BSU at CSU Fullerton issues demands for structural changes!

The Black Student Union at CSU Fullerton strongly puts forth the following demands to the California State University, Fullerton President Framrose Virjee.

Given the hostile racial climate throughout Cal State Fullerton and a multitude of issues directly affecting the well being of Black students here at CSUF, we as concerned leaders of the campus community have created this list of demands out of true concern for the health of current and future Black students here at CSUF. It is our belief that President Virjee must be held accountable in addressing the structural deficiencies in institutional support for Black students on this campus.

“For such a hateful act to have occurred with such little remorse shows the culture and climate of the University. Cal State Fullerton prides itself on caring about diversity and yet it has failed to put diversity into action with regard to its Black students.” -- Bethany Whittaker, President of CSUF Black Student Union

Our demands are as follows:

1. We demand an allocation of $150,000 to fully fund the Afrikan Black Coalition Conference to be hosted at California State University, Fullerton. This will allow space and opportunity for Black students on this campus and 15 other California campuses to partake in community amongst one another as well as display the support for the Black community on campus from university officials. ​The Afrikan Black Coalition is a statewide conference that brings Black students from all over California to discuss campus climate, recruitment and retention strategies, conduct political education and develop campaigns. The Black students on campus have not received the proper support in regards to funding for this conference. The Black Student Union requests full support for this conference.

2. We demand an aggressive recruitment of Black faculty and staff in disciplines and departments outside of the African-American Studies Department. Moreover, we also demand an increase in the support for the African-American Studies Department as a whole. We demand at least 6% faculty in a tenured track positions on campus be Black-identified within the next four years, with each year steadily increasing by 1.5%. ​There is an inadequate number of Black staff and faculty at CSU Fullerton. ​​This is especially relevant to the retention of Black students because the overall campus climate is racially hostile to Black students, and the presence of the current Black staff and faculty has been imperative in the retention of those of us who are still here.

3. We demand that the “Black Student Success Initiative” Plan drafted by Associated Students, Incorporated be implemented in its entirety with full funding from the President’s office. We maintain that none of the funding that is necessary to address our demands comes from the Student Affairs Division. The priority shift we are demanding must be at the institutional and structural level.​ There is no will power and concerted efforts being put forth by the University to recruit and retain Black students by the University as evidenced by our very low representation of 1.8% at CSUF.

4. We demand the hiring of two full-time Black psychologists at CSUF. We maintain that the funding for this (which includes recruitment expenses) does not come from Student Affairs Division for the reasons stated above. Currently, there is a critical need as we have no Black Psychologists on campus. We as Black students need psychologists who share similar experiences in terms of racial discrimination and in dealing with the racially hostile campus climate at this University.

5. We demand an annual scholarships budget of $250,000 to be raised and funded by the President’s office, and disbursed by the African American Resource Center to go to Black students with the highest need. ​This will help ensure the retention of our Black students and reduce the financial burden of seeking higher education.

6. We demand an allocation of $100,000 for the creation of a peer-led mentoring program through the African American Resource Center. ​This program will assist with transitioning Black students to campus, assisting with Black student retention.

7. We demand public support letter from President Framrose Virjee for the advancement of AB 1460, which will make Ethnic Studies a CSU requirement. ​Ethnic studies courses provide the perspectives

8. We demand Phi Sigma Kappa Fraternity be suspended indefinitely due to the disregard of the campus values. ​Fraternity and sorority members are a reflection of their organization. Often times members are isolated and scapegoated from the organization the member during these situations so the organization can avoid responsibility.

9. We demand the University amend the rules and policies of expulsion in regards to Student Life and Leadership at California State University, Fullerton, to include racial crimes and discrimination against all students, specifically Black students. ​Perpetrators of the code of conduct should feel the full weight of the emotional trauma experienced by victims of these hateful acts.

10. We demand a Black floor in campus-housing within the construction of the newly implemented residential halls that will ensure the safety and community protection of Black students. ​Black students need communal spaces within housing to ensure their safety and well-being.

11. We demand robust diversity training for Fraternity and Sorority Life.

Historically white fraternities and sororities often lack the cultural competence and knowledge needed to interact with people with marginalized identities, specifically National Pan-Hellenic Council and Multi-Cultural Greek Council. Additionally, the staffing within Fraternity and Sorority Life needs to be reviewed to ensure that students with marginalized identities, specifically those affiliated with NPHC and MGC feel supported and empowered.

12. We demand that President Virjee provide his response in writing to these demands to the Black Student Union no later than Friday Oct. 25th at Noon.

The Black Student Union is sending out this press release because we want to inform the CSUF student body of the steps we are taking to address issues of discrimination that we as Black students face at the university and what we as the Black Student Union are doing to ensure a more inclusive environment and establish true infrastructure, respect and support for the underserved Black students, staff, and faculty.

Black Student Union
California State University, Fullerton

Afrikan Black Student Alliance at UC Santa Cruz Launches Demands for Institutional Change

The Afrikan Black Student Alliance at UC Santa Cruz, which is a part of the Afrikan Black Coalition, has launched 7 demands for institutional change at UC Santa Cruz. The Afrikan Black Coalition is in solidarity with Black students waging revolutionary struggle at UC Santa Cruz.

1. We demand the University purchase a property located at or near the base of campus (High Street) to serve as a low income housing cooperative for historically disadvantaged students. We demand this property have 4 bedrooms with appropriate furnishings. This property will then be student ran and student operated by the Afrikan Black Student Alliance. We demand a written agreement to fund this project by beginning of spring quarter.

2. Similar to EOP students and International students’ housing guarantees, we demand that ALL African Black Caribbean identified students have a 4 year housing guarantee to live in the Rosa Parks African American Themed House. Guaranteeing this would provide a viable living option to all ABC identified students regardless of housing status and college affiliation. We demand a written agreement by the opening of housing applications in April 2017.

3. We demand the university remove the beds and release the Rosa Parks African Themed House lounge so it can serve its original purpose. We demand the lounge be returned by Fall 2017.

4. We demand that the university fund the ENTIRE exterior of the Rosa Parks African American Themed House being painted Pan-Afrikan colors (Red, green, and black) by the start of Spring quarter 2017. These Pan Afrikan colors represent Black liberation, and represent our diaspora, and the goals of our people.

5. We demand that all new incoming students from 2017-2018 school year forward (freshman and transfers) go through a mandatory in-person diversity competency training in the event that the online module is not implemented by JUNE 2017. We demand that the training be reviewed and approved by A/BSA board every two years. We demand that every incoming student complete this training by their first day of class.

6. We demand the University allocate an additional $100,000 to the SOAR/Student Media/Cultural Arts and Diversity (SOMeCA for the hiring of advisor who has personal and professional experience handling African/Black/Caribbean student issues) permanently. We demand A/BSA has a final decision on who is hired for this position.

