Essie Justice

In the United States today, one in every four women has an incarcerated loved one. That number shifts to an astounding one in two for Black women. Mass incarceration has risen 500% over the past five decades and women bear most of the resulting emotional and economic burden of keeping their families housed and clothed, as well as ensuring the incarcerated person is connected and supported both during and after their term. Court fees, transportation costs, predatory bail loans that can cripple a family long-term – at every step of the system, the women who are keeping everything together are massively impacted. 

Essie Justice Group (Essie) was founded in 2014 with a mission to end the socially destructive practice of mass incarceration. They serve women with incarcerated loved ones, creating access to the community, support, and leadership development needed to regain hope and a sense of agency.

The seeds of the organization were sown when founder Gina Clayton-Johnson, while studying law, suddenly became a woman with an incarcerated loved one herself and, despite her access to legal knowledge, felt mired in a system that seemed designed to be unhelpful. She started a practice in Harlem for women at risk of losing their home because of a family member’s incarceration and, in the course of that work, discovered how isolated those women felt in their situation. Starting with a few volunteers, Essie grew to become primarily comprised of women who have had an incarcerated loved one or have been incarcerated themselves, so most staff know first-hand how it feels.

The group is not just a sisterhood of women sharing a life situation, although that is at its heart. Essie empowers its members by giving them the tools they need to heal and to be leaders for social change. At the core of this work is their 9-week Healing to Advocacy Program. Facilitated by women who have incarcerated loved ones and who previously graduated from the program, each cohort focuses on individual healing and equips its members with the skills to advocate for self, family, and community. Program graduates receive special training to facilitate future sessions, run an immediate needs program for those who are system-impacted, offer court support, and take on member-leadership roles within the organization and beyond.

Based in Oakland and LA, Essie’s in-person program, along with their virtual program during the pandemic, has created a network of 475 members across 37 states. “Women-centered organizations like ours are often overlooked by traditional funding. Patchwork Collective’s trust-based approach to giving made space for us to be innovative in ways that ultimately fueled our most important milestones,” shared Gina Clayton-Johnson, Founder and Executive Director of Essie Justice Group. “During the course of our grant, we proudly graduated our 50th Healing to Advocacy cohort, doubled our membership, saw unprecedented growth in member leadership, and advanced compassion-centered wins within our community. Philanthropy that trusts the expertise of system-impacted communities who are closest to solutions, works.”

Essie’s members are fueled by the evidence of what their collective power makes possible. They come together to share expertise and spread the load so the weight doesn’t fall solely on the person directly experiencing the problem. In court situations, for example, members and staff often provide letters of support to the judge, and may come in to speak on their behalf. They also provide after-court assistance with navigating bail and other issues. By breaking the common feeling of isolation among women with incarcerated loved ones, they are much better able to navigate their situation from a place of strength and dignity.

The group considers themselves to be social experimenters, engaged in large-scale research and policy development with other, like-minded organizations and learning from each other. They’re in a constant cycle of listening, learning, piloting, then replicating out various approaches and programs directed at solving root cause problems, rather than providing band-aid fixes.

To date, Essie has organized women nationally, won campaigns such as compelling Facebook and Google to divest from bail bonds advertising, and fought for care-centered wins such as mental health resources, family access to an incarcerated loved one in times of a health crisis, and clean water for pregnant incarcerated people. Essie also released a first-of-its-kind national study Because She’s Powerful, uncovering the acute harm incarceration has on women. To learn more about Essie Justice Group visit essiejusticegroup.org

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