Reopen prison in Appleton, and Minnesotans will lose

Social change in Minnesota is about two things: race and place. We are a state that, geographically speaking, is big. And we are people who are increasingly diverse, especially in terms of race and ethnicity. Each of us experiences life differently based on where we live and the color of our skin.

But there is far more that we share in common. The debate over whether or not to reopen a private prison in southwestern Minnesota threatens to divide rural whites against people of color and Native Americans. And if it does, it's the owners of that private prison — not our communities — who will profit.

Appleton is a small city in western Minnesota, about 20 miles from the South Dakota border. Incorporated in 1881, it served as a major trade hub, sustained by a booming farm economy for decades. In the early 1990s, the city built a prison, hopeful that it could generate income and jobs, but the gamble didn't pay off. In 1996, Appleton sold its prison to the largest for-profit prison venture in the country, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). The prison was open for several years before closing in 2010.

Now with state prisons and county jails over capacity, there is a proposal to reopen the Prairie Correctional Facility.

This proposal would only add to Minnesota's worst-in-the-nation racial disparities, because Minnesota — like every other state — incarcerates a vastly disproportionate number of people of color and American Indians compared with its overall population.

The economic struggle of the people of Appleton — most of whom are white — is not unique or new, but it is very real and very serious. Appleton, like many smaller towns throughout Greater Minnesota and the rural Midwest, is losing population as more and more residents look for economic opportunity in larger cities. Today, just more than 1,400 Minnesotans call Appleton home, down from nearly 3,000 in 2000.

Rural white people, people of color and American Indians all face dire economic circumstances, and they can plainly see how major corporations can strip their communities of wealth and leave little behind.

And that's where Corrections Corporation of America comes in.

CCA earned a combined $500 million in profit in 2013 and 2014. Its president makes millions of dollars annually. Because its business model is to lock people up for profit, it spends heavily on lobbying state governments to privatize their corrections systems. In 2014, CCA spent more than $1.3 million on lobbying in nine states, including Minnesota. And, because providing quality correctional supervision costs more money and CCA wants to turn a healthy profit, its inmates suffer. Instances of violence and high levels of sexual assault at CCA facilities have been well-documented.

Legislators should be debating how best to address the economic crisis faced by rural communities and communities of color — and the profound structural racism of our corrections system. Adopting the guidelines of the Sentencing Reform Commission, expanding health care coverage, and passing earned sick and paid family leave for all workers would have an immediate positive impact on these communities. But instead, the lobbyists of CCA and their Republican legislative allies have pitted these communities against one another.

CCA and its allies in the Legislature argue that by reopening the prison, the local economy in Appleton will grow. Research says otherwise. As for communities of color, CCA's business model speaks for itself.

Corporate conservatives like CCA have to divide us if they are going to get our public dollars to lock people up. And the wedges they use are about race and place, making us believe that the only way we can get ahead is if we compete with one another.

The people of Appleton are justified in demanding that good jobs are created in their community. And people of color and American Indians are justified in demanding that good jobs are created in their communities — and that they not be locked up for profit.

Let's begin the conversation there.

Dan McGrath is executive director of TakeAction Minnesota.