Kimberlé Crenshaw: At the end of each March, in honor of Women's History Month and the UN’s International Decade for People of African Descent, the African American Policy Forum holds a week of programming on the status of Black women entitled Her Dream Deferred. For the first time this year, we decided to hold a Black women’s mini-film festival as part of Her Dream Deferred. Over the course of three days, we screened three films about Black women -- Coded Bias, an exploratio

Today, AAPF joins all Americans who are horrified that a rage-fueled mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, determined to stop the electoral certification of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. This was a blatantly illegal plot to subvert our democracy by force, in an attempt to pave the way for Donald Trump to remain in office. This shameful event came as the Democrats took a decisive step towards controlling the Senate with historic wins

“What started as a stance from several WNBA teams and the Milwaukee Bucks now has reached across sports, and leaves the very future of the NBA season in balance.” "This is not a strike. This is not a boycott. This is affirmatively a day of reflection.   Do not remain idle. Do something today…" --Nneka Ogwumike, WNBA Players Association President (8-27-20) Today, the African American Policy Forum stands in solidarity with players from the WNBA and other professional sports on

By Fran Garrett, whose daughter was killed by Phoenix police six years ago Birthdays are a big deal – they mark the passage of time and set the stage for the coming year -- but for mothers who have lost their daughters to police violence, remembering the birth and the death can be traumatic. This is why, for six years -- every August 17th -- I invite police, press, and the public to my home to celebrate the birth of my daughter, Michelle Cusseaux, who was killed by police dur

Between George Floyd’s killers being arrested and Rayshard Brooks’ killer being fired and facing potential murder charges, the protests in America may well be shifting the paradigm on justice. Yet one particular reality is still glaring: Breonna Taylor’s killers are still roaming free. The deafening silence around Breonna Taylor’s death is representative of a pattern that we have seen with Michelle Cusseax, Korryn Gaines, Kayla Moore, Sandra Bland, India Kager, Shelly Frey an

These works, a partial selection of the many important accounts of how Black women are overpoliced and underprotected, provide a structural analysis of race, gender, and punitive policing. These books, articles, podcasts, and poems are a starting point for those wishing to learn more about how the sometimes lethal intersection of patriarchy and white supremacy leaves Black women and girls vulnerable to both public and private violence. Morgan Bassichis, Alexander Lee and Dean

On the 5th anniversary of the first #SayHerName vigil and as we mourn the death of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman killed at the hands of police, we consider the impact of narrative and storytelling. #SayHerName is about building a different narrative around those names of murdered Black women whom history has ignored. Social justice is narrative reconstruction. We engage a range of storytellers - Kiese Laymon, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and Arundhati Roy - to help us think through how

#SAYHERNAME: BREONNA TAYLOR As we join the masses of people in expressing our collective outrage about the senseless slaying of Ahmaud Arbery, we must lift up the name of yet another Black woman who has been tragically taken from her loved ones by the police. With heavy and angry hearts we mothers of #SayHerName stand together with AAPF to Say The Name of Breonna Taylor, a daughter, sister, niece, and granddaughter who was unjustly executed in her own home on March 13, 2020 b

In the distressful moments that occupy our days here at AAPF, a guiding principle is built atop the famously touted phrase from Audre Lorde: “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.” This axiom continues to ring truer and truer each day. Indeed, it’s the master’s tools that got us into this mess in the first place. And it’ll be our collective rejection of those destructive instruments that blunts the force of the tragedy we’re experiencing. Identifying tho

Dear friends, In the past week, we’ve seen COVID-19’s grip on the nation tighten while the pre-existing social conditions that exacerbate its lethality become all the more obvious. For us at AAPF, the distress, pain, and hardship that now stretches across our nation is a call to address how our society’s ruinous negligence has underwritten the depths of this tragedy. Thank you so much to those of you who tuned in from across the country and the world for Wednesday’s virtual e

Dear AAPF Family, The events of the past decade have underscored the urgency of using intersectionality to build a more equitable world for people of all genders, races and nationalities. Particularly during a time of global upheaval, we’ve been buoyed and energized by our tremendous community, and all of us at AAPF are deeply grateful for your solidarity and goodwill. We tip our hats to you, our backers whose support is the cornerstone of all that we do.  It’s your engagemen

