Birmingham Group Works to Free Women From Jail; Reunite Families for Mother’s Day

By Alaina Bookman | abookman@al.com This is another installment in Birmingham Times/AL.com/CBS42 joint series “Beyond the Violence: what can be done to address Birmingham’s rising homicide rate.” Sign up for the newsletter here. Many parents charged with crimes sit behind bars for months, even years, losing time with family. Many have not yet been convicted of a crime and are awaiting trial from jail simply because they cannot afford bail. Cara McClure, founder and executive director of Faith and Works, a social justice nonprofit, will begin another round of bailouts Thursday to reunite incarcerated Black women with their families, just in time for Mother’s Day. “A lot of times they sit in jail, languish in jails only to be found not guilty because that’s how the system is set up. It’s set up to keep us there, to have control over Black bodies. If you are rich, and you go to jail for the same reason, you get to go home and take care of your affairs. But if you’re poor, the system is set up to punish poor Black people,” McClure said. “Money should not be a determining factor in freedom. We’re bailing these women out, Black mamas, to...