6 GROUNDCOVER NEWS INJUSTICE MAY 31, 2024 Activists, community supporters and families of inmates protest outside the Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility on Mother's Day, May 14. Abolitionists and activisits rally for moms in jail on Mother's Day On a warm, spring afternoon at Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti, there was a gathering of activists, neighbors and family members of inmates. About 100 people formed a demonstration line along Bemis Road across from the prison. It was Mother’s Day and Krystal Clark, a mother of four, is one of the inmates. I spoke to four individuals — Tyronda, Kat, Andrew and Lark — who represented a cross-section of people who are not caught up in the prison system, but who are greatly affected by it. Tyronda Clark I met Tyronda Clark with her eightmonth-old son Prince and three cousins. GCN: What brought you to the event? JIM CLARK Groundcover vendor No. 139 TC: Today, they're having a Mother's Day rally for the women who are incarcerated, who are not receiving proper health care or proper treatment behind bars. One of the inmates that is in there, who has been speaking out, and that has been getting retaliated against, is my sister, Krystal Clark. Fourteen years ago, Krystal picked up a family member who had asked for a ride. What Krystal didn’t know was that the family member had committed a crime and was fleeing the scene. Krystal was arrested for being an accessory to the crime. She was pregnant at the time. Her child was born in prison. Tyronda and her family have been raising and caring for the child ever since. GCN: How much longer will Krystal be in prison? TC: Right now, I think it's still like three plus more years that she has to do. And honestly, the way her health has been declining, we don't know if she has that much time. Anytime she tells them that something is going on with her, they just totally disregard it. GCN: How did you get involved with the people who staged the event? TC: My sister reached out to me and told me that she has been receiving numerous supports from different people from all over the world and they were putting together an event and she wanted me to drive down from North Carolina to meet some of the people. I don't know much about them, but I know that they have to have a big heart to come and support someone they don't know. To hear her story and to hear what she's going through and then to take time away from their day, you know, away from their mother or away from their children and coming and supporting someone you don't know says a lot about you. That's powerful. GCN: What are they trying to accomplish? TC: I think personally the goal is for everyone to be treated as human beings, to be treated with dignity, to be treated with respect, regardless of what walk you have in life, regardless as to what mistakes that you make in life, to still be treated like a human. A lot of women there have not taken anyone's lives or anything. My sister didn't. My sister has been here for 14 years, and her health has steadily deteriorated. We get numerous calls. My sister doesn't even look like herself. My sister has mold growing out of her body, and nobody feels like that's important. They [the prison] get money from them [the prisoners] being there. We pay for them being there, you know, so give them the proper health care that they need. I asked if there was anything she wanted to add. Tyronda replied: “I just want to say thank you to everyone who has been supporting her and who continues to support her.” For more information on how to support Krystal Clark, see the February 9, 2024 edition of Groundcover News. see MOTHERS next page Officer Grouchy Pants does NOT want you on his lawn!
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