(From left) Richmond Bail Fund co-directors and volunteers Matthew Perry, Nat, Emi Tvedt, Ace Canessa, Luca Suede, Arda Athman, Ellen Crooks, Ashley Mejias, Alex Mejias (Photo by Ash Daniel)
Last November, Matthew Perry and his Richmond Community Bail Fund (RCBF) co-directors Luca Suede, Alex Mejias and Ashley Mejias were focused on expanding the nonprofit’s operations to include a court-watching program to enhance jural accountability.
A year later, much has changed. COVID-19 forced the closure of courts to the general public, putting the CourtWatch RVA program on hold. At the same time, the death of George Floyd sparked nationwide racial justice protests and a national conversation on racism, leading to a new platform for the RCBF, along with many new challenges.
Since late May, Perry and his colleagues have been running a jail support program for those arrested on charges related to the protests. Donations have been flowing into the Bail Fund, which is now strong enough to fulfill every request for bail by an incarcerated person in need. The fund has helped more than 100 people in the past year.
“When George Floyd was murdered on May 25, there was a night of rioting in Minneapolis,” Perry recounts. “The following day, there was a gathering in Monroe Park in Richmond. I showed up in a car with a Bail Fund colleague and followed the demonstration as it began to march. We passed out flyers with the RCBF hotline information.
“Sure enough, the protest was declared an unlawful assembly by the police, and they began to arrest people for failure to disperse. So we headed over to camp out in the Richmond City Jail parking lot.”
That was the first night the RCBF functioned as a jail support team. The practice of jail support involves collecting information on protesters who have been arrested, tracking them as they are processed by the system and meeting them upon release. It can include ferrying released protesters home, and — because the primary function of the Bail Fund is to post bond for those who cannot afford to do so — RCBF was also partly responsible for securing releases. As the protests continued over the summer, it continued filling this need.
Support for the protests on social media led to a massive influx of cash for the bail fund. “People were looking for a way to support what was happening,” Perry explains. “Bail funds were one of the only formal, 501(c)(3)-certified places you could donate to in order to support on-the-ground action. And we have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, mostly from small donations.” Contributions have come from Richmonders and from people across the country.
As for the changing political atmosphere, the RCBF is still not invested in electoral work. “We don’t believe the City Council or General Assembly are well constituted to make the changes that need to happen,” Perry says. “We see more possibility for change in that arena at the community and grassroots level. We want to make sure people in Richmond know what’s happening in the criminal punishment system and why it’s so important to have top-to-bottom change.
“If we’re going to have a city council that’s radical, we need to have a community that puts the pressure on that council in the first place. Our work is more like the raw materials for a movement like that.”
Now, Perry says, the RCBF is focused on recruiting volunteers to help run the jail support program. Those interested can email rvabailfund@gmail.com. Perry also directs people to NoLef Turns Inc., a local nonprofit run by Sheba Williams that helps incarcerated people readjust to society upon release.
