For generations, we’ve been at war with the corrupt bail system. And history reminds us that the government has always used that system to keep us locked up as long as possible.
#1: Reconstruction - After the Civil War, Southern states used “Black Codes” to continue oppressing Black people. They could be arrested for everyday activities that weren’t even illegal. Knowing that most Black people couldn’t make bail, those states ushered in a new era of enslavement, using detained people as forced labor and preventing them from ever bailing themselves out.
#2: Civil Rights Movement- Civil Rights protestors were often arrested simply for protesting. This was so commonplace that the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee created the Jail, No Bail campaign, where protestors willingly served jail time instead of paying bail, forcing the state to bear the cost of their incarceration.
#3: War on Drugs - In 1971, President Nixon declared the War on Drugs, which started the mass incarceration of Black people. Black families across the country were torn apart because so many people couldn’t afford bail.
Let’s dismantle the bail system and build a true justice system that doesn’t punish people for not having money in their pockets and that empowers all of us to be courageous.