7. We demand a response from chancellor Blumenthal and all interested parties by April 3rd 2017

Afrikan Black Coalition Pushes University of California to Terminate $475 Million Worth of Contracts From Wells Fargo

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: abc.politburo@gmail.com

DATE: 1/30/2017

“If you dare to struggle, you dare to win. If you dare not struggle, then damn it, you don't deserve to win.” -- Fred Hampton, Slain Black Panther Party Chairman, Illinois Chapter

Back in December 2015, the Afrikan Black Coalition unanimously demanded for the University of California (UC) to divest from private prisons. Shortly after the demand, the University of California divested nearly $30 million from private prisons. While this was a momentous and historic win, we knew our battle was not over as the UC still maintained several relationships with Wells Fargo - who provide a $900 million dollar credit line to Core Civic (formerly Corrections Corporation of America) and are also part of the Million Shares Club.  Following continued advocacy from the Afrikan Black Coalition, the University of California has finally decided to discontinue several ($475 million worth) of its existing contracts with Wells Fargo. More specifically, the University of California has agreed to three key points:

1. Terminated the $25 million commercial paper contract with Wells Fargo on November 2016.

2. Terminate the $150 million interest reset contract with Wells Fargo by April 1st, 2017.

3. Terminate $200 million out of the $300 million line of credit with Wells Fargo by next month and the remaining $100 million as soon as a replacement bank is found, which is actively being sought for.

The UC’s decision to discontinue $475 million worth of contracts, and line of credit by April 2017 comes on the heels of several cities and states terminating their relationships with a bank that has caused great harm to our communities. This decision made by UC CFO Nathan Brostrom and his senior staff regarding the UC’s relationship with Wells Fargo is the first of its kind within higher education institutions. This decision is the result of a continued line of communication and spirit of cooperation that has been maintained between the Afrikan Black Coalition and senior UC administrators. We commend UC CFO Brostrom and his staff for their leadership and good faith effort on this matter and for communicating this information to ABC representatives in a meeting that took place on 1/17/2017 at the UC office of President in Oakland, CA. The UC is choosing to keep its $425 million in investments and recently signed interest rate swap contracts that expire in 2023, 2045, and 2047 because of the high cost of exiting those contracts at the moment. 

Wells Fargo is the syndicating agent for Core Civic’s (formerly Corrections Corporation of America) $900 million line of credit, a trustee for the GEO Group’s $300 million corporate debt, and are notorious for grossly discriminatory and predatory lending practices targeting Black and brown communities, evidenced by many related lawsuits and settlements. More recently, we discovered that Wells Fargo created over 2 million fake accounts and has been ordered to pay the largest penalty since the founding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Since then, several states (including California), counties, and cities have terminated their relationships with the bank. We encourage Wells Fargo to terminate ALL of its relationships with prisons (private and public), and atone for their wrongdoings by paying reparations to the communities from whom they have stolen millions of dollars and whose financial credit histories they have ruined. 

Much like our December 2015 victory, where we pushed the UC to divest all of its nearly $30 million in shares from private prisons (Core Civic, GEO Group and G4S), this is an unprecedented move that can shift the landscape of not just California, but the nation. By taking a stand against the amoral practices of an enormous corporation like Wells Fargo, the Afrikan Black Coalition is pushing the UC to exhibit the kind of leadership necessary for the survival of communities unfairly targeted by a criminal financial system. We dedicate this small victory to the hundreds and thousands of our people who are trapped in America’s gulags. Through the organized struggle of our masses, we believe our liberation is inevitable.

To learn more about our work and support the Afrikan Black Coalition, please contribute at http://afrikanblackcoalition.org/donate/.

The Afrikan Black Coalition supports #NoDAPL

The Afrikan Black Coalition supports #NoDAPL

“There is a cruel irony in the fact that police are using WATER against those who have sworn to PROTECT IT.” -- Lakota Law Project

The Afrikan Black Coalition unconditionally supports the active protection of land and water, and the struggle for freedom by Native peoples and all oppressed people.

As we approach Thanksgiving, the classic American tradition of celebrating the massacre of Native folks in the 1600s, four hundred years later we have arrived at a similar place. Both Afrikan people and Native people face the gratuitous violence of white settler colonialism and continue to struggle to smash global domination without mercy. According to multiple reports from Twitter and a livestream from Sunday, November 20, 2016, the water protectors of North Dakota are facing rubber bullets, tear gas, mace cannons, and water cannons on North Dakota Highway 1806. The weather is under 30 degrees fahrenheit. 

Make no mistake, this is an ongoing act of domestic terrorism. The same U.S. Department of Defense 1033 Program that gives the Oakland Police Department military tanks to surveil the hoods of California enables the abuse of Native peoples attempting to protect their livelihoods. Native peoples in United States have long been the survivors of terrorism. This current assault began in August 2016 and shows no signs of stopping any time soon. 

This is a time that requires action, which the water protectors have peacefully taken up. In response to that action the State is punishing the water protectors with weapons of mass destruction. We support without reservation any and all tactics the native people of North Dakota may respond with in reaction to the brutality they are facing. We believe that all people have the right to defend their land against foreign or corporate enemies by any means necessary. Water is a sacred human right that must be protected, not privatized, poisoned, or withheld. With Wells Fargo and Citibank as major funders, the collusion of capitalism and white supremacy is clear.

No one should have to face abuse for basic human rights such as land or water, and yet we do at the hands of the imperialist U.S. government and private corporations. Much like G4S invests in maintaining their global hold on private prisons in the U.S. and Palestinians in the so-called state of Israel, they are also working against the water protectors in North Dakota. This partnership between the State and corporations is further proof of our joint enemies and speaks to V.I Lenin’s statement that “Imperialism [is] the highest stage of Capitalism.” 

The Afrikan Black Coalition, in solidarity with the water protectors, strongly condemns the Dakota Access Pipeline, the acts of terror against Indigenous peoples in the name of white supremacist capitalist imperialism, and the disregard for future generations of folks forced to live in the United States of America. It is our fundamental belief that history is on the side of the oppressed and that our victory against the oppressors is inevitable. And we, who believe in freedom, shall not rest until it’s won. 

If you’d like to contribute, please donate to the Red Warrior Camp, the direct action camp of #NoDAPL, or visit NoDAPL Solidarity’s call-to-action. #NoDAPL

***
When you see water in a stream
you say: oh, this is stream
water;
When you see water in the river
you say: oh, this is water
of the river;
When you see ocean
water
you say: This is the ocean's
water!
But actually water is always
only itself
and does not belong
to any of these containers
though it creates them.
And so it is with you.

