Free Black Mamas DMV
“The only weapon we have is our bodies and we need to tuck them in places so wheels don’t turn.” -Bayard Rustin
Campaign Ended
Organized by Harriet's Wildest Dreams, Inc
Team Members
NeeNee
$4,390.66
49 Supporters
SURJ DC
$4,015
32 Supporters
Frankie
$2,900
43 Supporters
DiDi
$2,270
35 Supporters
Makia
$1,085
29 Supporters
Samantha
$1,800
15 Supporters
Mikki
$1,090
18 Supporters
Jenna
$425
11 Supporters
Sarah
$750
5 Supporters
Katherine
$232.65
5 Supporters
Pchas
$195
3 Supporters
Cat
$85
4 Supporters
Story
Campaign Ended
Campaign Update
almost 2 years ago
Six hundred and sixty seven dollars is all that stood between Candy*—a single mother of five—and a six-month long jail stint that would jeopardize her place in a housing voucher program for survivors of domestic abuse and thrust her children into the foster care system.
The several hundred dollars she owed was the result of two missed restitution payments—payments often made as reparation to the court for harm caused to a person or property after a person has plead or been found guilty.
The missed payments are considered a violation of probation, and if she did not come to court with money-in-hand, she could—and likely, would—be re-arrested.
A single mother living on public assistance after a violent relationship with her children’s father left her body and economic stability badly bruised, Candy had no disposable income. When asked how she had been making restitution payments before being connected with #FreeBlackMamasDMV, she replied, “I know I’m not supposed to do it, but I’ve been selling my [food] stamps.”
Restitution is another side of financial strangulation courts impose on working-broke families without regard for their ability to pay, then threaten them with jail time if they fail to comply. It’s a system that sets poor and working-class families up to fail then brutally punishes them when they do.
Like bail, restitution is only a barrier for those who are already struggling financially. It leaves impossible choices for a family like Candy’s: take food out of her kids’ mouths or risk being taken away from her kids altogether.
