|
Dear friend,
All of us want to stay connected with our loved ones, especially during this pandemic. But right now, too many Black families are forced to pay an arm and a leg just to check in on their incarcerated loved ones.
Why ? Because prison phone calls are big business — and Securus Technologies is one of the most powerful, most exploitative culprits in the $1.2 billion prison and jail telecommunications industry.
Securus, which is owned by billionaire Tom Gores, controls a near majority of the prison telecoms market.1 And as jails and prisons across the nation suspend in-person visits, people targeted by the carceral state are forced to pay Securus exorbitant rates to stay connected. Prison calls can cost more than $1 per minute, and an in-state phone call from jail costs three times as much.2
That means while Black families worry about the health and safety of their loved ones inside, billionaire Tom Gores profits from their pain. Gores also owns the Detroit Pistons and sits on the board of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), which recently released a statement in solidarity with national protests against anti-Black systemic racism.
We’re sick and tired of billionaires like Tom Gores profiting from Black suffering. And if LACMA wants to defend Black lives, they can start by removing Tom Gores from their board immediately.
Dear friend, in these unprecedented times, families deserve to hear from their loved ones in prison and jail without making the difficult choice between putting food on the table or staying in touch.
Every family with loved ones behind bars deserves to hear from their loved ones regularly. They deserve updates about how their loved one is doing. They deserve to know what the state is doing to protect their loved ones from COVID-19. But treating incarcerated people and their loved ones with dignity hurts Tom Gores’ bottom line.
This summer, LACMA — which touts Tom Gores as a board member — released a statement in solidarity with national protests against anti-Black systemic racism. While we commend LACMA’s statement, we know that the practice of anti-racism allyship requires more than rhetoric.
To build a more equitable world for Black people, corporations, and organizations like LACMA must root out the racism within their own leadership. For LACMA, that starts with their Board of Trustees and Tom Gores. Make no mistake : Tom Gores is a prison profiteer. His company, Securus, rakes in more $700 million annually by price-gouging predominately Black, Brown, and low-income families—by charging them $15 for a 15-minute phone call.
This is the system Tom Gores is complicit in and directly profits from. And despite our repeated efforts to demand much-needed reforms to help families stay connected, Gores refuses to take meaningful action.
To hit Gores where it hurts, we’re trying something different, dear friend. That’s why we are calling on LACMA to remove Tom Gores from its Board of Trustees. Gores’ affiliation with LACMA legitimizes his predatory and racist practices and props up the exploitative prison industry he profits from.
Removing Gores from the LACMA board will send a powerful message : There is no seat at the table for prison profiteers.
Until justice is real,
Scott, Erika, Malachi, Marybeth, Ernie, Leonard, Ariel, Madison, Ana, and the rest of the Color of Change team .
Sources :
1. "Could a billionaire lose his LACMA board seat over his prison-phone investment ?” , LA Times, September 16, 2020 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/274592?t=5&akid=47093%2E1942551%2Eb8zo6S
2. “Making a Phone Call from Behind Bars Shouldn’t Send Your Family into Debt” , Politico, September 29, 2020 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/274593?t=7&akid=47093%2E1942551%2Eb8zo6S
ColorOfChange is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire