Black liberation and antiblackness have deep roots in Arkansas, from the use of the Arkansas River as an escape route for those fleeing slavery to the historic stand of the Little Rock Nine against school segregation. Arkansas also saw the election of Bill Clinton as Governor and later President, who signed the Crime Bill of 1994 into law, a piece of legislation that disproportionately affected Black communities and contributed to mass incarceration.
We decided to do Black Mama’s Bail Out in Arkansas because Arkansas has the fifth highest incarceration rate in the country - a per capita rate of 942 per 100,000 people that greatly exceeds that of all independent democracies around the world, including the broader United States.
Despite all of this, the Little Rock Freedom Fund continues to build power to end the use of pretrial detention and experiment with community-based support systems that will replace cages.
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The National Bail Out coordinates the Black Mama’s Day Bail Outs, where we bail out as many Black Mamas and caregivers as we can so they can spend Mother’s Day with their families where they belong!
The National Bail Out also provides fellowship and employment opportunities for those we bail out in order to support their growth and create a national community of leaders who have experienced incarceration.
We also work with groups across the country to support ongoing bail reform efforts and create resources for organizers and advocates interested in ending pretrial detention.
NationalBailOut.org