African American Policy Forum

Have you voted yet? If not, have you made your plan to get to the polls? 🗳️ Election Day is just one week away! November 3 is right around the corner, and every vote matters. Make a plan, check your polling location, and make your voice heard! vote.org

When we talk about partisan tools like gerrymandering and redistricting, we often divorce the conversation from real people. This @reuters.com piece focuses on the human impact of “splitting neighbors and grouping them with people far away.” It’s a must read!

Join us for a vital gathering to examine the escalating democratic crisis shaping the upcoming midterm elections and what to know before you hit the polls. Register here: bit.ly/UTB51_Roundtable

In this episode, host @kimberlecrenshaw.bsky.social is joined by philosopher Kate Manne and journalist Kirsten West Savali to examine the Cornell case alongside that of Kendall Francis, a Black student at LSU whose story received a fraction of the attention. Listen here: pod.link/1441348908/e...

We refuse to accept that the shoplifting of a box of diapers is a crime punishable by death for the diaper-wearer. We continue to stand with Kohen’s family, in grief and outrage.

The administration’s targeted harassment of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook should be called what it is: racist, sexist and deeply undemocratic. We stand with Lisa, and in doing so, we recognize the hundreds of thousands of Black women who have lost their jobs since Trump took office again.

🧵 Nearly 12,000 (11,982) books were banned in public schools during the 2025-2026 school year, according to PEN America’s newly updated Index of School Book Bans. #BannedBooks #BannedBooksWeek

What book are you picking up this week? #BannedBooksWeek

This comes as part of a broader rollback of ethnic, gender, and Black studies programs happening across U.S. campuses. What knowledge are we losing when universities decide to narrow what students have access to?

In Episode 82 of Intersectionality Matters!, host @kimberlecrenshaw.bsky.social is joined by Beverly Guy-Sheftall and Salamishah Tillet to reflect, through a Black feminist lens, on Gloria Steinem’s life, legacy, and impact on the feminist movement. Listen here: pod.link/1441348908/e...

We are grateful to everything Lonnie Bunch gave to this country, and we vow every day to fight to protect it.

Fresh off her victory and reinstatement at The Washington Post, @karenattiah.bsky.social joins us this Wednesday at 7 p.m. EST! The internationally acclaimed journalist and writer will discuss censorship, the media’s role in shaping national truth, and more. Register here: bit.ly/DemocracyDef...

Join us on Wednesday, September 2nd at 7 PM ET for our Democracy Defenders Reunion as we reconnect after the Legacy, Literacy & Liberation Summit in Montgomery! Register Here ⬇️ bit.ly/DemocracyDefenders_Reunion26 #DemocracyDefenders #AAPF

Jason Arday deserved better in life, and he deserves better in death. We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, students, colleagues, and all those whose lives he touched.

As we acknowledge the anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, we must continue the fight to #restoretheVRA and defend our multiracial democracy for generations to come.

New episode! 🎙️ Host @kimberlecrenshaw.bsky.social talks with @jamilahlemieux.bsky.social about publishing their first memoirs, reclaiming “baby mama,” respectability politics, Black families, and what keeps Lemieux backtalking despite the backlash. Listen here: pod.link/1441348908?u...

A week ago, AAPF joined @eji.org in Montgomery for our 3rd Annual Democracy Defenders Summit: Legacy, Literacy, and Liberation. We gathered to learn, strategize, and strengthen our shared commitment to protecting our multiracial democracy. Thank you, Bryan Stevenson and EJI, for your partnership.

Fordham Law Professor Tanya K. Hernández (@professortkh.bsky.social) is participating in the 3rd Annual Democracy Defenders Summit (@aapf.org) this week in Montgomery, Alabama—connecting the census research in her forthcoming book to the deliberations on democracy. Pre-order her book today:

The AAPF team will be on site at @eji.org Legacy Museum all week unpacking the history of slavery in the United States! We’re only on #Day1 and already so much knowledge has been gained. Stay tuned all week as we drop more facts straight from the Legacy Sites!

More than 300,000 Black women lost their jobs in 2025. But this conversation can’t stop at employment. Black women deserve fair pay and a workplaces that values their labor. #BlackWomensEqualPayDay

Join us and @eji.org at this summer’s Legacy, Literacy & Liberation Summit. Connect with advocates and leading scholars as we honor histories of resistance and strengthen the movement for racial justice. 📍 Montgomery, AL 🗓️ July 27–31 🔗 Register here: www.aapf.org/legacysummit...

Birthright citizenship was created as a corrective to slavery and the attempt to erase it for immigrants is rooted in our nation’s long-history of anti-Black racism.

On #Juneteenth, we recognize true history, recommit to the constant struggle for liberation and vow to backtalk against those who would deny progress towards a different, better American experience. @kimberlecrenshaw.bsky.social

"I go into Juneteenth with an appreciation of the fact that it shows us that equality making is like an onion, you peel off different layers of the preexisting condition, and that in and of itself can be an interrupted process."

