Minority & Small Business Week
October 3, 2018
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Page 23
O PINION
Fighting the Injustices of Mass Incarceration
Prison strikes
and why they
are happening
J anos m arton
Earlier
this
spring,
violence
broke out in the
Lee Correctional
Institution in South
Carolina, resulting
in seven deaths and
many injuries. Incarcerated lead-
ers in the prison system decided
they had had enough. Brutal treat-
ment from corrections officers,
deteriorating prison conditions,
and incredibly long, punitive sen-
tences had led to a condition of
hopelessness.
Leaders within the South Caro-
lina prison system began reaching
out to incarcerated allies across
the country, including the Free
Alabama Movement, who had
led a prison strike in 2016. A de-
cision was made: It was time to
launch a national prison strike to
raise awareness around the brutal-
ity of mass incarceration — from
racist police practices to unjust
sentencing laws to the lack of sup-
port people experience when they
come home from prison.
by
These demands include sig-
nificantly reducing the number
of people in jail and prison, im-
proving prison conditions, prop-
erly funding rehabilitation, and
addressing racism throughout the
criminal justice system.
None of the demands, tak-
en individually, is new to the
criminal justice movement.
Many organizations, includ-
ing the ACLU, have fought
against the rise of mass in-
carceration and the horren-
imprisoned them.
The strike’s organizers empha-
sized Demand #10, also known as
the #Right2Vote campaign, a de-
mand that all American citizens
of voting age — including all
people in jail, prison, or on parole
— have the right to vote.
One organizer noted that the
right to vote was the right from
which all other rights flowed
and stressed the need for people
outside of prison to support this
change. Presently, only Maine
of nonviolent disobedience with-
in the prison system. This tactic
is closely tied with a demand that
prison labor be properly compen-
sated, in contrast to what one of
the organizers calls “slave labor,”
referencing the 13th Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution, which
abolished slavery but carved out
an exception for people who
The ACLU supports the pris-
oner demands. We believe in lift-
ing up the voices of those who
are most directly impacted by the
One organizer noted that the right to vote
was the right from which all other rights flowed
and stressed the need for people outside of
prison to support this change. Presently, only
Maine and Vermont permit all incarcerated and
formerly incarcerated citizens the right to vote.
dous conditions of American
prisons. Yet this may be the first
occasion in which incarcerated
leaders have coordinated nation-
ally to list their specific policy
agenda to end the system that has
and Vermont permit all incarcer-
ated and formerly incarcerated
citizens the right to vote.
The term “strike” itself referred
to incarcerated people across the
country engaging in various types
systems that oppress them. Those
closest to the problem are clos-
est to the solution, and nobody is
closer than people living inside of
America’s jails and prisons.
And while the ACLU has no
formal role in the prison strikes
that occurred this August and
September, ACLU staff and
members have fought for decades
for many of these issues in the
streets, state legislatures, and the
courtroom.
Acts of civil disobedience in-
side of prisons come with serious
risks for participants, including
severe punishment. Corrections
officials should not respond
with unjust retaliation. Peace-
ful demonstrations challenging
unjust conditions and practices
do not merit placing participants
into solitary confinement or add-
ing time to their sentences. Incar-
cerated people and corrections
staff deserve safety, dignity, and
the ability to express themselves.
The American criminal justice
system is broken. Our country is
stronger when people more mar-
ginalized and directly impacted
by unjust policies organize and
raise their voices to demand a
better future.
The courageous people who
are bringing focused attention to
America’s system of mass incar-
ceration deserve our admiration.
The time to listen is now.
Janos Marton is the state cam-
paigns manager for the ACLU
Campaign for Smart Justice.
Nike Makes Millions on Kaepernick’s Message
That money should
back the cause
J essiCah p ierre
Nike’s latest “Just Do It”
ad campaign includes a num-
ber of A-list athletes: LeBron
James, Serena Williams, Odell
Beckham Jr. — and most con-
troversially, Colin Kaepernick.
In case you’ve been living under a rock,
Kaepernick — who played quarterback for
the San Francisco 49ers — famously knelt
during the national anthem before NFL
games to protest police brutality toward
African Americans. The blowback from
his protest led to him being blackballed
from the NFL.
Kaepernick’s activism was audaciously
displayed on a larger platform in Nike’s
multi-national ad campaign, featuring a
video and image of Kaepernick with the
tagline: “Believe in something. Even if it
means sacrificing everything.”
Nike’s bold move led to more uproar
from Kaepernick’s critics. Some white cus-
tomers even ceremoniously burned their
Nike apparel and called for a boycott of the
company. But for Nike’s core customers —
millennials and young urban men — this
ad sent a strong message of solidarity.
by
Consumers and celebrities alike are now
supporting Nike for giving Kaepernick that
platform. In less than 24 hours after
announcing Kaepernick as the face
of their new marketing campaign, the
sportswear company received more
than $43 million worth of mostly
positive media exposure, one report
estimates.
Since then, that total has only
resistance! We need more corporate Amer-
ica to stand up also.”
According to Forbes, the company saw
a 31 percent increase in sales just a few
days after the ad became public. And while
Nike’s stock initially dipped following the
promotion release, it not only recovered
but surpassed all stock records for 2018,
trading at an all-time high of $83.90 a
share.
According to Forbes, the company saw a
31 percent increase in sales just a few days
after the ad became public. And while Nike’s
stock initially dipped following the promotion
release, it not only recovered but surpassed
all stock records for 2018, trading at an all-
time high of $83.90 a share.
grown.
“What can I do that’s meaningful?”
asked Blackish star Jenifer Lewis as she
donned a Nike sweater on the Emmys red
carpet. “I’ll wear Nike. I’ll wear Nike to
say thank you. Thank you for leading the
This has caused a number of people,
including myself, to question Nike’s mo-
tives. Guardian writer Arwa Mahdawi ac-
cused Nike of the latest capitalistic trend,
“woke-washing” — that is, using “progres-
sive values as a marketing ploy, appropri-
ating social activism as a form of adver-
tising.”
This wouldn’t be the first offense by a
major corporation.
Not long ago Pepsi pulled a controver-
sial ad they said was meant to “project a
global message of unity, peace, and under-
standing” after it borrowed imagery from
Black Lives Matter protests in Ferguson.
(But unlike Nike, this ad received strong
backlash from police brutality protesters
who accused the ad of being tone deaf.)
Is it possible for a company to support
racial justice without exploiting it for prof-
it? Yes.
Actually, there’s an easy way for Nike
to prove that their latest ad isn’t just a form
of woke washing: It can give the revenue
from their “Kaepernick bump” right back
to the cause they’re supposedly taking a
stand for. The company can start by match-
ing Colin Kaepernick’s own pledge to do-
nate $1 million to organizations working in
oppressed communities.
Let’s applaud Nike for taking this very
important stand. But we also need to chal-
lenge corporations who use progressive
messages in their advertising to put their
money where their mouth is.
Jessicah Pierre is the inequality media
specialist at the Institute for Policy Stud-
ies. Distributed by OtherWords.org.