"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

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

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

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

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)

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)

Last night we hosted Raise the Bay in Your Voice—a listening session focused on identifying community-centered solutions for a better Oakland. ✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾 (1/2)

“[The Hidden Heart of Reentry report] really underscores the ways that women with incarcerated loved ones are the invisible leaders at the heart of care and reentry." — Tanasia Newman, Essie’s Sr. Communications Manager for Davis Vanguard News Group Read here davisvanguard.org/2025/05/essi... (1/2)

Last week, we spoke to elected officials in Sacramento during California Black Power Network's Legislative Day of Action. ✊🏾🧡 #California (1/3)

We’re spending our 11th anniversary freeing a Black mama! #SisterhoodIsPowerful #FreeBlackMamas #Anniversary  (1/4)

In this special follow-up episode, Essie's Founder & Executive Director, Gina Clayton-Johnson, shares her Brief But Spectacular take on putting the pieces back together after losing her home to the Eaton Canyon Fire in Altadena. cc: @pbsnews.org www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td6H...

When Black mamas are incarcerated pretrial—often because they can't afford bail—they're at higher risk for mental health problems, job loss, financial strain, and losing custody of their children. That's why pretrial liberation is so important. #FreeBlackMamas

Check out this op-ed in @diverseissues.bsky.social that explores the ways incarceration impacts the basic needs of women, families, and communities—and how that impact extends into classrooms. Featuring insights from our Because She's Powerful report. www.diverseeducation.com/opinion/arti...

Essie Sisters gave testimony and me-toos at the #CaliforniaState Senate Public Safety Committee Hearing, urging them to vote no on SB 571. This bill would create mandatory felonies for theft and reduce judicial discretion by mandating incarceration. (1/2)

“Zero percent of those folks [Altadenans Essie Justice Group members made wellness calls to] said anything about crime or looting.” — Sadio, Essie Sister and Campaign Team Lead for @calmatters.org Read the full article: calmatters.org/commentary/2... #LAWildfires #Altadena #EatonFire

Women with incarcerated loved ones are mobilizing to #FreeBlackMamas—who are incarcerated pretrial simply because they can’t afford bail—this Black Mama’s Bail Out season! 🧡✊🏾🧡 (1/3)

"We’re all here out here today together to close this jail. We want it closed, but we also know that the [LA County] Board of Supervisors wants it closed too, because they voted 5 years ago to close it." — Sadio, Essie Sister & Campaign Team Lead (1/4) cc: @justicela.bsky.social

AB 468 is a bill that would racially profile and further criminalize our communities. Essie members attended the #CaliforniaStateAssembly #PublicSafety meeting yesterday to oppose the bill.

April is #SecondChanceMonth, and as women with incarcerated loved ones, we know firsthand that reentry isn't a one-time event—it's a journey that often starts while our loved ones are still locked up. #ReentryMatters (1/2)

Last week, we spent the day with Black climate justice leaders from @mvmnt4blklives.bsky.social and local Black leaders to strategize and share our learnings from our #Altadena community work. (1/4)

There have been 9 deaths in LASD custody in the first 9 weeks of 2025. LA County has still not set forth the MCJ closure plan from March 30th, 2021. This report outlined how to close the jail in 18-24 months. Join us on April 1st at the board to demand #NoMoreDelay, #CloseMCJ!

@mauricewfp.bsky.social, National Director of @workingfamilies.org, shared some perspective on the current political landscape and how the work Essie is doing to mobilize women with incarcerated loved ones is democracy work. For more, visit bit.ly/buildthroughbelonging #Democracy #Politics

Are you a woman with a currently or formerly incarcerated loved one? Essie Sisters Carla & Sadio want YOU to join Essie Justice Group's Sisterhood! 🧡 Sign up for our Healing to Advocacy Program here: bit.ly/nominate-a-s... #SisterhoodIsPowerful #Community #WomenSupportingWomen

On March 8, we hosted a panel, The Road Ahead: Lessons from Wildfire Survivors on the Journey to Recovery, where previous wildfire survivors from @afterthefireusa.bsky.social & Maui Rapid Response provided resources and shared firsthand lessons with community members impacted by the #LAWildfires.

“We noticed that…what mass incarceration does… is isolate people from one another, emotionally, geographically, etc…climate disasters do the same…they remove people from one another, from their homes, from their places.” — Gina Clayton-Johnson

For the past few weeks, Essie Sisters (members) have been canvassing outside of jail and prison waiting rooms across LA, and have met over 100 women with (so far!) who were visiting their incarcerated loved ones to invite them to our Healing to Advocacy Program. (1/2)

Join us for our panel, The Road Ahead: Lessons from Wildfire Survivors on the Journey to Recovery, where you’ll hear how wildfire survivors have navigated the complexities of finances, insurance, and mental health/grief. bit.ly/lawildfirepa... #LAWildfires #EatonCanyon #Dena

We've officially kicked off nomination season for our LA Healing to Advocacy cohort starting this March! While canvassing at #MensCentralJail, we connected with 20+ women who were visiting their incarcerated loved one on Valentine's Day! And that was just our first shift...(1/2)

Essie’s Program Team Lead Ms. Alice has a special #ValentinesDay message for women with incarcerated loved ones! 🧡 If you are a woman with an incarcerated loved one, nominate yourself or someone you love to our upcoming LA Healing to Advocacy cohort: essiejusticegroup.org/nominate

Right now, Essie Sisters (members) are making hundreds of wellness calls to Black families impacted by the #LAWildfires in partnership with @blkpowernetwork.bsky.social. #AltadenaStrong #Dena #Community (1/3)

Our virtual and in-person LA Community Healing Circles were a moment to show up for #community in the wake of the #LAWildfires. Over 70 Black caregivers, kids, and families joined us for space to pause, give and receive support, and share resources. 🫂🧡 #Altadena #EatonCanyon

Essie Justice Group invites Black women caregivers and families impacted by the #LAWildfires to process, connect, and learn more about additional resources. Join us TOMORROW, Jan 29 at 6 p.m. PST in South Pasadena. RSVP: bit.ly/lahealingcircles #Community #EatonCanyon

Essie Justice Group invites Black women caregivers and families impacted by the #LAWildfires to join our virtual or in-person Healing Circles. • Virtual: 1/23 at 6 p.m. PST • In-person: 1/29 at 6 p.m. PST in South Pasadena Sign up: bit.ly/lahealingcir...

If you are also impacted by the wildfires, our hearts are with you. 🧡 In a climate crisis fueled by mass incarceration, it's not lost on us that those hardest hit include women with incarcerated loved ones. #LAWildfires (1/4)

"I became a Healing to Advocacy Facilitator because I wanted to help hold the space that was held for me.” — Caty, Essie Facilitator Help us create more spaces for women’s healing by donating today: secure.givelively.org/donate/essie...