Black Harvard Students Want The University To Divest From The Prison-Industrial Complex
Black Harvard Students Want The University To Divest From The Prison-Industrial Complex
[link:https://www.essence.com/news/black-harvard-students-prison-industrial-complex/|
THE HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRISON DIVESTMENT CAMPAIGN FIGHTS FOR THE INCARCERATED, BUT HARVARD PRESIDENT LAWRENCE BACOW REMAINS UNMOVED.
Harvard University students are attempting to push the institution to divest from the prison-industrial complex. For a center of learning that claims to value truth above all else, these students say that Harvard’s significant investment in the suffering of others delegitimizes that stated value.
According to the students, the administration — led by Harvard President Lawrence Bacow —has been resistant to resolving concerns about the endowment’s large investments in the horrors of mass incarceration.
Poring through U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings pertaining to Harvard, the campaign says that they were able to determine that at least 3 million dollars of Harvard‘s 39.2 billion dollar endowment were being funneled into the prison-industrial complex. The students stress that they know the details of only a small portion of the endowment — 425 million dollars. It’s possible that Harvard has profited even more from this oppressive industry.
According to the Harvard Prison Divestment Campaign Website, through a Mid-Cap ETF Fund, the university is connected to private prison operators like Core Civic and the GEO Group. These companies own immigrant detention centers, where people are often subjected to human rights violations. Children have experienced sexual abuse, mental trauma, and many immigrants have died while in custody. Other detention centers have denied adequate health care to pregnant women.
