The Alliance of Families for Justice

#BlackHistoryMonth

The second episode of Boiling Point on BET, about Attica, will air TONIGHT, 2/28 at 8 pm ET, and will feature an interview with Soffiyah Elijah! Tune in to this important discussion as we draw closer to the 50th anniversary of the Attica uprising. https://buff.ly/3bh75qI

Carter G. Woodson was a historian, author, and trailblazer of Black academia. After being denied teaching positions and a place in the American Historical Association due to his skin color, Woodson founded the Association of the Study of African American Life in an effort to establish a place for Black American history in scholarship. Woodson was one of the first scholars to study the history of the African diaspora and is known as the father of Black history. In 1926, he established the celebration of Negro History Week, which later grew into what we today know as Black History Month. #Blackhistorymonth To learn more about this history, we recommend the podcast The United States of Anxiety’s Feb 1, 2021 episode: The Origin of Black History Month.

This Sunday 8/7c on @BET #BoilingPointBET examines the #Attica prison uprising which exposed America’s broken incarceration system and a cover-up. Interviews with AFJ executive director Soffiyah Elijah will be featured!

The Tuskegee Airmen are the first Black military aviators in the US Armed Forces. Previously believed to be incapable of holding such responsibility, Black folks were barred from air force training until 1940, when President Roosevelt announced they were starting training for Black pilots at Tuskegee University. Oppressive policies kept military units segregated, and in 1941, the 99th Pursuit Squadron became the first all-Black flying unit. This group of aviators is known to have paved the way for integration in the military and other public service sectors. #Blackhistorymonth

Sonia Sanchez is a poet, writer, professor, and activist. She attributes her early passion for literature, and her attention to sound to a stutter she developed as a child that left her reading and listening more than speaking. Sanchez was an integral part of the Black Arts Movement in the 60s and 70s; politics, civil rights, and Black pride is the foundation for much of her written work. #Blackhistorymonth