Dallas community groups bail out Black mothers in time for Mother’s Day
Local organizations take part in National Black Mama’s Bail Out Day
Representatives from Texas Organizing Project (TOP), Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, Texas Equal Access Fund, Texas Freedom Network, and The Afiya Center bailed out six Black mothers Thursday, May 10 from the Lew Sterrett Jail in Dallas so they could be with their families this Mother’s Day. TOP and partners also bailed out Black mothers in Bexar and Harris counties as part of National Black Mama’s Bail Out Day.
With help from online grassroots fundraising and Dallas attorney Lee Merritt, the groups posted the full bond for the six women who had spent several days in Lew Sterrett Jail for minor, nonviolent charges, including a mother of four who had spent more than a month locked up for a criminal trespass charge with a $500 bond.
“Black mothers should be with their families on Mother’s Day, not in jail waiting for a trial simply because they don’t have the means to buy their freedom,” said Tarsha Jackson, Right2Justice director of the Texas Organizing Project. “We are taking a stand against a money bail system that tears families apart and punishes our loved ones for being poor. Justice shouldn’t be available only to those who can afford it.”
Every day, Black mothers languish in Texas jails simply because they can’t afford bail. They haven’t been convicted of anything, and many are accused of minor infractions. Black people are over two times more likely to be arrested and once arrested are twice as likely to be caged before trial, the result of a criminal justice system that disportionately locks up people of color, particularly Black women, just because they are poor.
After the bailout in Dallas, representatives from the community groups greeted the mothers outside of Lew Sterrett, helping to determine their immediate needs and connecting the women to services. The groups also provided the mothers with care packages complete with Mother’s Day cards and flowers.
“As the local abortion fund, we’re participating in National Black Mama’s Bail Out Day in Dallas because we know what it means to have economic circumstance stand in the way of justice, and believe that all mothers deserve to parent in security,” said Nan Kirkpatrick, executive director of the Texas Equal Access Fund. “We know that Black mothers are disproportionately oppressed by cash bail, and the effects of being stuck in jail with no way out can be devastating for them and their families.”
The Mama’s Day action is rooted in the tradition of enslaved ancestors who went to every length, including harnessing their collective resources, to purchase each other’s freedom and keep their families together. The action reflects a growing movement to end mass incarceration and criminalization. There have been National Bail Out Days happening since Mother’s Day 2017 supporting Black people who are entangled in the criminal legal system, highlighting the need for bail reform, elevating the human costs of incarceration and immigrant detention on our communities and families, and demanding community action.
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Texas Organizing Project organizes Black and Latino communities in Dallas, Harris and Bexar counties with the goal of transforming Texas into a state where working people of color have the power and representation they deserve. For more information, visit organizetexas.org.