Thursday, March 28, 2024

Mother’s Day Special: Activists Are Bailing Out Incarcerated Black Moms

*Activists are coming together to bail out as many incarcerated black women across the country as possible for Mother’s Day.

As Huff Post reports, in the week leading up to the holiday, Black Lives Matter, Color of Change and a dozen other racial and criminal justice organizations are leading a charge to help mothers who can’t afford bail.

Their effort is part of a campaign called National Mama’s Bail Out Day, which aims to help incarcerated black women ― including those who identify as queer, trans, young, elder and immigrant ― spend the holiday with their families.

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black activists

“No one — whether they’re a birth mother, an aunt, or a teacher — should have to spend Mother’s Day in a cell just because they can’t afford bail,” said Rashad Robinson, executive director of Color Of Change, in a statement sent to HuffPost. “For the first time ever, we’re sending that message through a national, coordinated day of action, awareness, and kindness, building on our efforts to fuel decarceration.”

“Money bail and the industry that profits from it has long been destroying our communities,” Robinson added, “so this Mother’s Day Black people across the country are going to reunite our families and demand an end to that system.”

Partnering organizations are distributing flyers to help raise awareness around the campaign.

“Our corrupt criminal justice system forces innocent people who pose no threat to purchase their freedom,” Ruth Jeannoel, a black mother and community organizer, says in a video on the campaign’s site. “The costs are devastating. Women oftentimes lose their homes, jobs or even children just to be found innocent. Some women like Sandra Bland have even lost their lives.”

According to the campaign’s site, “more than 700,000 people are incarcerated each day because they cannot afford bail. Mothers account for around 8 in 10 incarcerated women.”

“When we, black women and black mamas, are taken from our communities, we all suffer.”

Peep the campaign video above.

 

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