We are marching to encourage President Biden and state governors to exercise their clemency power to release women who are aging, elderly, terminally ill, long-timers, and incarcerated women who are survived and punished.

This Mother’s Day, 150,000 incarcerated mothers will spend their day separated from their children (PPI) unless the Biden Administration and state governors take immediate action. The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, along with fellow advocates and organizations fighting to end mass incarceration, will lead a powerful march and rally at Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., with a clear and urgent message: "Bring Moms Home For Mother's Day." They are calling on Federal and State officials across the country to grant clemency to incarcerated women and mothers, highlighting the staggering reality that 80% of women in jails and 56% of women in prison are mothers to children under the age of 18. Most of these women are the primary caretakers of their families, women of color, and most of the mothers in jail are awaiting trial simply because they can’t afford bail (PPI). This is a women’s rights issue, a criminal justice issue, a racial justice issue, and an economic justice issue. The march and rally are part of a larger national initiative titled the #FreeHer Campaign, which aims to end the incarceration of women and girls and shift resources currently spent on women's jails and prisons to meaningful investment in communities.

Under the Obama Administration, with Joe Biden as Vice President, 1,715 acts of clemency were issued, signaling a strong stance of racial justice. Under his direct leadership, President Biden has granted a mere 13 acts of clemency (DOJ). During his campaign, President Biden pledged to end the mass incarceration crisis and promised to lead with a commitment to racial justice. Clemency IS racial justice, and, especially for women in prison, it's being horrifically underutilized.

The purpose of this national march and rally is to demand state and federal clemency now and to uplift the national FreeHer campaign to end the incarceration of women and girls and shift resources currently spent on women's jails and prisons to investment in Reimagining Communities and what different looks like for addressing poverty, mental illness, lack of educational resources, and lack of housing.