Sisters,

It is widely known that women of color are incarcerated at rates higher than our white peers. In 2010, while serving time at the federal prison for women in Danbury, Connecticut, a group of sisters began to organize with a mission and mandate to shed light on the detrimental effects of incarcerating women and girls. Incarcerating women and girls not only impacts those who are incarcerated, but it also affects their families and communities. After their release, those sisters continued this vital work, working hard to end the incarceration of women and girls and advocating to redirect resources into communities to prevent incarceration in the first place.

This April 24^th marks a significant milestone—the 10th anniversary of the FreeHer March and Rally in Washington, D.C. This event is a call to action, not just to celebrate the decade-long journey of advocacy on behalf of women and girls impacted by incarceration, but also to push for immediate and substantial changes in how we treat women and girls involved in the criminal justice system.

This year, the rally holds an additional poignant note as it precedes Mother’s Day—a day when about 150,000 incarcerated mothers in the U.S. will spend separated from their children, according to the Prison Policy Initiative (PPI). These are mothers who, under different circumstances, would be at home, taking care of their children and contributing to their communities.

Led by the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, along with fellow advocates, we will march at Freedom Plaza (in DC) with a clear and urgent message: “Bring Moms Home for Mother’s Day.” Our call to action is directed at the Biden Administration and Governors, urging them to grant clemency to incarcerated women and mothers.

The stark reality is that 80% of women in jails and 56% of women in prisons are mothers to children under the age of 18. Most of these women are primary caretakers; many are women of color, and a significant number are detained while they await trial simply because they cannot afford bail. The issue of incarcerated women and mothers is multifaceted—it is a matter of women’s rights, criminal justice, racial justice, and economic justice.

The FreeHer Campaign and the #Closure is Possible initiative, under which the march and rally are organized, aim to end the incarceration of women and girls and to shift the resources currently used for their detention to more beneficial community investments.

President Biden, who, as Vice President under the Obama Administration, witnessed the issuance of 1,715 acts of clemency, has, to date, granted only 13 such acts in his presidency, as per the Department of Justice (DOJ) reports. Despite campaign promises to tackle mass incarceration and uphold racial justice, the current use of clemency, especially for women, is woefully inadequate. Watch the video below to learn more about how clemency changes lives!

The upcoming march and rally on April 24, 2024, starting at the historic Metropolitan AME Church and culminating at Freedom Plaza from 12 to 4 p.m., are more than just events. They are a call to stand together during a crucial time in our nation’s history.

Please join WE CAN to support the FreeHer Campaign by participating in the march/rally. If you cannot make it to DC on April 24^th, please consider a donation to help others journey here and contribute to the various bail funds operating nationwide to help women and girls come home while they await trial.

Click the image above to find more details and register for the march on the National Council’s website. Together, we can bring about change and bring moms home for Mother’s Day!

In solidarity,

Stephanie McGencey, WE CAN Founder