Alice Walker

For Immediate Release: Afrikan Black Coalition Voter Guide

While white people are preoccupied between voting for an avowed orange colored fascist and an anti-Black war monger, the Afrikan Black Coalition finds it imperative that Black voters become knowledgeable and make informed decisions around the 17 propositions on the ballot this November. This is because propositions have the potential to provide tangible improvements or systematic disenfranchisement to Black people. Knowing their importance, we have researched and vetted each proposition on the ballot and have created a voter guide by identifying and prioritizing the propositions that are most consequential for Black people. After thorough research, we have decided to endorse propositions 55, 57, 58, and 62 and strongly oppose proposition 66.

We support Proposition 55 because public schools, where the majority of Black youth attend, will be receiving more funding by taxing the wealthiest Californians and the revenue will be allocated and distributed by local school boards. We are cognizant of the failures of the American public education system but additional funding will provide organizing opportunities for our youth about how the new funds will be spent at the local level.

We support Proposition 57 because it strips prosecutors’ power to charge our youth as adults. The majority of youth who have been tried as adults have been disproportionately Black and Latino. This reduces the power of racist DA’s who manipulate and threaten our children with trying them as adults. It also allows parole consideration for incarcerated folks by authorizing sentence credits for rehabilitation, good behavior and education. This proposition for more of our people to have a better chance of coming home from America’s cages.

We support Proposition 58 because it authorizes school districts to establish dual-language immersion programs. We believe this will benefit the scores of young students who deserve equitable and accessible education despite English being their second language.

We support  Proposition 62 because it would abolish the death penalty. In California, Black people make up 7% of the population but make up nearly 50% of the people on death row. This staggering application of the death penalty on Black people is reason enough for us to want it abolished at once.

Lastly, we strongly oppose Proposition 66 because it is a reckless experiment with justice that would limit the appeals process to people on death row to a mere 5 years among other procedural changes thus, greatly increasing the risk of killing an innocent person. Given the racial disparity on death row, it is clear that if and when California executes an innocent person, that person will most likely be a Black man or woman.

In conclusion, the previously identified propositions are crucial to vote on because they are small steps toward improving our current material conditions. These propositions focus in the fields of education and mass incarceration and their failure to pass will concretely worsen our people’s material conditions.Thus, we urge all Black people and all people of conscience to VOTE YES on Propositions 55, 57, 58, and 62 and VOTE NO on 66.

Elaine Brown calls for volunteers for the Black Panth

Elaine Brown calls for volunteers for the Black Panther Party's 50th anniversary

Editor's Note: below you'll find a message from Ms. Elaine Brown, former Chairwoman of the Black Panther Party

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As you probably know by now, this coming October marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Black Panther Party.  I’m a member of the ad hoc committee of former Party members hosting events commemorating the anniversary, in Oakland, California, from October 20 -23rd.  Our main venue is the beautiful, 7.5 acre Oakland Museum of California.

The theme of the commemoration is "Where Do We Go From Here?"  With that in mind, we will showcase workshops and panel discussions on the ideology, history and legacy of the Party.  And, there will be music and art and photo exhibits and film showings--and a gala commemoration dinner on October 22nd in the Museum's magnificent garden.

This is my invitation to you to come out and participate in this conference, enjoy our wonderful dinner and gala, advertise in our souvenir program book.  For more information and to purchase tickets or an ad in the souvenir book, please visit our website: www.bpp50th.com.

In the meantime, I hoping you'd be interested in volunteering to support the commemoration.  We need people in security, hosts/hostesses, guides or other positions.  If you want to volunteer, we're having a meeting this Saturday, September 17th, at 11:00 am, Met West High School, 314 East 10th Street, Oakland, just show up!

Hope to see you Saturday--and, definitely, in October!

Elaine Brown

BPP 50th Host Committee

Black Student Union Secures "The Fannie Lou Hamer Resource Center" at UC Berkeley

For Immediate Release
Contact: Afrikan Black Coalition
Email: AfrikanBlackCoalition@gmail.com

BLACK STUDENT UNION SECURES “THE FANNIE LOU HAMER RESOURCE CENTER” AT UC BERKELEY

“Sometimes it seem like to tell the truth today is to run the risk of being killed. But if I fall, I’ll fall five feet four inches forward in the fight for freedom. I’m not backing off”—Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer

“Land is the basis of ALL independence”—Kwame Nkrumah

Oakland, CA, August 4, 2016

After over 15 months of relentless organizing, mobilizing, and negotiations, the Black Student Union at UC Berkeley--in assistance with the Afrikan Black Coalition--, has reached an agreement with Chancellor Nicholas Dirks to secure a physical building and funding to serve as the long awaited “Fannie Lou Hamer Resource Center.” 

The Fannie Lou Hamer Resource Center is the result of a series of demands that were issued to the campus by the Black Student Union in March 2015. The first demand on that list read:

WE DEMAND the creation of an African-American Student Development Resource Center, to be named the Fannie Lou Hamer Resource Center, with a designated office space as well as space for hosting events, at a central campus location. This center is to be under the purview of the African-American Student Development Office.

The current Black Student Union Chair Elias Hinit and Chancellor Nicholas Dirks signed the agreement July 19th, 2016. The agreement states that the Fannie Lou Hamer Resource Center will be located in the Hearst Annex Building, rooms D3, D4, and D5 for the next five years and that the Chancellor will allocate $82,885 to refurbish the building and purchase necessary equipment. The Fannie Lou Hamer Resource Center will remain in the Hearst Annex for five years (until June 2021). If the campus does not identify a permanent space for the Center by then, the agreement stipulates that the Center will remain in the Hearst Annex for an additional five years. The Fannie Lou Hamer Center will be open to the public in early September 2016.

The historic nature of this victory and the disciplined organizing effort that brought it into fruition are best described by Gabrielle Shuman, 2014-2015 Chairwoman of the Black Student Union who states:

Make no mistake; this center was not an easy win by any means. Black students and staff have been fighting battles for a space like this for decades. We sacrificed a great deal of time, sleep, studying, and even class attendance to make sure we could catch every calculated curveball thrown at us during this process.

It is critical to note that the Black Student Union has submitted a detailed budget plan, that will enable the Fannie Lou Hamer Resource Center to serve as a fully resourced and staffed Center, to Chancellor Dirks. Our budget plan asserts that the Fannie Lou Hamer Resource Center needs a permanent annual allocation of $547,500 to be used for five full time staff members, fifteen part-time student staff, and programming & equipment needs. The Chancellor has stated that he will consider this budget proposal. The 2016-2017 Black Student Union leadership will be following up on this matter once the fall semester begins.

Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer/WNYC

Our vision has always been that the Fannie Lou Hamer Resource Center will serve as the central organizing and galvanizing space to meet the academic, social, cultural, and political needs of the Black community. We hope that the Center will help sustain the Black community and produce brilliant leaders such as that of its namesake, Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer; the kind of leaders who are determined, fearless, and resolute in the struggle for Black liberation. Articulating its importance, Cori McGowens, 2015-2016 Chairwoman of the Black Student Union, states:

Black people, no matter our location, need a space of our own in order to heal, create, build and decompress. This campus has a wide array of Black leaders who will be able to utilize this space to continue to do the work of our people.

We are cognizant of the monumental and historical nature of the opening of the Fannie Lou Hamer Resource Center. We pay homage to the martyrs of the Black Freedom Struggle whose endless sacrifices have gotten our people this far and in whose honor we have the privilege of contributing to the larger Black Freedom Struggle. Locally, we wish to express our gratitude to Ms. Nzingha Dugas, Director of the African American Student Development Office, for her tireless efforts in supporting and nurturing so many of us. She has been instrumental in helping us achieve a victory in this battle, and her efforts deserve high recognition. In addition, we would like to recognize a few of the many other Black students involved in the process, whose particular commitment and courage helped make this center possible: Gabrielle Shuman, Cori McGowens, Yoel Haile, Blake Simons, AB (Alana Banks), Eniola Abioye, David Turner, Lauren Butler, Zaynab AbdulQadir, and Spencer Pritchard. To the students, and all other parties who took a smaller role in the process but nonetheless contributed to its success: we appreciate you. 

Elias Hinit, the 2016-17 BSU Chairman who signed the agreement, captures our feelings about and aspirations for the Fannie Lou Hamer Resource Center when he states:

I feel so honored and privileged to not only have a Black space and learn from it, but to help grow it into something that we can use to liberate our people.

We hope that we have done justice to the legacy of our people’s warrior, Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer and pledge to continue our struggle until freedom in her example!

All Power to the People!

Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer/Howard University

MISSING PERSON in St. Louis - Ka'Milla Renee McMiller

For Immediate Release: MISSING PERSON in St. Louis - Ka'Milla Renee McMiller
Contact: Lakeyon Kyles and Allison Brewyahs

St Louis, Missouri - July 9, 2016

UPDATE (8:00PM PST, 7/10/16) According to a Facebook screenshot from Allison Brewyahs posted by @colocha_rachel on Twitter, Ka'Milla has been found and is safe:

Update on #KamillaReneeMcmiller as of 8:30pm. pic.twitter.com/mKSaZ5jfoC

— [work in progress] (@colocha_rachel) July 11, 2016

UPDATE (5:38PM PST, 7/10/16) Paula Mooney for Inquisitr has written more details about the disappearance of Ka'Milla. 

UPDATE (9:26PM PST, 7/9/16)  The exact address of Ka'Milla's last location is the Coffee Cartel in the Central West End at 2 Maryland Plaza, St. Louis, MO 63108.

According to National Crime Information Center, an 18-year-old Black trans woman by the name of Ka'Milla Renee McMiller has been missing since Thursday, June 30th, 2016. While she is misgendered on the Missouri State Highway Patrol website, her mother and friends correctly gender her as she/her/hers. Francisco-Luis White communicated with Anthony Williams on twitter over direct message. White, in conversation with her mother, Lakeyon Kyles, on Facebook messenger, reports that Kyles filed a missing person's report yesterday. Allison Brewyahs writes on Facebook:

"PLEASE BOOST, URGENT!

Ka'Milla Renee McMiller has not been heard from since Wednesday, July 6th before noon (through Facebook messenger). At the moment, the most recent anyone has seen her was on July 4th in the CWE at Coffee Cartel. If you have any additional information or have heard from her since then, please let me, Jae Shepherd, Koach Baruch Frazier, or her mother Lakeyon Kyles know. Please reach out. We want to make sure she's ok."

This is all the information we currently have. If you have information on her whereabouts or who she may be with, please do report it to Allison Brewyahs or her mother Lakeyon Kyles. You will find additional photographs of Ka'Milla below.Anthony Williams Editor-in-Chief, Afrikan Black Coalition

We have to find #KaMillaReneeMcMiller, a Black trans woman from Missouri who has been missing since June 30th. pic.twitter.com/93r81JCZW1 — Francisco-Luis White (@FranciscoLWhite) July 9, 2016

Statement on the Terrorist Attack at Pulse in Orlando

Statement on the Massacre at Pulse in Orlando

As a student coalition encompassing queer, transgender, and Muslim Black students across California, our solidarity is presently with the LGBTQ community in Orlando, around the country, and around the world. A terrorist attack, the biggest shooting in American history, at Pulse nightclub (a gay club) killed over 50 people and left 53 injured.

We live in a settler state that, from its creation, has sought to regulate and violently marginalize queer and transgender individuals. Through cisnormativity, we have come to understand that certain kinds of bodies and genders are wrong. Through heteronormativity, we have come to understand that certain sexualities are wrong. Through racial capitalism, we have come to understand that the commodification of [racialized] bodies and genders and sexualities is normal. After 9/11, we have come to learn that the aggressive demonization and securitization of Muslim communities is justified and acceptable. ALL of these systems - heteronormativity, cisnormativity, capitalism, and racism - operate in tandem, and it's no mistake that the very politicians who create and support anti-queer and trans legislation are suddenly tripping on their own feet to spew hateful Islamophobic rhetoric in sudden "support" of queer communities.

As we fight white supremacy, we must challenge violent normativities and NECESSARILY support and stand in constant solidarity with queer and trans communities, particularly our queer and trans Black siblings sitting at the intersections of anti-blackness and queer/transantagonisms. Our thoughts are with the Orlando community, as well as our own ABC members, and our fight to make a safe and free world for ALL Black people continues. A luta continua! Islamophobia

SJSU Black Unity Group Holds Rally and Demands Institutional Change After Hate Crime

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Donntay Moore-Thomas: (510) 395-0407, donntay.moorethomas@gmail.com
Brianna Leon: (408) 409-9943,  brianna.leon@sjsu.edu

An Unjust Verdict: The Recent Sentencing of Former SJSU Students Did Not Meet The Severity of Their Crime

SAN JOSE, CA- On Thursday, March 17 at 11:30 am, Black Unity Group, with alliance to Black Student Union will hold a rally and press conference at the Tower Lawn to discuss the recent hate crime verdict on our campus along with other demands, and our request for immediate action on these issues.

The sentencing was held on Monday March, 14. Three former San Jose University Students were sentenced to the lesser crime of probation and community service, following their misdemeanor battery against their former Black roommate. They were acquitted of the Hate Crime. These incidents took place in the Fall of 2013 during the student’s first year of college. Following, the conclusion of the sentencing, interim President Sue Martin, gave a brief response that focused on school climate. As a result of the verdict, there is still little improvement in the increasing racial tensions on the campus. There has been no further push to engage in discussion regarding the verdict.

