divest.
We must consider the people that immediately, materially and directly benefit from the subjugation, surveillance, imprisonment and death of our black bodies.
Civic Core (CXW), classified as a "Real Estate" company, owns the majority of the prisons and detention centers in the country. Civic Core's profit, and growth is based on a “maintained capacity” at their "real estate properties" ... prisons and detention centers.
According to Civic Core’s 2020 Annual Report (Form 10 K):
A decline in capacity is a threat to their business model:
“[A] decrease in occupancy levels could cause a decrease in revenues and profitability ” (Page 37).Sited as an ‘Accomplishment’ new contracts with ICE provide "unlimited" upside:
“Executed a new contract with ICE to care for up to 2,348 adult detainees at our Adams County Correctional Center in Mississippi. The new management contract has an initial term of 60 months, with unlimited extension options thereafter upon mutual agreement” (Page 14).
CXW is obviously trash, so what…
As a publicly traded company, investors in CXW also directly benefit from the policing and torment of black bodies.
The largest external ownership stake is CXW belongs to The Vanguard Group {receipts}. The Vanguard Group is the second largest investment management company in the world with appx. $5.3 T in assets under management. The Vanguard Group is "the largest provider of mutual funds and the second largest provider of exchange traded funds (ETFs)".
There is a very high probability that **your bank** is invested in at least one of the funds offered by The Vanguard Group. There is a very high probability that your 401(k) or 403(b) investments have at least one Vanguard asset. There is a very high probability that your corporation of employ has at least one Vanguard asset in their treasury portfolio.
For liberation, both the overt oppressors (the police) and the covert systems that support them must be torn out -- root and stem.
Note: There are many other players in this system of capitalism that benefit and prosper in anti-blackness. These are just two.
Reflect: Is my bank invested in The Vanguard Group and therefore invested in the institutional racism?
Action Item: Do a quick search for your bank's holdings which are disclosed in Form 13F (HR - Holdings Report)?
Defund the police!
Demand accountability and divestment from the institutions you interact with every single day.
xo,
qinfolk
