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Love & Protect originally began in late 2013 as the Chicago Alliance to Free Marissa Alexander (CAFMA), which organized to fight for the freedom of Marissa Alexander, a Black mother of three in Jacksonville, Florida who had been criminalized (sentenced to 20 years in prison) for defending herself in a violent attack from her estranged husband. It was during this time of organizing for Marissa’s freedom that CAFMA co-founder Mariame Kaba raised awareness around the fact that women of color, particularly Black women, and gender non-conforming people of color, are viewed by the state as having “no selves to defend” and, therefore, have historically been criminalized for self-defense.