Tondalao Hall is finally free after serving 15 years behind bars.
[ [link removed] ][IMG]
Tondalao needs your support as she begins to rebuild her life.
[ [link removed] ]Support Tondalao
Dear John,
On November 8th, we had a chance to witness something that rarely
happens. Tondalao Hall, a Black mother who was sentenced to 30 years for
“failure to protect” her children from abuse was released from Mabel
Correctional Facility in Oklahoma. She served 15 years behind bars simply
for surviving domestic violence while her abuser, Robert Braxton, was
never held accountable.
As I watched Tondalao reunite with her family I was both relieved and
overjoyed. It was a special moment that so few incarcerated women get to
experience. And that special moment that was hard-fought and won by
community organizations like Project Blackbird. Project Blackbird, led by
Candace Liger, is an organization that works to reimagine freedom for
people and communities impacted by the criminal legal system. For years,
community organizers in Oklahoma and advocates across the country
pressured the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, District Attorney David
Prater, and finally Governor Stitt to release Tondalao from prison.
Without Black women's unwavering commitment to center and defend Black
women, Tondalao may have never been released. Now we need to raise $20,000
before 2020 to welcome her home and ensure her successful restoration.
[ [link removed] ]Chip in $3 to support Tondalao and her family this Giving
Tuesday.
Tondalao’s release happened one week after Governor Stitt approved the
largest single-day mass commutation in the state's history, and just a few
weeks after the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole board unanimously recommended
Tondalao's commutation.^1 As the result of a ballot initiative to
declassify simple drug possession and low-level property offense, over 400
incarcerated folks were released to join their loved ones.^2 And even
though Tondalao's release didn't meet the requirements to be a part of the
single-day mass commutation, it did create the momentum that Project
Blackbird needed to demand her immediate freedom.^3 There is no telling
where Tondalao would be without other Black women leading the charge
against this injustice and refusing to allow it to go unchallenged. The
painful truth is this: Tondalao is just one of the thousands of Black
women across the country who are criminalized for surviving abuse,
incarcerated, and then separated from their families. While we continue to
work to end these violent systems and institutions, we must do our part to
ensure the people who suffer the indignity of incarceration are supported
once they come home.
[ [link removed] ]Tondalao is home. And she needs our support now more than ever. Will
give $3 to support her as she rebuilds her life?
The future is bright for Tondalao. In the 15 years she sat behind bars she
became a licensed cosmetologist -- an important milestone that will
undoubtedly help her get started on a career after her release. Still,
this transition will be challenging. Formerly incarcerated people face
real barriers to resources that many of us take for granted such as
housing, employment, healthcare, and so much more. We want to make sure
she and her family never have to worry about basic necessities during this
time. John, your contribution is crucial for Tondolao as she
begins this next phase of her life.
[ [link removed] ]Will you chip in to Tondalao's freedom fund?
Until justice is real,
--Clarise, Rashad, Arisha, Scott, Erika, Malachi, Marybeth, Marena,
Madison, Leonard, Tamar, Neosho, and the rest of the Color Of Change team
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References:
1. "She went to prison over her boyfriend’s child abuse. Thirteen years
after he got out, she’s free." The Washington
Post. [link removed]
2. Open Letter to Governor
Stitt. [link removed]
3. "Hundreds of Oklahoma inmates being released Monday in largest
commutation in U.S." NBC News.
historyhttps://act.colorofchange.org/go/213548?t=1010&akid=39336%2E4731121%2E7fWu9Z
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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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