Afrikan Black Coalition denounces UC investment in private corrections companies

By Austin Weinstein

On Monday, a universitywide group of black student organizations denounced the University of California’s investment in private corrections companies, calling for divestment and investment strategy reforms.

The Afrikan Black Coalition, or ABC, criticized the regents’ investment of $25 million in three private corrections companies — the GEO Group Inc., the Corrections Corporation of America and G4S, according to a press release issued by the organization Monday. In addition, the coalition reported the university’s $425 million investment in Wells Fargo, which the ABC alleges invests in private corrections companies as well.

The statement, authored by Anthony Williams, prison divestment communications director for the ABC, called the investment in the companies “ethically embarrassing,” saying that private prisons turn “Black, brown, and immigrant bodies into a profit under the guise of rehabilitation.”

Cameron Hopewell, managing director of investor relations for the Corrections Corporation of America, or CCA, said that because the shares of CCA are beneficially owned, or purchased through a third-party broker, the CCA does not have information on the university’s investment. According to Hopewell, 99.5 percent of CCA shares are beneficially owned.

The UC Office of the President could not be immediately reached for comment.

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[Source]: Daily Californian