Black mothers are the backbone of our communities, so when National Bail Out released the results of their third annual Black Mama’s Day Bail Out on Tuesday, it was no surprise that the campaign exceeded expectations.
Altogether, 100 Black moms were released from prison, and an additional $1 million was raised to assist with programming, awareness, and additional bailouts.
“One hundred moms were able to spend the holiday with their families. One hundred communities are one step closer to healing because they’ve been reunited with caregivers.” said Erika Maye, a Deputy Senior Campaign Director at Color of Change said in a statement. The nonprofit that focuses on civil rights advocacy is one of many Black-led organizations that form the coalition leading the charge to remove defendants from behind bars and reuniting them with their families.
In an interview with ESSENCE, Arissa Hall, project director of the National Bail Out (NBO) collective, said the idea for the original campaign was launched after a 2017 meeting hosted by Color of Change and The Movement for Black Lives.
“We left with two commitments: to destroy the racist system of money bail,” Hall reveals. “And to bail out Black mothers so they can celebrate Mother’s Day with their family.”
Since then, NBO has freed more than 400 Black mothers across the country, with 2019 going on record as the most successful #FreeBlackMamas campaign, yet.