We are beyond excited to announce that the Alliance of Families for Justice has now expanded to establish the Organizing and Advocacy Unit (OAU)! Our newest unit at AFJ will continue our mission of supporting, empowering, and mobilizing families and individuals impacted by the criminal justice system.

The Organizing and Advocacy Unit (OAU) will work towards training family members, formerly incarcerated people, and volunteers in organizing and advocacy, in addition to integrating and mobilizing collective lived experiences, expertise, and skill sets to take on issues impacting the community. Our Organizing and Advocacy Unit (OAU) will integrate into our existing organizational structure, thereby increasing cross-fertilization of resources, knowledge, and strategic relationships. OAU will be a space in which all of AFJ's other units, staff members, and family members will be able to collaborate with, extend from, and grow within.

AFJ's campaigns that will be housed under this unit will include #ShutDownAttica, which is currently working and preparing to take big steps to encourage action throughout this year, in addition to our postcards campaign addressing New York State DOCCS' recent restrictive package policy. Our Unlock the Vote campaign led by the New York for Full Restoration of Voting Right Coalition, which addresses felony disenfranchisement in New York State, will also be housed in this unit.

The Organizing and Advocacy Unit (OAU) will be led by Lumumba Bandele (Directory of Organizing and Advocacy), Takeasha Newton (Beverly Simms Community Organizing Fellow), and our newest onboarded staff member Tyrrell Muhammad (Senior Advocacy Coordinator). 

We look forward to updating you throughout the course of the year as to what our new unit is working on, and informing you of ways in which you can get involved. A few immediate ways to get involved with our newest unit are to sign the #ShutDownAttica petition located here, and to contact us here to receive your postcards to send to Governor Kathy Hochul regarding the restrictive package policy. You can also get involved by locating your Elected Official here to tell them to co-sponsor and support Senate Bill S316 and Assembly Bill A412 to restore the right to vote for incarcerated people, and you can participate in our coalition meetings in which we meet with legislators regarding restoring the right to vote for the incarcerated. 

Our Organizing and Advocacy Unit (OAU) can be reached at OAU@afj-ny.org.

Tyrrell Muhammad

As AFJ continues to grow, we would like to extend a warm welcome to Tyrrell Muhammad (he/him/his), our newest staff member and Senior Advocacy Coordinator.

Tyrrell Muhammad earned his GED in Attica Correctional Facility, his Bachelor of Arts from Syracuse University, and his Master of Arts from New York Theological Seminary, all while being incarcerated and serving a 20 years to life sentence in the New York State prison system. Going on to become a founding member of both Release Aging People from Prison (RAPP) and the New York State chapter of the Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement (CAIC), Tyrrell has a long-standing legacy of taking action to address issues of the New York state prison system and advocating on behalf of the incarcerated and their family members. While working with the Correctional Association of New York (CANY), he investigated and addressed living conditions and abuse of those who were incarcerated, and he worked endlessly in the movement to end solitary confinement. Tyrrell also played an instrumental role in building and implementing a wide range of new organizational strategic plans, resource tools, and programs. 

Tyrrell’s experience as a formerly incarcerated person and his expertise as a community advocate is featured in The Marshall Project’s Emmy-nominated documentary “We are Witnesses” and Bill Moyers’ documentary “Rikers: An American Jail”.

Tyrrell continues to actively mentor formerly incarcerated people within his community, and is adamantly involved in assisting the formerly incarcerated with the process of community reintegration.

AFJ salutes our comrade Tyrrell Muhammad as we welcome him aboard!