Black Unity Group is frustrated that:

1.  There are still tensions among the various racial groups on campus. There has been no improvement to increase diversity sensitivity on campus. Institutional racism and individual acts remain unaddressed.
2.  There has been no formal apology from the University regarding the heinous crime.
3.  There has been a lack of communication between students and the administration. The source of communication has been asynchronous [no room for back and forth emailing from students]. The emails written from The interim President and Vice President for Student Affairs do not allow feedback from students.
4. None of the previous demands that were brought to the administration in 2013 have been met in a timely manner.

The verdict adds to the growing issue of San Jose State University's Black students’ need for a direct action to increase their security, safety, and voice on campus.

Students of Black Unity Group DEMAND:

1.  Zero Tolerance Policy for Racial Harassment that will disallow anything that represents or symbolizes an attack on any ethnic, religious or gender group in housing and anywhere on campus.
2.   A letter from the president/incoming president to make improving the racial climate a top priority.
3.  To improve specialized resources for students of color to feel more welcomed on campus.

Black Unity Group is a student activist organization that branches off of Black Student Union. Our goal is to effectively come together to bring about pressing issues that surround the Black community on SJSU’s campus. We offer a safe space to unite, educate, and enrich students of color on San Jose State’s campus.

Thank you,

Black Unity Group
blackunitygroup@gmail.com

PRESS RELEASE: Lowell High School Unity March in San Francisco

For Immediate Release: Lowell High School Unity March
Contact: Lowell High School Black Student Union
Email: AfrikanBlackCoalition@gmail.com

San Francisco, CA- February 23, 2016

On February 5, 2016 a poster was found hanging on the Lowell High School library door that read, “Happy Black History Month #Gang” (image above). Black student are outraged by the use of “#gang” as it refers to Black students and Black history month negatively. Of the 2700 students that make up the Lowell High School student body, only 60 are Black, making up approximately 2% of the school. In response to this clear anti-Blackness, past incidents of racism, and an uncomfortable climate for Black students, the Black Student Union (BSU) has scheduled a walk-out for today, February 23rd, 2016 at 9am.

The BSU is asking students to walk out of their classrooms in order to visibly show their support for Black students. The aim of this march is to express discontent with the unsafe environment for Black students, and the administration’s negligence in addressing the BSU’s concerns.

Following the walk-out there will be a rally outside of SF City Hall at 11am. The students will reconvene at 6pm for the San Francisco Unified School District’s School board meeting, and the BSU will release its demands to School Board members at the meeting. The SFSUD Board of Education meeting agenda is available here. Students will speak during the public comment section of the meeting.

Read more on the incident at TheLowell.org

Kadijah Means

Communications Chief of Staff

Wells Fargo Complicit in Private Prison Industry: City of Portland Committee Recommends Divestment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - (originally published by Enlace and republished here with permission)

Wells Fargo Complicit in Private Prison Industry:
City of Portland Committee Recommends Divestment

February 22, 2016
Contact: Amanda Aguilar Shank of Enlace, amanda@enlaceintl.org, 503-660-8744

After several months of deliberation and community input, today the Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) committee voted unanimously to recommend that the City of Portland divest of their holdings in Wells Fargo & Company due to the company’s financing of for-profit incarceration, and their “morally bankrupt” lending practices.

Paulino Ruiz of Woodburn spoke at today’s SRI committee meeting about his two years in immigrant detention, and his role is catalyzing hunger strikes at the GEO Group owned Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma. He said, “I was retaliated against for [the hunger strike]… I had no access to my attorney, my case information, or family support… Just during my detention, prisons and investors like Wells Fargo made over $100,000 that could have been spent doing good for the community instead.”

This decision marks the first time that a public body has voted for divestment from Wells Fargo due to their complicity in the prison industry. This comes on the heels of recent prison divestment by Columbia University and the University of California, and pledges by Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders to outlaw private incarceration.

“We are thrilled that the committee made the right decision today. Our Black, Latino and immigrant communities have suffered enough from incarceration,” said Mary Mendez of Enlace, the Portland-based organization that is convener of the national Prison Divestment Campaign. “Divestment from private prisons is part of a larger movement to end mass incarceration and immigrant detention.”

“Today’s decision indicates that it is time to take the profit motive out of incarceration,” said Kayse Jama, Director of the Center for Intercultural Organizing and coalition partner of the Portland Prison Divestment Campaign. “Private prison corporations and their financial backers like Wells Fargo should not be profiting from incarceration, and should not be allowed to lobby on criminal justice and immigration policy, because their motivation is to put more and more people behind bars.”

Dave Cutler, Finance Director for Service Employees International Union, Local 49 and member of the Socially Responsible Investment committee said, “Portland is becoming a national leader in socially responsible investment. After closely examining Wells Fargo’s history of financial ties with private prisons and predatory lending, it became clear to the committee that the correct decision was to recommend no new investments until the bank’s practices change.”

Today marked the first vote taken by the Socially Responsible Investment committee, which was formed in accordance with a City Council resolution in 2015. The next step to achieve full divestment from the private prison industry is a vote to finalize the committee’s recommendation at the City Council.

The City of Portland currently holds $40 million in Wells Fargo corporate bonds.

This vote comes just days before the University of California Board of Regents will discuss a similar proposal for Wells Fargo divestment, brought by the California-based Afrikan Black Coalition. The Board of Regents controls one of the largest University funds in the country, with assets of approximately $100 billion.

Melanie Cervantes for Enlace

Afrikan Black Coalition Conference (#ABC2k16)

Afrikan Black Coalition Conference:

"Planting the Seeds of Our Future, Defining Our Next Steps"

The Afrikan Black Coalition is holding it's annual conference this year at University of California, Santa Barbara from Friday, February 12th through Monday, February 15th, 2016. The ABC Conference is the largest California statewide conference of Black students--with participation from every University of California campus and nearly every California State University campus. This year's keynote speakers include: Umi Selah, Melina Abdullah, David Banner, and Bree Newsome. In addition to the keynote speakers there will also be a host of workshops and lectures with the aim of engaging, empowering, and educating members of the Afrikan Diaspora.

The official hashtag for the event is #ABC2k16, and you can follow along on twitter at @ABlackCoalition. Please see the agenda below.

