A protest group called SONG, Southerners on New Ground, chained themselves to a North Carolina detention center on Thursday demanding the release of all black people for Mother’s Day. They say black people can’t afford bail and it must be abolished. They claim holding prisoners before they are convicted is “unjust.”
“Folks are stuck in jails because they can’t afford to get out, not because they’ve actually been convicted of a crime,” Nichols said.
They don’t seem to understand that they are held because they might be dangerous.
“On this day, we are bailing out Black mamas and caregivers because cannot afford bail and also to intervene on the malicious criminal legal system that targets and cages our loved ones,” the group said in a statement. “We have bailed out as many as we could and more Black mamas and caregivers went in.”
Using cables and locks, SONG organizers Serena Sebring and Kyla Hartfield chained themselves to the gate that officers use to bring prisoners in and out of the facility, The News & Observer reported.
There were about 20 protesters.
“You let every black mama in that jail out, [and] we’ll unlock ourselves right now,” Sebring told a sheriff’s deputy at one point.
Southerners on New Ground is shutting down Durham County Jail right now to #FreeBlackMamas. @ignitekindred pic.twitter.com/vRaTdpHXUT
— Cole Parke (@coleparke) May 9, 2019
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RIGHT NOW: Activists have chained themselves to the gate of the #Durham County Jail in protest of money bail and pre-trial detention.
The protest was organized by Southerners on New Ground and asks officials to “stop caging Black mothers and caregivers before Mother’s Day.” @WRAL pic.twitter.com/x8YJqMqb0g— Sarah Krueger (@WRALSarah) May 9, 2019
The two women unchained themselves so they could go home by nightfall.
Kayla ONeill Hartsfield, 25, and Serena Elysa Sebring Wadlington, 41, were charged Friday with public disturbance, second-degree trespass and failure to disperse, according to WRAL.
They did not have to pay cash bail, but were released on an unsecured $2,000 bond, which is a promise to pay if they fail to appear in court.
These demands are going on throughout the country and Democrats are going for it. We will have anarchy if this continues. This isn’t the way to reform the system. Judges do their best to match up bail to the crime.
wpDiscuz
