Mass incarceration is a national crisis and we all can do better to confront this problem. Since 1980, the number of incarcerated women has grown by 700 percent. Many are locked away not because of heinous crimes, but because they simply can’t afford to pay their bail. These mothers are criminalized and penalized for being poor. Black women, who are the mothers and caregivers of their community, are particularly vulnerable to incarceration and are twice as likely as white women to be jailed.
Every mother will ideally spend this Mother’s Day with her family. Unfortunately, that won’t happen for mothers and caregivers who are locked up, stripped from their children by a system of mass incarceration that punishes people who are unable to afford arbitrary fines and penalties.
On May 1, grassroots organizations across the country committed to Black liberation will bail out incarcerated women (including elderly, immigrant and LGBTQ women) so they can be reunited with their families by Mother's Day.
Please support this campaign with a donation to get these mothers and caregivers back in the arms of their children and in their places in the community.
As a Black mother, I’m inspired by this great response to our unfair treatment in the court system. I can’t imagine being separated from my daughter because I couldn’t afford to be with her. That’s basically what’s happening.
I’ve witnessed the criminalization of too many Black mothers for minor crimes. Statistically, separation from parents during incarceration leads to real-life consequences. I know it may seem as simple as making the right choices to avoid incarceration in the first place, but in many cases it’s not that simple. And, we should all have the opportunity to rectify and change in order to thrive in our society.
We should not allow the lack of bail money to keep mothers separated from their children. While we wait for state and federal-level bail reform, we must act now. This movement to free mothers and caregivers—and all over-incarcerated people more broadly—prove bail reformers won't wait.
To find out more about how this issue affects Black communities and what you can do locally to participate in events and assist Black-led grassroots organizations, visit Black Lives Matter, National Bail Out Day, Southerners on New Ground (SONG) and The Movement for Black Lives. You may also inquire about organizations doing this work in your communities.
We are in this together!