“Most people in New York prisons come from just seven communities throughout the state,” Soffiyah Elijah, executive director of the Alliance of Families of Justice, says. “Harlem is one of the hardest hit communities.”

Which is why AFJ is located off Malcolm X Blvd. in the center of Harlem. For Soffiyah, the true work of criminal justice reform begins with the people, families and communities hit the hardest by this era of mass incarceration. New York state prisons have a population comprised of nearly 80 percent Black and Latino people. The average age of the inhabitants in these hostile environments is 37, including teens as young as 16 who are automatically prosecuted as adults. Those re-entering society will return to these aforementioned seven communities in large number. 

After a powerful legal career as a criminal defense attorney and advocate for civil rights, Soffiyah became the first black woman to serve as Executive Director of the century-and-a-half old Correctional Association of New York. After five years defending human rights of those inside, Soffiyah and her dedicated community of supporters launched AFJ, her most ambitious move yet to forever alter the landscape of injustice in American courts and prisons. "Now is the most important time to get involved," she says. "Because we are right at the beginning of this great work. You can make a difference."  

My sister Soffiyah Elijah has worked throughout her career for justice, and she's stood steadfast with those men and women who have found their lives jeopardized by the criminal justice system.

— Danny Glover, AFJ board member, actor, civil rights activist and champion for justice

OUR PARTNERS

Ending the abuses of human rights behind bars and halting the era of mass criminalization cannot be accomplished by only organization. The Alliance of Families for Justice is proud to work cooperatively in a growing coalition of committed organizations in New York City, upstate New York and beyond.