Protecting mothers, fashion on the frontlines of resistance, immigrant educators, and the new pope is Black?

Support the #FreeBlackMamas campaign.

Each Mother’s Day, the National Bail Out initiative hosts a fundraiser to bring jailed Black mothers home. With our collective support, they’ve bailed out 26 Black mamas and caregivers and raised $166,289 so far! Incarceration doesn’t just impact those behind bars — it tears families apart and leaves lasting scars across generations. And no one should have to spend Mother’s Day behind bars.

National Bail Out is a Black-led and Black-centered collective of abolitionist organizers, lawyers, and activists building a community-based movement to support our folks in abolishing pretrial detention systems and dismantling the prison industrial complex. We are people who have been impacted by cages — either by being in them ourselves or witnessing our families and loved ones be encaged. We are queer, trans, young, elder, and immigrant. Learn more at www.nationalbailout.org.

MAMAS

The Black mothers behind one of the biggest environmental fights of the 20th century. When a toxic waste disaster unfolded in the 1970s, a White housewife became the face of the movement. Down the street, Black mothers worked twice as hard to be heard. 19th News >

She’s devoted her life to teaching your kids — in a country that now wants to deport her. There are 15,000 immigrant educators who rely on temporary permission to live and work in the U.S. But they fear for their futures under Trump. 19th News >

Motherhood On Rikers Island: Inside the jail’s doula program for incarcerated moms. Incarcerated women face a diverse subset of challenges while pregnant. This program helps them prepare for motherhood while behind bars. Essence >

Other News of Note

CULTURE

At the Met Gala, fashion on the frontlines of resistance. The elite space celebrated the sartorial legacy, culture and contributions of Black and LGBTQ+ Americans, under attack by the Trump administration. 19th News >

What Pope Leo XIV has said about LGBTQ+ people, immigration and abortion. Robert Francis Prevost, the first American pope, will now lead more than a billion Catholics around the world — including 53 million American Catholics. them >

Pope Leo XIV's family tree shows Black roots in New Orleans. The first American pope's grandparents identified as Black, records show, and tied to the Creole history of New Orleans. I did not have this on my bingo card for 2025, did you? ABC >

CLIMATE

Scientists just found a way to break through climate apathy. In a field of muddy results, it's among the clearest findings that one cognitive scientist has seen in his career. Grist >

A new study estimates how many climate extremes your kids will face. Achieving the Paris goals of limiting heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius could spare 613 million of today's youth from "unprecedented" exposure to heat waves. Atmos >

EQUITY

White men are in the minority as U.S. boardrooms enter new era. For the first time, women and non-White men hold just over half of the boardroom seats at S&P 500 companies, according to ISS-Corporate. Bloomberg >

After anti-trans sports vote, Manhattan activists mobilize to defend LGBTQIA+ students. In Manhattan’s District 2, which encompasses neighborhoods famous for queer and trans history, the Coalition of Aunties & Friends for Liberation organize against an anti-trans resolution. Prism >

Escalating anti-homeless policies fall hardest on disabled people in the U.S. As legislative attacks on unhoused people ramp up, disabled people are on the front lines. Truthout >

CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM

Tyre Nichols died. A Tennessee jury didn’t convict three ex-officers for his death. More than two years after Tyre Nichols died from injuries sustained during a brutal beating after a traffic stop, three former Memphis, Tennessee, police officers have been found not guilty of causing his death. Capital B News >

If Dems want to stand up to Trump, they must stand with Palestine protesters. Michigan’s attorney general is posing as an anti-Trump champion. So why is she helping Trump’s FBI to target protesters? Truthout >

IMMIGRATION

ICE arrested workers Involved in landmark labor rights case. “We are concerned at the appearance of targeting publicly pro-union worker leaders,” said a union official about a raid in western New York, after discovering that they had a list of people to arrest. The Intercept >

USDA, DOGE demand states hand over personal data about food stamp recipients. The Department of Agriculture is demanding sensitive data from states about more than 40 million food stamp recipients, as DOGE is amassing data for immigration enforcement. NPR >

People are being deported because of their tattoos. Hundreds of people have been deported to El Salvador’s mega-prison because of their tattoos. It’s not the first time tattoos have been weaponized against immigrants.

ECONOMY

Americans still dream about factory jobs. Can they be brought back? Trump's administration said they want tariffs to boost US manufacturing, and most Americans want more factory jobs here. But what makes us nostalgic for factory work? NPR >

EDUCATION

Why this red state made preschool free. How Oklahoma’s universal pre-K program became a model for its progressive peers. Vox >

Grocery workers vs Goliath

Kroger and Albertsons tried to merge; union organizing stopped them. But the fight for grocery workers is just beginning. In These Times >

When your garden fails, the magic happens

Nothing will cure you of perfectionism faster than trying to grow living things. Vox >

"Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro is a dystopian novel published in 2005 that explores themes of humanity, fate, and the ethics of scientific progress. Set in an alternate England during the late 1990s, the story follows three main characters—Kathy H., Ruth, and Tommy—who grow up at Hailsham, a seemingly idyllic boarding school. As they mature, they gradually discover the disturbing truth about their purpose in society: they are clones created to donate their vital organs.

“Never Let Me Go” has been banned from libraries in Florida for its content. Yet as we see our government prioritize AI over human needs, and treat citizens like they’re second-class, we believe this book is a timely look at how technology and capitalism impact everyday people.