Black Mamas belong with their children, not in cages

Every year, 12 mothers were selected to participate in a weekend Camp Program from Friday to Sunday with our kids. It was the best program to ensure mothers could spend quality time with their kids. Through this program, I was able to bond with my daughter, whom I had while incarcerated. Although we were inside the prison, we were away from the general population and only saw correctional officers during institutional counts. We slept in tents, prepared meals, and played games with our kids.

I was pregnant with my daughter when I was incarcerated for the first time; my son was five. My bond was very high, so I knew my family and I could not afford to pay it. In my cell was a steel bed frame welded to the concrete wall lined with a paper-thin mattress worn down by its previous tenants. At night, I would lay in bed with never-ending thoughts. I thought about what would happen with my case or unanswered questions. 

All of that paled compared to my most overwhelming worry: What would happen to my kids? Who would raise my children while I’m in prison? Who would pick them up from school? Who would love and care for them—when I couldn’t?

Today, too many Black Mamas are in cages rather than with their children. And for this Mother’s Day, Grassroots Leadership is proud to join the movement with National Bail Out to free Black Mamas and caregivers and reunite them with their children—where they belong. 

Across the country, there are almost 2 million people in cages, and over 80% of those held in local jails have not been convicted and are presumed innocent. 80% of incarcerated parents are also women. Like my personal experience, most people are in cages because they are poor, Black, and in a time of crisis, whether it is a mental health crisis, an addiction crisis, an economic crisis, or an accumulation of crises. Instead of treating people with dignity and addressing the underlying cause of the crisis, our government responds to Black people in crisis by criminalizing and incarcerating them

Releasing Black Mamas back to their children is what real justice looks like. And until we abolish mass incarceration, we must come together to get people free. We all have a deep desire to see this country divest from institutions that harm people—from police to jails—and we want that money to be reallocated to our communities so that we can invest in education, employment, and healing. 

This Mother’s Day, let’s show up for Black mamas in ways I wish thousands of Black caregivers and I had been supported. Whether you donate the cost of a bouquet towards a Black Mama’s bond or you support in other ways, let’s be a community to each other.