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By Erin E. Evans
When Jaymeisha Jordan was released from prison a year ago, she was greeted by a group of enthusiastic women that she did not even know. Jordan, who has a son, was jailed in California's Santa Rita County jail; his bond had been fixed at nearly $ 60,000.
The group Essie Justice then intervened. The organization of women with incarcerated relatives is one of several organizations across the country that have mobilized under the National Bail Out initiative #FreeBlackMamas, a campaign to provide financial support to mothers and caregivers. black before Mother's Day.
"I received visits from three Essie Justice sisters, who asked me for permission to bail me out," said Jordan, who lives in Oakland, California, during a meeting with interview. "I was moved because I thought people do not do this when they do not know the person – it's so rare and unheard of." The Essie sisters were sent by God. "
The Mother's Day efforts that began Monday saved more than 70 mothers in 22 cities on Friday afternoon.
Since its launch in 2017, the #FreeBlackMamas initiative has helped raise more than a million dollars and save more than 300 black mothers. The activist Mary Hooks, at the origin of this idea, told KPFA radio that this effort was inspired by the tradition that free blacks bought the freedom of slave peoples before emancipation.
According to a report published in 2018 by The Sentencing Project, black women are twice as likely to be incarcerated as white women. Eighty per cent of the women imprisoned each year are mothers and 150,000 of them are pregnant at the time of admission, reports the Prison Policy Initiative.
"Black moms are so often on the margins of our society because of their race, gender, and socio-economic status that we often do not see them," said Arissa Hall, project director at National Bail Out.
Although the #FreeBlackMamas campaign is focused on black mothers, National Bail Out aims to draw attention to the human and financial costs of the cash bonding system. Hall said his three priorities are to continue bailing out black mothers, build a community with them and provide leadership and solutions on how to end the cash bonding system.
The movement to end bail has grown in recent years. California Governor Jerry Brown signed a law to reform the state's cash bonding system in August. (The bill is now pending until November 2020.)
The ACLU of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Community Bail Fund sued the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in March, arguing that Philadelphia County was relying too heavily on bail and violating the criminal procedure laws encouraging provisional release without security.
A New York law removing bail from most crimes and non-violent crimes will come into effect next year. In Durham, North Carolina, judges set a new cash bonding policy to minimize its use.
Kyla Hartsfield and Serena Sebring wish to put their bodies in danger to prevent black mothers from entering prison. They chained themselves Thursday at the gates of Durham County Jail to protest the cash bail system and prevent any other black mother from being incarcerated.
Although they were not arrested, the Durham County Sheriff's Department on Friday charged Hartsfield and Sebring with second-degree intrusion, disorderly conduct in a public building and failing to comply. scatter under command. They were temporarily detained on Friday and released.
The protest action was organized by the Durham Branch of the South American section of New Ground, a homosexual liberation organization composed of sections from all over the south.
"The intention is to draw attention to the bail system and how it keeps people in captivity simply because they can not pay for it." bail, "said Grace Nichols, cultural organizer and member of Southerners on New Ground in Durham. "The measure taken yesterday was intended to draw attention to how we have been working for years to adjust the bail policy."
A new report from the Vera Institute of Justice reveals that continued pre-trial detention has serious consequences for marginalized communities, including the poor, blacks, Latinos and women.
"There is little evidence to support the effectiveness of bail to achieve the intended goals of reducing the harm done to the community and increasing the number of court appearances," he said. The report.
Bethany Stewart is one of the leading organizers of the Philadelphia Community Bail Fund, which has raised seven mothers before Mother's Day and raised $ 120,000 in three weeks. The organization, which evacuates Philadelphia residents year-round, "advocates for the end of the bail system and gives the Philadelphians the power to influence the state of affairs." evolution of the current system ".
The Bail Fund and other groups, including the national advocacy organization Color of Change, the South Australian band Atlanta on New Ground and the Gilda Papoose Collective Group in the Washington, DC area, shared their efforts with #FreeBlackMamas on social media.
The Philadelphia Community Bail Fund works in collaboration with the Center for Carceral Communities, an organization that helps people adapt to daily life after incarceration, by providing preparation for a job interview and counseling.
Stewart also runs a hub of the Philadelphia Participatory Advocacy Program at the Circle of Hope Church, in South Philadelphia, to help people awaiting trial. Every week, people can talk about the support they need to navigate the justice system, including child care, transportation and others.
"Isolated and incarcerated Philadelphians should contact us to get support from the community," Stewart said in a phone interview. "You do not need to be incarcerated and to be ashamed alone.Philadelphians should see that they can be empowered to make a change."
A year later, Jordan, the released mother last year, rallied to the Essie Judiciary to call for an end to pretrial detention and the bail system. She worked with the group to set up support services for women upon release from prison.
For Hall, involving formerly incarcerated people in organizational work is one of #FreeBlackMamas' most important missions.
"We do not see ourselves as just direct service providers," Hall said. "We see ourselves as comrades in this struggle for our collective liberation – and we also see the moms and caregivers we are bailing out like our comrades."
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