Boycott Stuff Made Using Prison Labor, Support Black-Owned
Colorado Correctional Industries (CCI), Prison Rehabilitative Industries and Diversified Enterprises (PRIDE), and UNICOR (most notably) are just a few of the companies which specialize in providing prisoner-made products, at least according to reports by University of California, Berkeley, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), and Prison Inside. It may not sound important if you're apolitical, but we Black Americans should care more about how the brands we support spend and make money.
Corporations Exploiting Prison Slavery
Buycott, Corporate Accountability Lab, People's World, and The Week are just a few sites listing popular companies reportedly using prison labor to increase profits. Prominent companies include AT&T, Bank of America, Microsoft, Nintendo, Starbucks, and Walmart, just to name a few. While researching this topic, I stumbled upon a story that connects IBM and their historic "Watson" name to the Holocaust. That was quite the find.
Solutions for Native Black Americans
I'll give you a neat list:
- You likely already knew that I say pro-blacks should support Black-owned businesses. It's an easy way to fight imperialism and develop the mentality of supporting your own first.
- Watch the free 13TH Netflix documentary, and share it with others.
- Seek ways to get involved in prison reform initiatives including Last Prisoner Project, Dream.org, and HeadCount's Cannabis Voter Project.
- Spread the word when organizations run projects to help prisoners like historically Black college and university (HBCU) Bowie State University's degree program for inmates at the Jessup Correctional Institution, or hire felons.
