John,

When over 2.2 million incarcerated people are separated from the ones they
love, something as simple as a phone call can mean so much. Hearing the
voice of someone we care about, sharing a story about their day, wishing
them a good night, or telling them “I love you,” are invaluable moments
but in some facilities, a 15-minute phone call can cost up to
$21.80^1 That means that calling someone as infrequently as every other
day could cost a family over $300 a month. Prison telecom companies like
Securus, have sought to place a price on human connection--- and have been
cashing out in the process.

The presence of prison telecom companies is not new but they have managed
to operate under obscurity and by staying away from the public eye,
they’ve remained on the periphery of national conversations about criminal
justice reform. That’s why Color of Change is dragging these companies
into the light by developing new online tools and campaigns that will
target these corporate profiteers--  but we need to raise $25,000 to do
it. 

[ [link removed] ]We’re waging a massive fight against the predatory prison telecom
industry. Will you chip in $5 to help us win? 

For over 4 years, Color Of Change has been in this fight against the
prison telecom industry- and we’ve been winning: 

* In 2015, we worked with partners to stop the egregious price gouging
that telecom companies were engaging in, where in some states calls
could cost up to $14 per minute! By pressuring the Federal
Communications Commission we helped set rate caps on these prison
phone calls.
* Last year, we achieved a major victory by making jail phone calls free
in New York, a city that had been extracting $8 million annually in
jail phone calls alone. 

Now, we’re taking this work even further with new projects and campaigns
targeting the prison telecom industry. This includes, Carceral Co., a
website we’re developing that will expose the private companies that
invest in, provide services for, and profit off mass incarceration. Users
will be able to dive into different types of industries, such as telecom,
and interact with features like monthly fee calculators, or simulations of
what a Securus call sounds and feels like, in order to understand the
financial and emotional impact of incarceration and learn what they can do
to help mobilize against it. But we need your help to make this
groundbreaking tool a reality.

Securus may be a major player in the prison telecom industry, but it
exists as just one of many companies that contract with correctional
facilities to provide everything from prison meals to overpriced
commissary products. Given that major companies are so deeply tied to the
carceral system, Color Of Change refuses to accept money from
corporations. That makes contributions from everyday people like yourself
all the more crucial. 

[ [link removed] ]We’ve shown that when we stand together, we can fight against prison
telecom companies and create real change for our community. Will you chip
in and help us continue this work? 

We already know that the criminal justice system is not “broken,” it’s
operating exactly the way that it was intended to: stripping Black people
of our freedoms, separating families, and exploiting the most vulnerable
to turn a profit. Our next step is understanding every aspect of that
profit incentive in order to expose who has the biggest stake in upholding
the system as it currently stands. When we wield that knowledge and our
collective power, we can realize a world where mass incarceration is not
big business and where the liberation of our people takes precedence over
protecting corporate bottom lines. 

Until Justice is Real,

--Clarise, Rashad, Arisha, Scott, Erika, Malachi, Marybeth, Marena,
Madison, Leonard, Tamar, and the rest of the Color Of Change team

 

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References: 

        1. "State of Phone Justice." Prison Policy Initiative. February
2019. [link removed]

 


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[ [link removed] ]Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black
folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. [ [link removed] ]Help
keep our movement strong.

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