AFJ Featured on 99.5 FM WBAI Radio's "On the Count" 

On Saturday, February 11, 2023, AFJ’s Leaders, Soffiyah Elijah, Aqirah Stanley, Tyrrell Muhammad, & Lumumba Bandele, appeared on New York City's widely syndicated 99.5 FM WBAI Radio Show “On The Count”. Our leaders discussed AFJ’s fight in working towards restoring the right to vote for the incarcerated and shutting down Attica.

They also talked about the foundational history of voter suppression for the incarcerated in New York state, the demoralizing history of Attica, the punitive prison system's destructive impact on women who are incarcerated, and the importance of implementing healing practices in addressing the vicarious trauma experienced by directly impacted community members and advocates.

Take a listen to hear AFJ’s leading voices speak about our collective work and campaigning efforts by clicking the button below.

Prism Article Interview: "Prisons Control Incarcerated People’s Relationships and Their Access to Intimacy"

Soffiyah Elijah, AFJ's Executive Director, was recently interviewed by Tamar Sarai, a Staff Reporter at Prism, for a feature article about the detrimental effects prisons have on the intimate relationships between the incarcerated and their families.

In addition to interviewing Soffiyah, Tamar delves into the early history and current space of American prisons utilizing access to intimacy as a means of control, the stigma and judgement carried in intimate relationships between the incarcerated and their families, as well as the heightened financial and emotional costs for families in New York state who are impacted by the recent restrictive package policy.

As this report provides substantial insight into some of the intimate challenges our families are facing everyday, we encourage you to take a read.

Pierre Stallings

Pierre Stallings (he/him/his) is the Senior Fellow of the Alliance of Families for Justice’s Youth Empowerment Project. Pierre was born and raised in Long Island, New York and now resides in Bronx, New York. He also attended Five Towns College while studying Business Administration. 

Pierre, who is a dedicated community advocate, has volunteered and worked with various community organizations such as The Universal Hip Hop Museum, The Brian David Jones Foundation, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). As someone who is directly impacted by incarceration and felony disenfranchisement, Pierre is a member of the New York for Full Restoration of Voting Rights Coalition, in addition to fulfilling his role of leading and mentoring young adults as the Senior Fellow of AFJ’s Youth Empowerment Project.

Pierre is a full-time father to a teenage boy. He enjoys spending time with his son, watching movies, and discussing Hip Hop. Pierre writes and creates his own music, and frequently performs it live.

In April 2022, DOCCS quietly issued new rules around packages, drastically limiting quality, affordability, and access to basic necessities that incarcerated people can receive. In response, AFJ immediately began mobilizing our family members to send thousands of postcards to Governor Kathy Hochul, demanding that the burdensome package policy be rescinded. If you would like to get involved in our organizing efforts addressing the package policy, we have postcards readily available for you. All postcards are pre-paid/pre-stamped and ready to be sent. Contact us to get your postcard(s) by completing this form.

In addition, we urge everyone to email Governor Hochul and elected officials about this issue. Click here for instructions on how to send the emails.

AFJ would like to express appreciation to all of the elected officials who are supporting this push. Click here to view the letter sent by Assembly Member Weprin and Senator Salazar addressing the package policy.

Women's Empowerment Circle

Please join us in-person at AFJ Ithaca for our next Women's Empowerment Circle that will be held on Monday, March 27, 2023 from 5:30 - 7:00 pm. The Women's Empowerment Circle is for both women who are formerly incarcerated and women who have loved one's that are incarcerated. During the circle, resources and support are offered regarding employment concerns, legal issues, housing, education, transportation, as well as healing and empowerment. Our Women's Empowerment Circle is led by Phoebe Brown, AFJ's Central New York Coordinator, and it is held on every 2nd and 4th Monday of the month.

Both simple dinner and childcare services are provided. For childcare, please contact Phoebe directly at phoebe@afj-ny.org.

The location of the Women's Empowerment Circle is 516 W. MLK Jr. St. Ithaca, NY, 14850. 

Songa Mbele Circle for Formerly Incarcerated People

Our next circle for formerly incarcerated people will take place on Saturday, April 15, 2023, at 1:00 pm EST. This group is about “moving forward”, which is what songa mbele means in Swahili. The Circle will emphasize mindfulness approaches that can assist participants on a path to a healthy transition into the community. It will be facilitated by Yao-Obiora Dibia, and will occur monthly on the third Saturday of each month. If you are formerly incarcerated, we hope you will attend. Zoom details are placed below:

Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/join

Meeting ID: 825 5810 8249

Dial in: +1 646-876-9923

Weekly Family Empowerment Circle

While we miss being able to gather in-person, having our Family Empowerment Circle on Zoom every Tuesday evening has been a great way to stay connected and enable families across the state to connect with one another. The circle takes place from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm EST every Tuesday and is facilitated by the one and only Yao-Obiora Dibia. It is reserved for families with currently and formerly incarcerated loved ones, as well as formerly incarcerated people. Zoom details are placed below:

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84100655340

Meeting ID: 841 0065 5340

Dial in: +1 646-876-9923 

Weekly Community Organizing Meeting

Please join us on Zoom every Thursday from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm EST for our weekly Community Organizing Meetings. Led by directly-impacted family members, we meet every Thursday to identify policy priorities, craft strategies, and implement campaigns around issues that affect currently and formerly incarcerated people, as well as their loved ones. Directly-impacted individuals and allies are all always welcomed. We ask that new participants attend any week except for the first Thursday of the month, which is reserved for current participants. There are ample opportunities to engage in a wide variety of strategies. If you are unable to attend these meetings but you want to get involved, please email aqirah@afj-ny.org. Zoom details are placed below:

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85166578595

Meeting ID: 851 6657 8595

Dial In: +1 646-876-9923

Place your order today for our custom AFJ merchandise. We have a great selection of hoodies, t-shirts, and tote bags. There is a $10 flat-rate shipping for each order, and all proceeds go towards supporting our work.