Everesting for the Bail Project

I believe in the tenet of innocent until proven guilty, and the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. George Floyd and many other black people have had their right to a trial and their right to life taken from them. I’m glad the police officer who murdered George Floyd will be charged, but it makes me extremely uncomfortable that if it wasn’t captured on film, he would more than likely not have been held accountable. Without mass protest he still may have not been charged despite it being caught on film. It also makes me uncomfortable that if we look at history, there’s a good chance he will get an extremely light sentence. The power dynamics of police across the country don’t allow for bystanders to intervene in an ongoing, slow, and public murder lest they risk being killed themselves. It should not be possible for a single racist police officer to be the judge jury and executioner when the victim is unarmed. I know there are many good cops. I also know the system allows bad cops too much power over good people. I’m not going to pretend to have all the answers but it’s clear to me that massive reform in the justice system is required to protect innocent black people from bad actors. 

Innocent people can be arrested and sit in jail for a very long time awaiting trial. This can mean an innocent person who can not afford bail will sit in jail, lose their job, and lose their homes all while awaiting a not guilty verdict. The bail project helps people who have been presumed innocent make bail, make their court date, and survive in the meantime. They make reports of where their donations go and I encourage you to check out their website. On July 7th I’m going to do an Everest which is a cycling  challenge where you ride your bike up and down a hill over and over until you climb 29,035 feet. For every dollar donated to the Bail Project (the direct recipient of this go fund me), or a related cause(DM me on instagram @ zachcalton ) I will climb 1 extra foot beyond 29,035 feet. This isn't about cycling, but if it incentivizes a few people to donate a little more then that is a success. More info on what "Everesting" is: https://everesting.cc/the-rules/

Pretrial detention is responsible for all net growth in jail population in the last 20 years. 74% of people held by jails are never convicted of a crime. (prisonpolicy.org) 
More information about The Bail Project, Inc.: The Bail Project is a new non-profit organization designed to combat mass incarceration by disrupting the money bail system, one person at a time. Over the next five years, The Bail Project will work with local partners to open dozens of sites in high-need jurisdictions and pay bail for tens of thousands of low-income people, reducing the human suffering caused by unaffordable cash bail and building on the work of grassroots groups and movements for decarceration and racial justice.

THIS IS SETUP TO GO STRAIGHT TO THE BAIL PROJECT, I WILL NEVER SEE THE MONEY MYSELF.

Data: 
https://www.mappingpoliceviolence.org
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2020/05/mapping-police-killings-black-americans-200531105741757.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/
https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2020.html