prison companies, which the students believe have contributed to the disproportionate incarceration of African Americans during the country’s “war on drugs.”
“In this critical time in the Black Lives Matter movement, we have to direct our attention to the main institutions that are keeping our people down and locking our people out of opportunities,” he said. “This is one initial battle that we have won on the way to make private prisons illegal.”
In late November, the Afrikan Black Coalition, which unites black student organizations at UC’s ten campuses, began calling for the university to divest about $25 million worth of shares in Corrections Corporation of America and The Geo Group.
Yoel Haile, the coalition’s political director and a master’s student in public policy at UC Berkeley, said the appeal was part of a campaign against private prison companies, which the students believe have contributed to the disproportionate incarceration of African Americans during the country’s “war on drugs.”
“In this critical time in the Black Lives Matter movement, we have to direct our attention to the main institutions that are keeping our people down and locking our people out of opportunities,” he said. “This is one initial battle that we have won on the way to make private prisons illegal.”
