Thousands of Black people are locked up behind bars, separated from
loved ones, and denied the chance to live full lives.

[ [link removed] ][IMG]

John, will you support our work to get Black people free?

[ [link removed] ]CHIP IN $3

Dear John,

This July 4th, as the country attend cookouts, enjoy the fireworks and
reflect on, “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” -- hundreds of
thousands of Black people are locked up behind bars, separated from loved
ones, and denied the chance to live freely as human beings. Black children
are forced to navigate the world without their parents. And entire
communities are left in the wake of mass incarceration. On this July
4th, we are reminded of a stark and painful truth -- so many of our people
are not free.

With millions of Black people locked in cages, we have been doing
everything in our power to tear down the walls that keep our people alone
and separated from beloved community. Over the years, our efforts have
included helping Black mothers escape the nightmare of money bail and
reuniting them with their children, stopping corporations from making
millions off the suffering of Black people and so much more. Our work is
making a real impact, but we need your support to continue.  

[ [link removed] ]John, join us in getting one step closer to securing the
freedom of thousands of Black people by supporting our criminal justice
work. Will you chip in $3?

At Color Of Change, every day our Criminal Justice team works hard to move
our country from a punishment-based system to one that recognizes the
dignity of our people. While there are many crucial ways to tackle this
problem, we have been focusing on a few key strategies:

* Force prosecutors to do their part in ending mass incarceration.
District attorneys are the most powerful single actors in the criminal
legal system and historically, have been incentivized to prosecute as
many people as possible. Collectively, no decisions fuel mass
incarceration and the disproportionate criminalization of Black
communities more than the decisions of prosecutors.
* End the system of money bail and pretrial detention.  The number of
people currently sitting in a cell awaiting trial accounts for nearly
80 percent of the total jail population. That means Black people who
have been accused, and not convicted of a crime are languishing behind
bars simply because of their inability to pay bail. We can effectively
begin to decrease the jail population by working to win bail reform. 
* Stop corporations from profiting from incarceration. Profit remains
one of the main drivers for mass incarceration. Several private
companies are contracted by the state to provide food and health
services, telecommunications and so much more. What's worse - much of
these costs are then unloaded and shouldered by incarcerated people
and their families. As such, we can shift power by providing less of
an incentive for companies like JPay to participate in this
exploitative and dehumanizing industry 

And our fighting has paid off in a number of wins: 

* Passed legislation in New York and Colorado that ends cash bail for
misdemeanors. In New York, police officers are only allowed to issue
appearance tickets instead of jailing Black people and putting them at
risk of losing their jobs, homes, and custody of their children
* Pressured local prosecutors in Boston, San Antonio, and Durham to stop
needless prosecution on a county-wide level by declining to prosecute
marijuana possession, petty theft, and other misdemeanors
* Secured free phone calls from New York City jail so incarcerated
people are not deterred from making phone calls to their loved ones
because of prohibitive costs

This is what forging a path towards freedom looks like. With your help, we
can create a new paradigm where alternatives that address structural
racism are prioritized over systems that extract wealth and inflict harm
on poor Black communities.

[ [link removed] ]Can you chip in $3 to support our work to transform the
criminal legal system?

Until justice is real,

--Scott, Rashad, Arisha, Clarise, Erika, Leonard, Kristen M., Marena,
Marybeth, Tamar, Madison, and the rest of the Color Of Change team 


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[ [link removed] ]Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black
folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. [ [link removed] ]Help
keep our movement strong.

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