American Family Association (AFA), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1977 by Donald E. Wildmon, who was the pastor of First United Methodist Church in Southaven, Mississippi, at the time. Since 1977, AFA has been on the front lines of America’s culture war. The original name of the ministry was National Federation for Decency but was changed to American Family Association in 1988.
Today, AFA is led by president Tim Wildmon, and it continues as one of the largest and most effective pro-family organizations in the country with hundreds of thousands of supporters.
The impact of AFA on pro-family issues is recognized nationwide. AFA spokespersons have appeared on programs such as ABC's Good Morning America, World News Tonight, and Nightline; Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, Hannity & Colmes, and Fox News Live; NBC's Today Show and Meet the Press; MSNBC's Deborah Norville Tonight and Countdown with Keith Olbermann; CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight, Anderson Cooper 360, Wolf Blitzer Reports, Talk Back Live, American Morning, and Crossfire; CBN's The 700 Club; TBN's Praise the Lord; INSP's Inspiration Today; and the BBC.
AFA spokespersons have been quoted in publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Washington Times, Chicago Tribune, Mediaweek, Advertising Age, TIME, Newsweek, WORLD, Christianity Today, and numerous other media outlets. They also are frequent guests on national and international radio programs including the BBC, National Public Radio (NPR), and Voice of America.
Advertising Age listed Donald Wildmon in its December 2004 "Book of Tens" as one of the top "10 Who Made a Mark on Marketing." He was named among other high-profile figures such as Karl Rove, Mel Gibson, and Mark Burnett. Advertising Age, Crain's international newspaper of marketing, serves as a widely recognized source for the latest information to over 198,000 advertising, marketing, and media professionals.
