Our Mission

APEDF protects the civil and human rights of African communities while organizing practical responses to inequity in health, education, economic opportunity and neighborhood life.

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African People's Education
& Defense Fund

A Long-Term Record of Community Building

Since 1994, APEDF has focused on building durable institutions that keep resources, opportunity and decision-making closer to the communities they are meant to serve.

Our work has grown through local participation in Oakland, St. Louis, St. Petersburg and Philadelphia, where residents, volunteers and supporters help shape each effort on the ground.

We approach economic development as more than investment alone. It means access to food, housing, training, employment and community-serving spaces that strengthen everyday life.

Across every city, the goal is practical: answer neglect with organization, answer instability with institutions, and answer injustice with community power.

That long-range approach continues to guide APEDF today.

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News

APEDF Board Of Directors

Ona Zene Yeshitela, APEDF President

APEDF President

Ona Zene Yeshitela

Why This Work Matters

APEDF mission statement spoke to me directly. It calls for immediate action. We are committed to creating institutions, programs and campaigns that defend the human and civil rights of the African community and address the grave disparities in health, health care, economic development and education
Kitty Reilly, APEDF Secretary

APEDF Secretary

Kitty Reilly

Why This Work Matters

I traveled throughout the country searching for solutions to a social system I felt was unjust. I found APEDF in Oakland, CA. There were solutions to the disparities in the conditions the Black community is faced with led by African self-determination in the center. And that's how I got to St.Louis, MO where I currently live -- not to retire -- but to work in the national APEDF office!

APEDF Treasurer

Maureen Wagener

Why This Work Matters

I saw the movement of black people for justice and black power. I began to understand the huge disparities that exist between white people and black people in this country. As a child, the injustice of the two Americas struck me. When I saw the mission, programs, successes and dynamism of APEDF, I knew it was a solution to this divide, and I wanted to be a part of it.

Steven Swaggard (Kiongozi Binamu)

Why This Work Matters

Being a part of the APEDF leadership team is truly an honor. I have worked as a construction subcontractor, community garden director and union organizer/executive board member. APEDF gives me the opportunity to continue uplifting and strengthening my African communities.

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National
Headquarters

4101 W. Florissant, St. Louis, MO 63115

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