Kohen Wiley should be alive today. Reaching for his mom. Instead, he was killed by the state, as an officer fired into a car where his mother was trying to signal that a baby was present. We cannot become inured to this violence. We cannot allow Kohen’s memory to be erased.

Yesterday’s baseless hearing on @splcenter.org had one purpose: undermine the civil rights infrastructure that works every day to keep Americans secure and free. Without organizations like SPLC, all of us are less safe. This weaponization will not end with SPLC, and we will not remain silent.

I want to give a huge thank you to the NY Liberty @wnba.com team for choosing @aapf.org as a partner for this year’s Commissioner’s Cup. I couldn’t make it to game 1 but waking up to my favorite players holding copies of #Backtalker was AMAZING. Congrats on the Game 1 win ❤️

wonderful piece from @clintsmithiii.bsky.social that, among other things, makes abundantly clear that pete hegseth and the trump administration are engaged in a racist purge of black officers under the belief that being black and having "merit" are mutually exclusive.

Had such an amazing time last night at @phbookstores.bsky.social 💙 Thank you so much for hosting me—it meant a lot. And huge thanks to my sister and fellow backtalker @nhannahjones.bsky.social for joining the conversation. The perfect way to celebrate my book launch 📚✨

In the wake of Louisiana v. Callais, ASALH President Dr. Kaye Wise Whitehead, AAPF Executive Director @kimberlecrenshaw.bsky.social , historian Carol Anderson, and AAPF Senior Fellow Tim Wise break down what this moment means for our democracy. RSVP: bit.ly/UTB_ConfrontingCallais

I join so many Americans across the country in outrage over #SCOTUS’s egregious attack on voting rights in #Callais and reject this attempted erasure of Black citizenship. I’m grateful to @perrybaconjr.bsky.social for giving me an opportunity to speak about this moment.

@kimberlecrenshaw.bsky.social is live with @perrybaconjr.bsky.social right now! newrepublic.substack.com

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 made multiracial democracy possible, and it should still fully be law of the land. There is no legal basis to roll back voting rights.

We must resist accepting the faulty logic of an illegitimate Court and organize around the kinds of systemic reforms necessary to stop democratic backsliding and rebuild a judicial system actually oriented toward justice.

The @theguardian.com interviewed our executive director, @kimberlecrenshaw.bsky.social, on her upcoming memoir—Backtalker—and what it means to fight for racial and gender justice in 2026.

AAPF stands with @splcenter.org. For civil rights. For justice. For democracy.

Dr. Cerina Fairfax is remembered as a mentor and community leader as officials call attention to the broader impact of domestic gun violence toward Black women

My Books Save Lives Act makes it clear: discriminatory book bans are a violation of federal civil rights law. I held a read-in at All She Wrote Books in Somerville to announce this bill to fight book bans and emphasize the importance of inclusive literature.

To protect a multiracial democracy, we must confront the anti-Black racism that has long shaped citizenship in the U.S. We stand with all who call this country home. Racism and democracy are incompatible.

Backtalker: An American Memoir publishes six weeks from TODAY! Thank you so much to Bryan Stevenson for his kind words and support of this deeply personal project. You can order your copy here: www.simonandschuster.com/books/Backta...

As we enter the final week of Women’s History Month, here at AAPF we’re uplifting the #StatusOfBlackWomen. ✨ Stay tuned for daily facts highlighting the experiences of Black women across different fields—from tech to journalism and beyond.

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.

The Senate is debating whether to advance an extreme voter suppression bill, the SAVE America Act, that would make it harder for millions of Americans to register to vote. It’s up to us to stop it. Tell your Senators now to vote NO.

Fortunately some of us are….

COMING SOON: Backtalker: An American Memoir. On sale May 5. Pre-order available now! : www.simonandschuster.com/books/Backta...

"Black women were disproportionately impacted by DOGE cuts. A year later, they're rebuilding careers for themselves and each other."

No child should be kicked off their team and deemed an outcast by their government just because of who they are. Like Kara Young said — freedom isn’t just possible, it’s necessary. Learn more about our work defending trans student athletes at aclu.org/morethanagame-bpj

this is some bullshit. the Court is giving sovereign immunity to postal workers who allegedly engaged in intentional racial discrimination Thomas's rationale is that you can't sue the government over lost mail, but there's a difference between mail that's lost and mail that's withheld bc of racism!

As we face this perilous moment in our democracy and the fight for equal rights, may Rev. Jackson's memory be a guiding light for us, connecting us to our past and revealing to us the necessary conditions for the multiracial democracy he and our movement forebears imagined.

The Story of Hazel Scott, the first African American to host a variety show broadcasted into American living rooms in 1950, is one about power and influence. And maybe that’s why McCarthy didn’t just blacklist her, he erased her. Free Press' Cristina Escobar reflects on her legacy with @aapf.org: