May 8, 2017
The need to radically transform the criminal legal system in order to end mass incarceration as well as other remaining vestiges of slavery, peonage, Jim Crow, and the drug war is clear. Organizations within the Movement for Black Lives are partnering to highlight the impacts of the money bail system on the black community this Mother’s Day and beyond. Every year, tens of thousands of people are held in jail for low level contact with the criminal legal system and are trapped because they cannot afford to pay bail.
In St. Louis, we know all too well the consequences of the money bail system, debtors’ prisons, municipal courts, and the criminalization of poverty in general. Being kept in cage solely because you do not have the cash to buy your freedom can lead to job loss, eviction, family separation, and homelessness.
#BlackMamasBailout helps center the conversation on people and families, especially children, as the true victims of this predatory system. Because of this, ArchCity Defenders and St. Louis Action Council are working together to bail out as many moms as we can for Mother’s Day.
Your support will help families to be reunited. Click here to donate to #BlackMamasBailoutSTL today.
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Media Contact:
Z. Gorley, Communications Director at ArchCity Defenders
zgorley@archcitydefenders.org