Tag: Inmates

Sep 05 2018

Necessary Blackness Ep. 68- From The Prison Yard To Harvard Yard with Andre Norman

Necessary Blackness Podcast sits dowin with Andre Norman, who is known to many as The Ambassador Of Hope, Andre’s experience and expertise is what empowers him to help people turn their situation around. Andre travels around the world to serve as a mentor and listening ear for so many in need. He has made an impact working in the countries of Honduras, Bahamas, Sweden, Guatemala, Liberia & Trinidad. With inclusion being the center of his solution based efforts.

From illiteracy to gang activity, Andre’s childhood prepared him for nothing less than a life of crime and violence. This behavior eventually led Andre to be sentenced to over 100 years in prison. A natural-born leader, he quickly rose to the top of the prison gang where he managed gang activities from within the confines of a maximum security prison. During his 2 year stay in solitary confinement. Andre had an “epiphany” and he made the decision to turn his life around. He had a simple dream, attend Harvard University and become successful.

 

 

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Oct 11 2014

12 Major Corporations Benefiting from the Prison Industrial Complex

Prison labor in the United States is referred to as insourcing. Under the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), employers receive a tax credit of $2,400 for every work-release inmate they employ as a reward for hiring “risky target groups.”

The workers are not only cheap labor, but they are considered easier to control. They also?tend to be African-American males. Companies are free to avoid providing benefits like health insurance or sick days. They also don’t need to worry about unions, demands for vacation time, raises or family issues.

According to the Left Business Observer, “the federal prison industry produces 100 percent of all military helmets, war supplies and other equipment. The workers supply 98 percent of the entire market for equipment assembly services; 93 percent of paints and paintbrushes; 92 percent of stove assembly; 46 percent of body armor; 36 percent of home appliances; 30 percent of headphones/microphones/speakers; and 21 percent of office furniture. Airplane parts, medical supplies and much more: prisoners are even raising seeing-eye dogs for blind people.”

With all of that productivity, the inmates make about 90 cents to $4 a day.

Here are some of the biggest corporations to use such practices, but there are hundreds more: Continue reading