African American Policy Forum

@aapf.org

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Think tank focused on intersectionality, anti-racism and democracy Co-founded & led by @kimberlecrenshaw.bsky.social Home to #SayHerName & #BlackGirlsMatter https://linktr.ee/AAPolicyForum

Freed Blacks did not advocate for a unique set of rules that catered only to their situation. Nor did they seek to advance their own position relative to, or at the expense and exclusion of, other marginalized groups. Instead, those whose gatherings helped galvanize the push for full equality understood that “[a] diverse origin does not disprove a common nature, nor does it disprove a united destiny.” The firmest foundation for freedom would require an anticaste reset—“both for his sake and for ours”—and would benefit all.
“On this Juneteenth, we take a moment to deeply reflect on freedom, resilience, history, and progress. We carry the heavy knowledge that liberation is a constant, ongoing struggle, and the rights we hold dear were paid for with the blood, sweat, and lives of our ancestors. As we see the very rights they died for being dismantled today, we honor their profound sacrifice by backtalking against any claim that the world we currently experience is the only way it can be.”
"The Southern Poverty Law Center is under attack because they are standing up against the erosion of our democracy." - Rep.Hank Johnson At the second House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Southern Poverty Law Center
Statement from Kimberlé Crenshaw, co-founder and executive director of AAPF: Civil rights must be fought for, protected and sustained in order for all people to live freely and in democracy. Only authoritarians would try to attack and intimidate organizations committed to justice and civil rights. Today's announcement from the Department of Justice that it has criminally charged the Southern Poverty Law Center is alarming and yet only the latest sign that this administration is weaponizing the DOJ to target its perceived enemies as opposed to maintaining its essential function in upholding the law. AAPF stands with the SPLC and with all those committed to justice. We will not be intimidated.
Statement on DOJ attempt to drop remaining charges in Breonna Taylor case “It is appalling that the Trump administration is seeking to drop all remaining federal charges against the police officers responsible for Breonna Taylor’s death. Breonna should be alive today, and she and her family deserve unequivocal recognition that her killing was egregious, unjust and a violation of civil rights. Though the most serious charges in this case already have been dismissed, the government’s desire to make permissible state lies about the circumstances of Breonna’s killing is the latest attempt to erase the power of her life and the galvanizing impact she had on the movement for Black lives. May her memory continue to be a revolution.”
MAGA and its enablers have moved overt anti-Black racism back into the mainstream while civil society has time and again managed only a muted response to egregiously racist attacks. As one side uses abject racism to openly galvanize its supporters, and another shies away from confronting it directly, this dangerous asymmetry is pushing us further into crisis and away from democracy.
A photo of seven people on stage: Justin Emeka, Jaqueline Stewart, Ava DuVernay, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Viet Thahn Nguyen, Kara Young, Jon Michael Hill
Join us for the second installment of our "Future of Civil Rights and Democracy" series: "Why Authoritarians Fear Democracy," featuring NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. President Janai Nelson, historian Nancy Maclean and author Carol Anderson—moderated by our executive director, Kimberle Crenshaw. Reception begins at 6 p.m. and the panel conversation starts at 6:30 p.m., followed by a book signing. This important, in-person-only conversation at Columbia Law School is co-sponsored by CLS's Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies, the Eric Holder Initiative for Civil and Political Rights, the Columbia History Association, CLS's Black Lawyers Student Association, the CLS Law High School Law Institute, Racial Literacy for Racial Justice and more!
Sonya Massey should be alive today. That she called 9-1-1 for help but was killed in her own home instead by the people who were supposed to help her shows how our government has failed Black women time and again. Black women’s lives matter. Convicting her killer today is a small step toward acknowledging what should be held as universal truth. But there can never be full justice for her family and community because she is gone. We will not stop fighting for a country where Black women can thrive without fear, in their homes and in their lives. For Sonya and for all of us. #SayHerName
This assault on the Voting Rights Act reveals that the stubborn refusal to extend basic equal protections to Black people doesn't just harm Black communities; it threatens the possibility of democracy for everyone.
The Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies, together with AAPF’s Under the Blacklight series presents ‘Why Authoritarians Fear Education’ featuring the Bissell-Heyd Chair in American Studies at the University of Toronto , Professor Jason Stanley; and President of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten. The event is moderated by Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher at Columbia Law School, Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw. Tues, October 21, 2021 2025 - Opening Reception at 6pm, Panel at 6:30pm Room 103, Jerome Green Hall, Columbia Law School , 435 W. 116th Street, NY, NY 10027
According to researchers at the Journal of Women's Health, "Black women continue to experience excess mortality relative to other U.S. women, including.... shorter life expectancies and higher rates of maternal mortality". Further, Black Women are disproportionately burdened by chronic conditions, such anemia, cardiovascular disease, and obesity.
Karen Attiah was the last remaining Black full-time writer for the Washington Post opinion pages. She was fearless in her pursuit of the truth and her willingness to speak it to power. To fire her for her strengths, to erase Black voices — especially those of Black women — from one of the most influential newspapers in the country speaks volumes about who is allowed to have an opinion right now in America and who isn't. The chilling effect of this firing, the diminished influence of Black journalists on our mainstream understanding of current events, and a political environment tilted towards silencing dissent are reshaping the way we live our lives and forever rewriting the history future generations will have access to. Kimberlé Crenshaw Co-Founder and Executive Director of AAPF
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