The Ultimate Mother's Day Gift for Incarcerated Women of Color
An ambitious movement is repairing splintered families across the country.
Photo: Scott Keller/Tampa Bay Times via Zuma Wire
Mother's Day gifts come in all forms, from breakfast in bed to a hot-stone massage. But some moms desperately wish for something simpler: the chance to hug their kids. Of the approximately 100,000 women in local U.S. jails, a staggering two-thirds are women of color; an estimated 80 percent are mothers, most single parents; and many of them (including those arrested for nonviolent offenses like changing lanes without signaling) await trial behind bars because they can't afford to post bail. "That's what makes this system so harmful," says Arissa Hall, project manager for the Brooklyn Community Bail Fund.
In April 2017, a group of nonprofits launched a campaign they're calling National Black Mama's Bail Out Day to protest these punitive penalties. The goal: raise funds to help release as many moms of color—along with caretaking grandmas and aunts—as possible by Mother's Day the following month. With donations exceeding $1 million, the crusade ultimately bailed out nearly 100 women.
And the cause marches on. So check out National Bail Out to contribute—and honor your mom this Mother's Day by helping someone else be with hers.
In April 2017, a group of nonprofits launched a campaign they're calling National Black Mama's Bail Out Day to protest these punitive penalties. The goal: raise funds to help release as many moms of color—along with caretaking grandmas and aunts—as possible by Mother's Day the following month. With donations exceeding $1 million, the crusade ultimately bailed out nearly 100 women.
And the cause marches on. So check out National Bail Out to contribute—and honor your mom this Mother's Day by helping someone else be with hers.
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