AFRICAN AMERICAN RECONSTRUCTION
​
African American Reconstruction is an organization that ensures the black community can control its own destiny.
PILLARSÂ OF AAR
At African American Reconstruction, our top priority is to achieve results. To accomplish this our success depends on the quality of our campaigns and partnerships. This approach helps us build strategic networks and promote programs that help advance our work. Learn more about the causes we’re passionate about and get in touch with us to see how you can get involved.
EQUITABLE PUBLICÂ EDUCATION
Arizona has a diverse population that extends into the education system, however, there is still a lack of African American teachers overall.  As the African American community continues to grow, more African American teachers must be recruited and retained in our school systems. Additionally, there also needs to be more equitable funding for public schools, especially in low-income communities which do not have sufficient tax bases for quality public education. Another growing problem that AAR is addressing, is the need for trained behavioral specialists to end the dismissal/suspension rate of African American students. We believe that early childhood education and after-school programs must be maintained to counteract this problem and eliminate the school-to-prison pipeline that is detrimental to the African American community.
POLITICALÂ EQUITY
Following the Civil War, during the Reconstruction Era, African Americans held the most governmental positions than any time in history. However, over time, the number of positions has dropped due to the creation of unjust governmental decisions. Now currently, we have more African Americans seeking office than ever before. These candidates are as qualified as all others. We demand that all political parties treat these candidates with the same respect and resources that they provide to all other candidates in their party. In addition, we urge that governmental officeholders, political parties, and candidates have African Americans on their staff in order to show true commitment to inclusion.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
We as an organization recognize that there is a notable economic disparity between the African American community and other communities in America. In order to build a future together that is founded on equal opportunity, we must fix the systematic problems that exist today. In order to balance this disparity, African American businesses need more access to capital and contracts.
AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE
There is a need for affordable healthcare to help develop the Black community. With African Americans becoming sick and dying disproportionately by chronic diseases there is a need for adequate and affordable healthcare for Black people. The Covid-19 outbreak thoroughly displayed how negatively the Black community is affected when in the face of medical uncertainty. Too often, African Americans do not have access to adequate healthcare insurance and are often neglected by their physicians. Improvement within the healthcare system as a whole will help provide healthcare equity that is needed to improve the health of African Americans, ultimately reducing African Americans' community overall mortality rate.
EQUAL JUSTICE
We insist on formulating fair, just, non-discriminatory treatment by police and the entire criminal justice system as a whole. To accomplish this we insist on having community training programs to enhance a positive interactive relationship between police and citizens. In addition, we hope to create greater transparency in the dissemination of information to defendants. We believe we can thoroughly achieve this by having more access to communication with prosecutors, in order to have a better understanding of the decisions they make, especially as it pertains to the African American community. Many African Americans are uninformed about their rights, so it is paramount that they understand each step of the process.