The following piece was provided by Indivisible Progressive Watertown:
On Saturday, March 7th, 25 members and friends of Indivisible Progressive Watertown joined in solidarity with the De-ICE Citizens Bank coalition to protest Citizens Bank’s financing of Core- Civic and the GeoGroup. These two corporations are responsible for building 90% of the private prisons and ICE detentions centers across the United States.
On March 7th over 71 protests were held in 13 states around the northeastern and midwestern United States calling upon the Citizens Bank administration to end ties with CoreCivic and the GEO Group immediately. Both companies have a long history of neglect and mistreatment of people incarcerated in their facilities. Emmanuel Damas, the Haitian man who was detained and died from sepsis related to a toothache on March 2, was at the Florence Correctional Center, operated by CoreCivic.
The De-ICE Citizens Bank protests are part of a growing movement to pressure Citizens Bank that began three months ago. Many other large bank chains ended their involvement with private prisons in 2019. The action in Watertown was held in front of the East Watertown branch of Citizens Bank at the corner of Mt. Auburn and Bigelow Streets.
Passersby were handed flyers outlining why the protest was taking place and included actions they can take including calling Citizens Bank leadership. Two members of the De-ICE Citizens Stand Out group also closed their long held accounts with Citizens Bank and another account holder went inside to voice dissent with the Bank’s role in financing the cruel treatment of immigrants by ICE. For more information, visit: https://www.de-icecitizensbank.org/ or https://www.boycottcitizens.org/
For more information on upcoming events or to get involved with Indivisible Progressive Watertown, a chapter of Progressive Mass and an Indivisible Group, write to: indivisibleprogresswatertown@gmail.com
Indivisible Progressive Watertown and the Watertown Rapid Response Network will co-sponsor a stand out: Spring Into Action for Democracy and Against ICE in Watertown Square on Saturday, March 14th from 10:00 – 11:30 a.m., final circle beginning at 11:10 a.m. Bring a sign and a friend.