Essie Justice Group

"Moving through that fear, finding out what connects us, revelling in our differences; this is the process that brings us closer." — #bellhooks 🧡

Happy birthday to bell hooks, whose legacy embodies radical love as a force for healing, community building, and liberation.

#BlackFeminist

If you have a loved one in jail or prison, you are not alone. 💜🫂

To hear more of Okha's story, check out Pillars: Untold Stories of Women with Incarcerated Loved Ones: pillarspod.com

#PillarsPod #Women #Podcast #PrisonStories

We stand against The Supreme Court's ruling and continue in our fight to end the incarceration and detention of our families and communities.

📣 BONUS Pillars Episode 📣 Reentry experts Alice and Raylene talk about the unseen ways they hold down their formerly incarcerated loved ones.

Tune in: pillarspod.com

#PillarsPod #Women #Reentry #Podcast

Essie’s member-led Campaign Team kicked off our Campaign Development Launch! ✊🏾 Our Campaign Development Subcommittee is leading with the skills and tools we learned from Campaign School to identify our future campaign work.

Subscribe for updates! essiejusticegroup.org/subscribe

Our Fall 2025 Healing to Advocacy Program has officially begun! The leadership of women with incarcerated loved ones this summer helped us collect 455 nominations and made 1300+ calls inviting women to join our Sisterhood.

#SisterhoodIsPowerful #Community #Healing

Are you a woman with a currently or formerly incarcerated loved one? You are not alone. Join our FREE Healing to Advocacy Program to access a safe space for healing, resource sharing, and life-long community. 🧡

Nominate yourself or someone you know: essiejusticegroup.org/nominate

New Report Looks at Lessons Learned from Bail Out Campaign - Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly Women make up the fastest-growing incarcerated population in the country. A new report looks at the lessons learned from efforts to bail out incarcerated Black women in California.

Thank you @npquarterly.bsky.social for highlighting The Hidden Heart of Reentry Report! Read the full article here: nonprofitquarterly.org/new-report-l...

Check out the report here: bit.ly/HiddenHeartReentry

cc: @nationalbailout.bsky.social @nbwji.bsky.social

#Reentry #FreeBlackMamas

This #BlackAugust, we honor the #FreedomFighters who relentlessly fought for our liberation. Our ancestors' sacrifices remind us of the determination that’s required to bring about change, and is all the evidence we need to continue the fight. 

cc: @mauricewfp.bsky.social @workingfamilies.org

Okha spends $850 per prison visit to see her father.

Are you a woman with an incarcerated loved one who's faced a similar price tag? We want to hear from you. Share your untold story with us at pillars.com/untold.

#PillarsPod #Women #Podcast #PrisonStories

TUNE IN NOW: Ep. 2 of Pillars Podcast — Okha’s Story.

In this episode, Okha shares what it’s like to be the daughter and primary caregiver of an incarcerated parent. Available now on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/watchpillars

#PillarsPod #Women #Podcast

With so much at stake in this political climate, now more than ever, investing in the leadership of women who can organize and hold space for our communities is critical. It's one of the ways we can ensure that our communities stay safe, strong, and connected. (3/3)

Our Facilitator's Training Program 201 works to support women with incarcerated loved ones in holding space for our communities, both regularly and in moments of rapid response. (2/3)

Earlier this month, 14 member leaders came together for advanced facilitation training through our Facilitator's Training Program 201! ✊🏾 (1/3)

In our debut episode of Pillars: Untold Stories of Women with Incarcerated Loved Ones, Carmen shares what it’s like to be one of the 1 in 4 women in the U.S. with an incarcerated loved one.

Watch: bit.ly/watchpillars
Listen: bit.ly/pillarspod

#PillarsPod #Women #Podcast

We stand in unwavering solidarity with immigrant communities and families impacted by the Los Angeles ICE raids. 🧡

cc: @chirla-org.bsky.social, Black Alliance for Just Immigration

#Immigration #NoICE #WeKeepUsSafe #LosAngeles #Community

Reminder: We keep us safe!

🛑 If you see ICE in LA, don’t stay silent. Report it to the LA Rapid Response Network. 📲

#ImmigrantsBelong #NoDeportations #SomosCHIRLA

Black mothers are at the mercy of California's negligent jail system  It took 96 hours and more than $230,000 for members of Essie Justice Group to secure the release of four Black mothers from a California jail

Leading the Black Mama’s Bail Out campaign, ‪@essie4justice.bsky.social‬ has bailed out 21 Black mothers & caregivers from CA jails. Every year, we experience intentional, onerous, & negligent tactics inside CA's jail system, writes Tanasia Newman in an op-ed.
prismreports.org/2025/06/02/b...

PASADENA & LOS ANGELES: Register for State of the People POWER Tour June 6 & 7! Show up for two days of action powered by community and rooted in local solutions. Register now at stateoftheppl.com! ✊🏾

@stateoftheppl.bsky.social #StateOfThePeople #PowerTour2025 #LosAngeles #Pasadena #Altadena

"It’s always the expertise of women with incarcerated loved ones that ensures safe homecomings for all of the Black mothers and caregivers we’ve bailed out."

Shout out to @prismreports.org for publishing our op-ed on the impact of CA's jail system on Black mothers. cc: @nationalbailout.bsky.social

The State of the People POWER Tour is a national campaign to meet Black communities where they are with truth, care, and power—and it’s coming to Los Angeles June 6 & 7!

Register today: stateoftheppl.com/los-angeles/

#StateOfThePeople #PowerTour2025

Are you a woman with an incarcerated loved one? Nominate yourself for our Fall 2025 Healing to Advocacy Program! essiejusticegroup.org/nominate (4/4)

"A lot of times I hold the crown of strength to my family, but this cohort of [Essie] Sisters helped me see that I don't have to [always] be strong. I can have vulnerable moments." — Tangela, Spring 2025 Los Angeles Healing to Advocacy Graduate 💐(3/4)

Thank you to our Sister panelists for sharing your stories, and to our Advocacy Spotlight, Bleu Watkins from the Success Stories Program, for reiterating the power of women who support loved ones on the inside. (2/4)

Earlier this week we held our Spring 2025 Los Angeles Healing to Advocacy Graduation, welcoming 21 more women with incarcerated loved ones into our loving and powerful Sisterhood! 🧡(1/4)

Big shoutout to @blkpowernetwork.bsky.social and Neighborhood Housing Services of Los Angeles County for partnering with us for this event! (4/4)

Among some of the most pressing needs our community members shared were better evacuation plans, temporary and long-term housing, and emergency financial assistance. Despite the introduction of several California state looting bills, increased prison time for looting was ranked last (3/4)

During this community event, Essie Sisters Gea and Jess facilitated wellness modalities including massage, yoga, and sound healing. Community members shared how crucial spaces like this are for healing and also ranked the priority of their ongoing post-wildfire needs and concerns (2/4)

Led by our Campaign Team, this weekend we hosted Moment to Breathe, a day of healing and connection for our wildfire-impacted Altadena and Pasadena neighbors 🧡 (1/4)

Community members who joined us also talked about the need for affordable housing, investment in mental health services, and how building power together makes these changes possible! #SisterhoodIsPowerful #Community #Oakland #BayArea #TheBay (3/3)