Tech entrepreneur Kortney Ziegler is behind a new app that lets users accumulate their spare change to help bail Black people out of jail, NewsOne reported.
Ziegler stated:
“Although bail relief via an app isn’t the perfect solution to true abolishment of the prison industrial complex, being able to provide a tiny dent in the system along the way is always important. Supporting the work that prison abolitionists are already doing, is my contribution.”
Ziegler and Tiffany Mikell co-founded Appolition.us in partnership with National Bail Out, a network of organizations working to “end money bail” and, in the meantime, help to return incarcerated Black people to their families when they can’t afford to pay bail. A disproportionate number of Black people are jailed every day, where they languish often for months–sometimes years–because they cannot come up with bail money.
The app works by linking to a banking account. It rounds up regular purchases to the nearest dollar and donates the accumulated funds. “Our short-term goals are to get as many folks home for the holidays as possible,” Ziegler told the pop culture site. “Long term, we see the platform being used in a variety of ways to bolster the voices of those in need beyond just a financial contribution.” The serial entrepreneur is also behind Trans*H4ck, a company that merges transadvocacy and technology, NewsOne reported. He also directed the acclaimed 2008 documentary “STILL BLACK: A Portrait of Black Transmen”, which examines the intersections of masculinity, blackness, and the transgender experience.