2019 REWIND: INTERSECTIONALITY MATTERS In the week leading up to New Years, we'll be looking back at some of 2019's greatest hits. Today, we're highlighting the first season of Intersectionality Matters, a new podcast from AAPF that premiered in February 2019. Over the course of the year, we released 8 episodes, featuring conversations with guests like Tracee Ellis Ross, Barbara Smith, Eve Ensler, and so many more. You, the listeners, have already made it one of the top 2% o

Kimberlé Crenshaw: I’m Kimberlé Crenshaw, and this is Season 2 of Intersectionality Matters, the podcast that brings intersectionality to life by exploring the hidden dimensions of today’s most pressing issues, from #SayHerName and #MeToo to the war on civil rights and the global rise of fascism. This idea travelogue lifts up the work of leading activists, artists and scholars and helps listeners understand politics, the law, social movements and even their own lives in deepe

Another Black woman has been killed by the police. Her crime? Occupying her own bedroom while Black. Atatiana Jefferson and her eight-year-old nephew were playing video games in her Fort Worth home in the early morning of October 11th. A twenty-eight-year-old pre-med graduate, Jefferson went to the window of her bedroom to investigate noises coming from outside the house. Her decision — made in what should have been the security of her own home—would be her last. Outside her

JOIN US FOR THE 5TH ANNUAL HER DREAM DEFERRED 2019! A WEEK ON THE STATUS OF BLACK WOMEN VISIT US AT AAPF.ORG TO LEARN MORE! WE ARE THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE THE SCHEDULE FOR THE FIFTH ANNUAL  HER DREAM DEFERRED: A WEEK ON THE STATUS OF BLACK WOMEN TAKING PLACE IN LOS ANGELES & VIRTUALLY FROM MARCH 24-29, 2019. Since 2015, AAPF and other leading racial & gender justice organizations have joined together to honor Women's History Month and the United Nation’s International Decade fo

MEET OTHER MEMBERS OF THE #SAYHERNAME FAMILY NETWORK Fran Garrett, Mother of Michelle Cusseaux Fran Garrett’s daughter, 50-year-old Michelle Cusseaux, was tragically murdered by the police in her own home in August 2014 when they came for a mental health wellness check. Under Arizona’s first responder law, multiple uniformed police officers arrived unannounced and with guns pulled. After Michelle refused to let the police in her home, Sergeant Percy Durpa pried open the locke

Dear Friends, As we look back on all we accomplished in 2018, we see the collective efforts of you, our supporters, at every step of the way. You answered our call to #SayHerName and demand justice for Nia Wilson and Black women targeted by violent hate crimes nationwide and across the globe. You fanned the flame of the #BelieveSurvivors battlecry and insisted that the legacies of Anita Hill, Sandra Bundy, Mechelle Vinson, and Pamela Price be brought to the fore of our inters

DEAR AAPF FAMILY, THE EVENTS OF THE PAST YEAR HAVE UNDERSCORED THE URGENCY OF USING INTERSECTIONALITY TO BUILD A MORE EQUITABLE WORLD FOR PEOPLE OF ALL GENDERS, RACES AND NATIONALITIES. DURING A TIME OF GLOBAL UPHEAVAL, WE’VE BEEN BUOYED AND ENERGIZED BY OUR TREMENDOUS COMMUNITY, AND ALL OF US AT AAPF ARE DEEPLY GRATEFUL FOR YOUR SOLIDARITY AND GOODWILL. WE TIP OUR HATS TO YOU, OUR BACKERS WHOSE SUPPORT IS THE CORNERSTONE OF ALL THAT WE DO.  IT’S YOUR ENGAGEMENT THAT ENABLES

Dear AAPF Family, This December marks the fourth anniversary of the first time Say Her Name was mobilized as a rallying cry amidst tens of thousands of protesters during the Millions March NYC. Over the past four years, it has grown into a global call to uplift the stories of Black women, girls and femmes who have been victimized by state violence, and to demand justice for them and their families. To acknowledge this momentous date, we’ve premiered a new video, Four Years of

Dear AAPF Family, This December marks the fourth anniversary of the first time Say Her Name was mobilized as a rallying cry amidst tens of thousands of protesters during the Millions March NYC. Join AAPF and the mothers of the Say Her Name Family Network in wearing Say Her Name apparel this Friday, December 14th to commemorate this milestone and renew our collective solidarity with family members who have lost loved ones to police violence. Follow the hashtag #SayHerName thi