Black Student Union at CSULA Accomplishes Historic Institutional Changes

Black Students Accomplish Historic Institutional Changes at California State University, Los Angeles

By: The Black Student Union


Contact: Black Student Union calstatelabsu@gmail.edu 

February 10, 2016

“Power concedes nothing without demand. It never did and it never will” 

-Frederick Douglass

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Los Angeles, CA— The Black Student Union demanded change, and the Cal State Los Angeles administration responded. Both parties collaborated, and continue to collaborate, to create a better learning environment for Black students at Cal State L.A.

In response to our demands for institutional changes in November of 2015, President William A. Covino, the administration of Cal State L.A., and the Black Student Union engaged in a series of meetings to establish a path to achieve our goals. Following two meetings, President Covino responded to our demands in writing on December 7, 2015. Although we have achieved some of our demands, our negotiations and collaboration continues with the Cal State L.A. president and administration as we seek to see the implementation, and fulfillment, of each of our demands.

The following have been achieved since the Black Student Union presented their demands to President William A. Covino in November of 2015:

1. California State University, Los Angeles has agreed to DIVEST from all Private Prison corporations! The investment committee has eliminated any holdings in the private prison corporations at the direction of the President. This is a historic and significant victory for Black communities and makes Cal State L.A. the third university to divest from private prisons and the second public institution to do so following the UC’s recent decision to divest at the urging of the Afrikan Black Coalition.

2. The Director of Housing has been asked to work with administration and the BSU in creating, and developing, a Black Scholars’ living learning community. We expect the development of the Black Scholars Hall to take place prior to the Fall 2016 term.

3. The president has agreed to allocate $100,000 to the Cross Cultural Centers to be divided between the four student centers effective January 1, 2016. We expect this allocation to be permanent.

4. Beginning in fall 2016, all students will be required to complete one diversity course and one race and ethnicity course.

5. The President has agreed to allocate $100,000 for staffing and other costs to increase the yield of Black students who get accepted into Cal State L.A. for Fall 2016, and an additional $100,000 for the recruitment of Black students for Fall 2017. We expect these allocations of $200,000 in total to be permanent.

6. The President has committed to the hiring of new staff psychologists who have demonstrated experience in working with Black students.

We are encouraged by this momentous victory and look forward to working with President Covino, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Dr. Jose Gomez, and other officers of administration in getting the rest of our demands met. We continue to dedicate our time and energy in efforts to improve the quality of life and education of the current, and future, Black students of Cal State L.A.

In Solidarity and Struggle,

Black Student Union

Cal State LA

The Community is Putting Wells Fargo on Notice

featured above: Rasheed Shabazz for Afrikan Black Coalition, ABC Conference at UC Irvine (Jan 2015)

You’ve read about how the Afrikan Black Coalition pushed the University of California to divest $25 million in private prison shares.

You’ve read about how the University of California still maintains a $425 million investment in Wells Fargo, one of the largest financiers of private prisons.

You’ve read about how the Afrikan Black Coalition has put Wells Fargo on notice for their $900 million credit line to private prisons, among other atrocities.

Now we need you to sign on in support of the Afrikan Black Coalition’s petition. Private prisons affects all of our communities, not just Black student communities. 

Want to help us out? Follow these two simple steps:

1. Sign our Color of Change petition

2. Share our Color of Change petition your family and friends via social media

Make it known: you will not stay quiet as long as Wells Fargo funds private prisons.

UC Divestment from Prisons and its Financiers: Putting Wells Fargo on Notice

UC Divestment from Prisons and its Financiers: 

Putting Wells Fargo on Notice

The Afrikan Black Coalition (ABC), a statewide Black youth organization based in California, announced last month that the University of California will have sold under $30 million in private prison holdings by December 31, 2015. However, despite selling shares in Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), The GEO Group (GEO), and G4S, the University of California still maintains their $425 million investment in Wells Fargo. To continue to support Wells Fargo is both unethical and financially risky for four reasons:

1. Wells Fargo owns nearly 1.5 million shares in CCA and GEO, effectively financing the dehumanization of Black and migrant people.

2. Wells Fargo acts as a syndication agent and issuing lender on CCA’s $900 million line of credit as of 2013.

3. Wells Fargo serves as the bond trustee to GEO's $300 million corporate debt as of 2012.

4. Wells Fargo settled for $175 million in 2012 to cover up discriminatory lending practices where Black and brown borrowers paid higher fees than their white counterparts.

Given these four unethical practices, the Afrikan Black Coalition hereby puts Wells Fargo on notice to sell all shares and terminate the stated business relations with private prisons by February 20th, 2016. If Wells Fargo does not stop funding the dehumanization of Black and migrant people, Wells Fargo will be met with the relentless force of Black organizers who are committed to Black liberation. Locally, ABC will push the University of California to divest the $425 million invested in Wells Fargo. Nationally, ABC and our allies will call for a boycott of Wells Fargo by our supporters and all those who stand for freedom, equality, and justice. We encourage Wells Fargo to protect the human rights of all people, rather than continuing to fund the criminal and racist prison industrial complex.

Black Student Union at UCSC Issues Demands

by UCSC BSU 

In addition to demonstrations initiated and acted out by the Afrikan Black community here at UC Santa Cruz, we as a community have created a list of demands that we want to be met in the next 4 months. This campus has been a perpetual source of discomfort and is an unwelcoming environment for a large population of Black students. This campus has been unwilling to address racism and in addition to that has an administration that participates in fueling this environment. The email sent from the chancellor’s office addressing anti-Semitism on campus was a prime example of this perpetuation.  To address the racist climate of this university, we want to see these demands met by Spring Quarter.

 We are well aware that last year the Black Experience Team or BET was created out of a climate of Black students feeling uncomfortable and not welcomed on this campus and this has not changed. We have had discussions with our community and we share the sentiment that there is more that this university can do to recruit, retain, and embrace Black students. Below, we have listed the demands that we want met this academic year.

Our Demands:

• We demand a 1.5% increase in Black male admissions of all admitted students every year

• We demand a 2% increase in Black student representation than the current representation of Black students for the 2016-2017 academic year

• We demand the creation of a Department of Black Studies

• We demand more scholarships for Black students in the annual amount of $1.5 million for the span of 5 years

• We demand more funding for undocumented students

• We demand more funding for EOP

• We demand the hiring of more Black students in campus jobs

• We demand a 48 hour response to anti-Black hate crimes

• We demand a competency education for all students about the issues pertaining to Black Queer students.

• We demand a permanent increased funding for the AARC in the amount of $1.5 million

• We demand a response from Chancellor Blumenthal by Dec. 14th, 2015 no later than 5pm.

Afrikan Black Coalition Accomplishes UC Prison Divestment!

After months of research, conversations with the University of California and steady pressure from the Afrikan Black Coalition against the UC’s complicity in the prison industrial complex, ABC confirms that the UC has begun selling all their shares in private prisons. This victory follows an initial November press release from the Afrikan Black Coalition announcing the University of California’s investments in private prisons and a unanimous vote from Black Student Unions calling for divestment from private prisons and their financiers. ABC Political Director, Yoel Haile, states:

"This victory is historic and momentous. Divesting $25 million is a good step towards shutting down private prisons by starving them of capital. This is a clear example of Black Power and what we can achieve when we work in unity. This victory belongs to the masses of our people languishing behind America’s mass incarceration regime."

UC Chief Investment Officer Jagdeep Singh Bachher broke the news to ABC staff in a meeting at Bachher’s office in Oakland, CA on Friday, December 18th, 2015. Bachher stated that he would partner with the Afrikan Black Coalition and has pledged to inform each UC Chancellor and financial institutions--with whom the UC maintains a relationship--about the UC’s decision to sell all holdings in private prisons. Bachher maintained that as a matter of policy, the UC does not divest, but "looks at things from a sustainable investment framework." This decision makes the University of California the second U.S educational institution to divest from private prisons after Columbia University’s decision to divest in 2013, as a result of relentless organizing by Black students and allies.

The University of California is clear that investments in these corporations are financially unsustainable and now stands as the first public education institution to denounce the private prison industry. In addition, Black students have declared private prisons to be morally rotten and ethically compromising to the mission of any educational institution. Our position on private prisons has been clear from the very beginning; we want them outlawed and out of business. The University of California has sold all but $2 million of its holdings from private prisons and is in the process of selling the remainder of their holdings by December 31st, 2015. Following this historic victory, many invigorated supporters are now asking: where do we go from here?

As our ABC Divestment Resolution demands, divestment from private prisons by the UC is not complete until the $425 million invested in Wells Fargo Bank is dealt with appropriately. Wells Fargo Bank has never been the ally of Black, working class, and migrant people or the intersection thereof. Like many banks, Wells Fargo is well known for their discriminatory lending practices in Black and brown neighborhoods. Wells Fargo also acts as a syndication agent and issuing lender on CCA’s $900 million line of credit, serves as a trustee to Geo Group’s $300 million corporate debt, and is a Million Shares Club member. As a Million Shares Club member, Wells Fargo owns over one million shares in CCA and Geo Group, effectively financing the dehumanization of Black and migrant people. The private prison industry shows little concern for our people and demonstrates few signs of stopping without direct action from organizations like Enlace, Responsible Endowments Coalition, and ABC. Unless Wells Fargo immediately cancels all of its business relationships with private prisons, the $425 million the UC has invested in Wells Fargo must be divested immediately. ABC Field Organizer Kamilah Moore states:

“In order for the UC's mission to be fulfilled, it is imperative to assess investments not only from a risk perspective, but from a socially responsible perspective as well. Our campaign is not over. We will continue to call for complete divestment, increased transparency, and reinvestment in education and businesses owned or controlled by the formerly incarcerated.”

Wells Fargo’s direct financing of the prison industrial complex is morally bankrupt and incongruous with the UC’s sustainable centennial investing strategies. The UC Investment Report clearly states that “[a]s long-term investors, we seek the sustained returns associated with strong governance, rather than the rapid gains that can vanish quickly if they are rooted in corruption, fraud or falsification.” Wells Fargo is a bank whose practices run contrary to the values articulated by the UC and its sustainable investment framework. In our estimation, the UC should not invest the money of young college students, distinguished faculty, and the Board of Regents in Wells Fargo.

Selling $425 million in Wells Fargo holdings would benefit the UC and set a historic precedent for the nation. Our resolution explicitly states that the newly-released funds should be invested in education and companies that are owned or controlled by the formerly incarcerated. Doing so would place the UC at the forefront of a national movement for smart, visionary, and ethical investment decisions that aim to benefit society at large. 

If the UC does not sell their $425 million of holdings in Wells Fargo Bank, they will have a statewide coalition of relentless, strategic, and fearless Black students who are intent on contributing their part to the Black Freedom Struggle. Our patience is quickly reaching its limit and we intend to wage this struggle by any means necessary. We do not and we will not act alone, as the prison industrial complex targets Black, brown, poor and migrant lives, and the most marginalized have the least to lose.

Black Student Unions unanimously call for Prison Divestment

featured image: Rasheed Shabazz for Afrikan Black Coalition

“Patience has its limits. Take it too far and it’s cowardice” --George Jackson

The Afrikan Black Coalition, the largest statewide coalition of Black students, recently reported on the $25 million investment in private prisons and $425 million investment in Wells Fargo by the University of California (“UC”). After learning further about the for-profit industry of mass incarceration, the Black Student Unions at all nine UC campuses have unanimously voted on a resolution calling on the UC regents to divest immediately. The formal resolution calls on the UC Regents to divest from private prisons, divest from Wells Fargo, and to create a Socially Responsible Investment Screening Committee. For Black students, the decision was simple from both a personal and political standing.

Black students are intimately familiar with the disproportionate rate at which Black bodies are rounded up and fed to the carceral state. The impact of mass incarceration on Afrikan & immigrant folks in the United States cannot be ignored. We must not forget that we live in the United States, where the legacy of criminalizing Blackness is a constitutive element of the nation’s fabric. And if we truly believe that #BlackLivesMatter from the hood to the academy, we must stand with our brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins and extended family members who are currently incarcerated or are at a higher risk of incarceration because of their very Blackness. We must not forget about leaders who came before us and who still remain trapped as political prisoners in a futile attempt to isolate our revolutionary elders from our Black masses. This is not empty rhetoric. Addressing the reality of this problem includes addressing the sheer number of our lives earmarked for incarceration in order to feed a system of modern-day slavery. Some of us “make it” to college only to remain shackled to student loans for life, some of us are targeted in modern day lynchings, and most of us are enslaved anew. 

Slavery never disappeared. A caveat was attached to the 13th Amendment of 1865 that  declared slavery an unlawful entity, except when serving as a punishment for a “crime”. Prisons are the latest iteration of slavery and the newest repackaging of Jim Crow. The FBI states that violent crime in the U.S. has dropped since 1991, yet the amount of people in private prisons has steadily risen. While many other countries were busy reducing the numbers of prisoners and frequency of imprisonment, the U.S. created a racially coded “War on Crime,” mandatory minimum sentences, and a three strikes policy. These punitive approaches combined with a focus on “law & order” are blatantly racist and classist. For example, Black and white folks use drugs at similar rates, yet Black folks are much more likely to be arrested. In 2010, Black men were incarcerated at a rate of 5,525 per 100,000, compared to 1,146 for Latinos, 671 for whites, and 43 for Asians. For women, the Sentencing Project reports that the lifetime imprisonment rate is 1 in 56 for all women. Yet the lifetime imprisonment rate for white women is 1 in 118 for white women versus 1 in 19 for Black women. And in 2010, Black women were incarcerated at a rate of 133 per 100,000 women, which is nearly 3 times the rate of white women. However, the population most at risk is Black youth (under 18 years old). Young Black women are the fastest growing segment of the juvenile justice system and the criminal justice system. 

So we must ask ourselves, what could the Black community accomplish if these invisible people were made visible and released from America’s chains? When private prisons make $122/day from each prisoner, yet each prisoner makes anywhere from one to five dollars a day, who is profiting? While the state of California only built three CSU campuses and one UC campus in the last 30 years, 23 prisons were built in that same timeframe. Private prison divestment is not merely a personal, political or an academic issue for Black students, but a human rights issue. It is clear that investment in private prisons does not align with the proposed values of the UC and the Black students at the UC have spoken in unison and with piercing clarity: we must divest NOW!

The demands are simple.

1. Divest, effective immediately, the $25 million sum in CCA, The Geo Group, and other private prisons.

2. Divest, effective immediately, the $425 million sum in Wells Fargo as long as Wells Fargo has any business relations with the private prison industry.

3. The UC Regents must institute a policy to never invest in private prison corporation.

4. The UC Regents must institute a policy to never invest in Wells Fargo for as long as Wells Fargo has any business dealings with private prison corporations.

5. The UC President Napolitano and the Regents must issue a memorandum advising all the individual UC foundations to DIVEST all their holdings from private prisons and Wells Fargo immediately.

6. The UC Regents must mandate the Chief Investment Officer to provide quarterly investment reports to the Afrikan Black Coalition.

7. The UC Regents must implement a Socially Responsible Investment screen committee that actively researches whether future corporations the UC invests in are held to ethical standards and such committee must have representatives from the Afrikan Black Coalition and UCSA.

8. The millions of funds which will be divested must get re-invested in education, and companies that are owned or controlled by the formerly incarcerated.

University of California Has Millions Invested in Private Prisons

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 30, 2015

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA HAS MILLIONS INVESTED IN PRIVATE PRISONS

UPDATE: As of December 31st, the University of California will no longer own any shares in private prison corporations!

The Afrikan Black Coalition has confirmed with the University of California’s Chief Investment Officer that the University of California (“UC”) has investments in private prison corporations of $25 million. This $25 million is split between both Corrections Corporation of America (“CCA”), “America’s Leader in Partnership Corrections” and The Geo Group, “the world's leading provider of correctional and detention management,” according to their websites. The Afrikan Black Coalition has also confirmed that the UC system has a startling $425 million invested in Wells Fargo, one of the largest financiers of private prisons.

So what does this mean, exactly? Well on a purely technical level, the UC system is an indirect investor in private prisons through mutual funds--managed by outside  investment bankers--to the tune of $25,000,000. In plain English, this means that the UC System is helping to fund the prison industrial complex’s mission of prioritizing profit over people; the UC has blood on their hands. Private prison corporations exist to build centers of white supremacist dehumanization, turning Black, brown, and immigrant bodies into a profit under the guise of rehabilitation. This profit is the result of anti-Black overcriminalization in the streets, inhumane conditions within the private prison themselves, and a legacy of legal and political disenfranchisement after release. In 2010 there were 2.3 million prisoners in the U.S. and we must ask: why is the state’s leading system of higher education funding such an immoral system? Why is the UC actively fueling the racist criminal justice system while publicly aiming for more “diversity” within their own campuses? Any contribution to the for-profit private prison industry is a direct and unethical approval in further  dehumanizing Black, brown, and immigrant people for capitalistic gains. Afrikan Black Coalition Political Director Yoel Haile writes:

“It is an ethical embarrassment and a clear disregard for Black and immigrant lives for the UC to be investing tens and hundreds millions of dollars in private prisons and their financiers. In the age of mass incarceration and Black Lives Matter, the UC should be leading the fight for social justice and ethical investing as opposed to bankrolling the inhuman mass incarceration regime that has gripped America."

Not only is it ethically embarrassing for a publicly funded and world renowned university system to contribute to such a system, it is downright disgusting. For comparison, let us look at Columbia University’s recent divestment decision. According to MotherJones.com, Columbia University owned roughly $10,000,000 in shares of G4S and CCA in 2013. Between student activism and public pressure, Columbia University has since committed to divesting that $10 million sum from the private prison industry. The private prison industry has not lost the support of the UC system, however, and this is not something that can be ignored any longer. The University of California holds 2.5 times the amount of shares that Columbia once held. While Columbia can boast of their divestment, the UC System has hidden their very troubling investments in private for-profit prisons. This $25 million investment is not a passive agreement, but an actively shameful agreement that incarcerated Black lives do not indeed matter.

Even more atrocious is the UC system’s complicitly in the capitalistic prison industrial complex through their $425 million investment in Wells Fargo. With ten campuses all over the state of California, the UC system is responsible for the education of hundreds of thousands of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students. ABC Field Organizer Kamilah Moore writes, “the goals of the private prison industry, which are to profit from the incarceration, labor, and rehabilitative treatment of black and immigrant lives, and the UC's mission, which is to teaching, research, and public service, are fundamentally incompatible.” What does it mean for UC System to so generously invest in the leading financier of private prisons while publicly touting a commitment to public service? This $425 million spells out hypocrisy at the systemic level of the UC. Add in the very real school-to-prison pipeline that the UC system should work against and hope to break, and the UC’s mission becomes empty rhetoric for public titillation. The message is clear: the bodies of the Black, brown, and immigrant folks who pack these private prisons are disposable tools of labor and the UC underwrites this message with their financial investment in its maintenance. Those who pay a thief to steal something are just as responsible as the thief himself for whatever is stolen by the thief, and should be dealt with as such.

We must demand more, even from the seemingly faceless UC System. It is true that a soulless institution cannot be moved by the value of human life, the unjust criminalization of Black, brown, and immigrant bodies, or even large sums of blood money. And whatever rate of return comes from private prison investments is indeed blood money. So we must instead look to the actual human beings who run the UC System and confront these atrocities head on. The UC Regents, President Napolitano, and the Chief Investment Officer must be held accountable for investing our public dollars into a criminal system that has ruthlessly targeted Black and immigrant people for the sole purpose of making profit. Racism is not just individual acts of discrimination or the 250+ lives stolen by the police in 2015, but systemic and structural economic slavery that is being carried out through mass incarceration. By investing in CCA, The Geo Group, and Wells Fargo Bank, the University of California is actively supporting a legacy of slave patrols turned police officers, a historical emphasis on profit margins at the expense of human beings, and the continued mass criminalization of Black existence.

For more information, contact the Afrikan Black Coalition at abc.politburo@gmail.com