An Urgent Moral Crisis of the 21st Century:

Black women and Black mothers are overrepresented in U.S. prisons

1 %

of Black Women represent the population of women generally

1 %

of all incarcerated women in the United States are Black women

1 %

of incarcerated women are mothers

Survival should not be a crime

or to break the law to overcome unjust social conditions to provide for one's family

Data

Black women are disproportionately imprisoned for nonviolent offenses related to survival

Source: https://www.vera.org/downloads/publications/overlooked-women-and-jails-fact-sheet.pdf

Black women and their families are systemically disadvantaged by structural inequities

Source: https://iwpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/SOBW_ExecutiveSummary_Digital-2.pdf

Black women are religious and rely on spirituality for well-being

but many churches are not responding to an urgent moral crisis of criminality that undermines Black women's wholeness

...but many churches are not responding to an urgent moral crisis of criminality that undermine Black women's wholeness

According to a Pew Research Report (February 2021) titled, “Faith Among Black Americans,” forty-two percent of Black Americans surveyed (n=8,660), heard a sermon on race. However, only a third or thirty-one percent heard a sermon on criminal justice reform. This disparity is alarming when considering Black Americans who comprise a vast majority of Protestant church congregations and are disproportionately impacted by the U.S. criminal system, including Black women who are among the fastest growing population in prisons, but who are less likely to hear sermons connecting religious values to criminal justice reform.