06/30/2018
From the March HQ in Nashville, calling out Core Civic---we hear you---we're with you!!!
"[People's] March Tennessee - Power Together
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Today is not about finding a solution to our country’s immigration issues. It’s not about Republicans, Democrats, or Independents; liberals or conservatives.
Today we say NO. We gather in our parks, our city centers, our Capitol steps, our churches, or schools, our streets and we shout WE DO NOT ACCEPT THIS.
We DO NOT ACCEPT the indefinite detainment of immigrant families.
We DO NOT ACCEPT the jailing of asylum-seekers fleeing government corruption, domestic violence, and merciless cartel and gang activities in their homelands.
We DO NOT ACCEPT the ‘Zero Tolerance’ policy enacted by this administration - the policy which first separated thousands of children from their parents.
We DO NOT ACCEPT that these thousands of children are STILL being held in internment centers in 17 states while many of their parents have already voluntarily been deported after being promised that their babies would be returned to their arms.
WE DO NOT ACCEPT that the President of OUR United States continues to spew false statements, harmful stereotypes, and racist language seeking only to divide us as a nation and dehumanize entire populations.
We DO NOT ACCEPT that Damon Hininger, CEO of Nashville-based CoreCivic and member of the Massey Advisory Board at Belmont University continues to make millions of dollars from the internment of Black and Brown human beings in his for-profit prisons throughout the country.
The stock in CoreCivic rose 3.18% after the implementation of 45’s Zero Tolerance policy. Why? The “compromise” recently introduced in Congress called for the indefinite detainment of families who attempt to cross our border. “On their stock calls, their corporate representatives mentioned these contracts are very good and very profitable and provide a new source of revenue.” This “new source of revenue” are mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, cousins and grandparents who are fleeing a life that many of us privileged Americans could never imagine. This “new source of revenue” are living, breathing human beings who will now be held indefinitely inside of these internment camps, crying out for the life they’ve left and now living in the nightmare that being a minority is in this country today.
We DO NOT ACCEPT that Belmont University celebrates the work of Damon Hininger by honoring him with a seat at the table. This man is no friend to American ideals and no friend to Nashville. We call on the University today to consider their mission statement which claims to “empower men and women of diverse backgrounds to engage and transform the world with disciplined intelligence, compassion, courage and faith.” How does Mr. Hininger help you to achieve those goals? How does the work of CoreCivic and Mr. Hininger himself empower men and women of diverse backgrounds? What compassion has he shown the thousands of immigrants how are currently jailed in his facilities, some who have not been rocked to sleep by their mothers or held by their fathers in over a month? What kind of faith does this man demonstrate as he agrees to work with the government and ICE when he knows that they are tearing families apart?
Today we shout WE DO NOT ACCEPT THIS. We recognize that the babies and children who are being traumatized by the current administration and the cronies who follow their commands COULD BE OUR OWN. We know that had we been born in a different place, or for many of us, had we had a darker complexion, it could be US sitting in CoreCivic’s internment facilities. Damon Hininger could be profiting off of our misery and then turning around to pay off politicians like Marsha Blackburn, Diane Black, or Bob Corker so that they only pass legislation that ensures that business continues to grow.
WE DO NOT ACCEPT IT. We call on every concerned citizen to take action to fight the calloused and inhumane greed that feeds our politicians and lives in our backyard. We call each of you to contact Belmont University to remind them that CoreCivic is no friend to Tennessee, and that Damon Hininger should be removed from the board as quickly as possible.
We do not accept practices that put profits before people and that turn away from humanity and inward toward our own selfish desires. We KNOW that together we can make change here in Nashville, in Tennessee, and in Washington.
FAMILIES BELONG TOGETHER. Expect to hear from us until you do your part to make this a reality."
