In January, your fierce commitment to justice resulted in an $875 contribution to The Bail Project Cleveland ( https://bailproject.org/ ). Our congregation has been passionately working toward greater systemic justice with regard to cash bail, in partnership with many other congregations and organizations. In the meantime, The Bail Project works within the current system to provide bail for those who would not otherwise be able to afford it.

Nationally, The Bail Project has posted bonds for more than 20,000 people across the U.S. 76% were women, and of that group, 1 in 3 were Black mothers.

One of those bailouts was Taylor Bates, a Black single mother who was five months pregnant when she was arrested following a dispute with a family member. She couldn’t make her $1,000 bail, so she stayed in jail awaiting trial for almost a month until the Bail Project posted bail on her behalf. Without that financial support, she would have delivered her baby in jail and would likely still be there, since her case is ongoing.

Local Bail Project “bail disruptors” Anthony Body, Justin Abdul-Kareem Henton, Marissa Jancura, and David Renfroe are helping people like Taylor who would otherwise remain in pre-trial incarceration. Our support of The Bail Project is also regenerative. When people show up in court and the bail is returned, the same generous gift can then help more people.

This is one way that we have been living into our mission and vision with integrity, seeking intersectional opportunities to bend the moral arc of the universe around us a little more toward justice.

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