Last year for Mother’s Day, groups organizing around prison issues and ultimately toward abolition (Southerners On New Ground, BYP 100, Charlotte Uprising, Dream Defenders, National Bail Out, Brooklyn Community Bail Fund and others) raised enough money to free over 120 Black moms in Atlanta, Durham, Charlotte, Tampa Bay, Brooklyn and elsewhere who (despite not being convicted of anything) were locked up in jails because they couldn’t afford to pay bail. Inspired by them, Roanoke Jail Solidarity is organizing our own Mama’s Day Bail Out action.
60-70% of people in local jails are being held pretrial (meaning they are locked up despite not being convicted of a crime, and haven’t even been to court). Nearly 80% of women in jails are mothers, and most of them have only been accused of minor offenses. Black people are more than 2x as likely to be arrested, and then 2x as likely to be caged before trial. The practice of money bail only further criminalizes being poor and denies peoples’ freedom based on wealth, while pretrial detention is outrageously and unnecessarily overused with disastrous effects.
Kick in what you can to help us buy a mom’s freedom in Roanoke for Mother’s Day 2018, and join the larger call to end money bail, free Black mamas, invest in communities and divest from police & prisons!
Fundraiser:
https://fundly.com/rjs-mamasbailout
If you know a mother locked up in the Roanoke area who needs bail funds let us know: roajailsol@protonmail.com
