The Al Raby Foundation

Katanya and Matthew had the pleasure of representing the Al Raby Foundation at ’s Black History Month Celebration. It was a beautiful gathering of Black folx from across the city. Matt enjoyed the festivities and was super excited to meet Mayor Johnson who happens to be a big fan of Al. Always a great time. ✊🏾

The Raby fam spent the day in Garfield Park at First Church of the Bretheren - one of the many congregations that hosted gatherings for the Chicago Freedom Movement. Today’s event, Conserve and Color, hosted by the Capstone Clique and sponsored by the , was a beautifully curated space filled with folks of all ages, backgrounds, and from all over the city. There was lots of art and fond memories of the movement shared as well as an opportunity to learn about community planning works being done in the area. Thank you to for the invitation to join you today! Matt, Al’s great-grandson, had a great time adding his artistry to the map!

Today is Al’s birthday - right in the middle of Black History Month! ✊🏾🎂

The Al Raby Foundation is celebrating by sharing about Conserve and Color, an event taking place this Saturday, 2/21 hosted by the Capstone Clique and the honoring the 60th Anniversary of the Chicago Freedom Movement (led by Al Raby). Please check our bio for the registration link! Hope to see you there!

PS: Check out the ✨dope✨ t-shirt that Katanya Raby is wearing featuring her grandpa and designed by artist !

The Raby Foundation and family honors Rev. Dr. Jesse Jackson, Sr. and his legacy. We extend our deepest condolences to his wife and family. Rev. Jackson was Al’s protege and mentee and took those learnings to the next level fighting for justice and pushing for progress for the Black community. Thank you for your commitment and dedication to the advancement of African Americans and for leaving an everlasting impression on us all.

In celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday, the Raby Family had a packed day full of wonderful events. The family was invited to the to see The Lawndale King written by Willie Round and directed by Pemon Rami. The play was centered around King and Raby’s work for housing rights on the west side and set at the residence that Dr. and Mrs. King lived in on 16th street. After the play, there was a fantastic panel with the writer, director, and some of the cast. Phenomenal! This play is a production - hopefully it’ll be on stage as a full production soon!

After the play, we got a chance to connect with frm. Gov. Pat Quinn, who worked alongside Al at one point in their political careers and also was a good friend to him. We saw a few other fans of Al and it truly warmed our hearts — super excited to collect those stories! Thank you to Erica Griffin, Dir. of Education at the Chicago History Museum for including the Raby family in the wonderful MLK Day events!

Next, the family rushed over to to take part in their MLK Day celebration. Janell Nelson of curated a beautiful exhibit featuring works from artists that speak to the impact of the Chicago Freedom Movement inspired by the photography of Bernard Kleina. The Raby Family contributed a few relics from Al’s personal items to the exhibit including plaques from an award given to Al from Dr. King himself. Chicago Historian, Dilla, opened up the event and connected historical dots. Katanya, Al’s granddaughter was featured on a panel with artists and .creates to share insights on how their artistry intersects with activism. One big highlight is a beautiful painting by featured Dr. King and Raby together - incredibly breathtaking.

This exhibition is open through MLK Day 2027 - go check it out!

The Raby family is overjoyed to have seen Al celebrated with Dr. King in such powerful and beautiful ways. The day was magical from the start to the finish.

Big thank yous to the wonderful staff at IMAN - Iklas Hakeem and Alia Bilal! 💐

Also, thanks - that MLK hoodie goes hard! Much appreciated! 🫶🏾

Super excited to share that Al Raby is being honored with Dr. King for their civil rights activism in Chicago on Dr. Martin Luther King Day. An amazing display of art-tivism has been curated by Janell Nelson of in collaboration with for the 60th anniversary of the Chicago Freedom Movement. Katanya Raby, Al’s granddaughter will be a featured speaker at the event. While the event is sold out, we will do our best to share images and video of the event. This is super exciting and we’re thrilled to see Al recognized and celebrated.

The Al Raby Foundation is thrilled to share some exciting updates!

Firstly, we’re overjoyed to announce that we are officially recognized as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization - a huge milestone!

Secondly, we are rebooting the Raby Chats series as we enter a new era of civil rights activism. The Raby Chats will take place during Black History Month - stay tuned for more updates!

And thirdly, we’re launching a Giving Tuesday fundraiser for our upcoming initiatives and it would be fabulous if you could contribute! Here’s the link: https://givebutter.com/rabyfoundation

We are grateful for your continued support and patience over the years. We look forward to connecting with you in the coming year! In the meantime, below are a few things to get excited about:

- Our new book for youth: On My Daddy’s Shoulders: A memoir of the daughter of activist, Al Raby and her retelling of her experiences watching her father lead the fight for civil rights in Chicago and beyond.

- Raby Chats: A reboot of community-centered conversations about civil rights connecting youth and elders in safe spaces for dialogue about issues concerning our communities.

- Oral History Story Collection: We invite anyone who has had experiences with Al or was involved in the civil rights movement in Chicago to share their stories with us. We’re scheduling interviews now. Please reach out to [email protected] to schedule time to share your Al Raby story!

Excited to share that yesterday the held our first Board Retreat! It was a fantastic gathering where we shared ideas and made progress towards our future goals. We welcomed our new Board members at the beautiful : , , (not pictured), and (not pictured) along with Raby Family members Kathy, Leesa, Dornetta (not pictured), J’Khayla, and Katanya.

The Al Raby Foundation has so much in store for this upcoming year. We’re officially recognized as a 501(c)3 non profit organization so we’re gearing up for big things - Stay tuned!