Drop the Charges Against Black Mama and Freedom Fighter Brittany Martin

Brittany Martin is a Black freedom fighter and mama. Like so many, she heeded the call to demand justice for Black people in the wake of a surge in police and white-supremacist violence in 2020.  Along with hundreds of freedom-loving people, Brittany was a part of a protest in Sumter, South Carolina in the names of #AhmaudArbery, #BreonnaTaylor, #GeorgeFloyd, and countless others.

When confronted by police, the mother of five, affirmed her love for Black people and made comments that the officer, and later the state, would contend were threats. Brittany was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison. Within the first year of serving her sentence, Brittany was forced to give birth to her youngest child, Blessing, inside, denied the right to mother or breastfeed her infant, held down by guards while they cut her locked hair (a religious symbol), denied attorney visits, was repeatedly beaten, placed in solitary confinement, and transferred to an out-of-state prison without the knowledge or consent of her family. 

Brittany and her family have suffered enough. In a nation that claims freedom of speech as a fundamental right, Ms. Martin never should have been arrested or imprisoned in the first place. Brittany’s family, the community, and the nation organized, petitioned, and demanded for Brittany’s release, which finally came in November 2024. 

Since her release, police and the state continue to harass and torment her, most recently levying additional charges against her in an attempt to return her to prison. For the sake of freedom and justice, it is time to drop all charges against Brittany Martin, allow her to raise her children and live her life.