We just finished awarding over $190,000 in grants for the first half of 2017. In addition to the four new beneficiaries discussed in my previous blog , three more new families have joined the RFC community this spring. These new grantees include:

We’re in the midst of awarding our first grants of 2017 at the RFC. To date, four new grantees have joined the RFC community this spring and additional new applications are pending. So far, the new grantees include:

One of things I’ve found fascinating about working in social justice organizations are the moments when an issue arises with so many implications for your work that information explodes from multiple channels and networks. That happened to us at the RFC over the past few weeks as friends, allies, current and former beneficiaries and supporters contacted us regarding Governor Cuomo’s proposal to decrease visiting days for inmates at New York state prisons.

Radical attorney and former political prisoner Lynne Stewart died Tuesday, March 7th at the age of 77 following an extended battle with cancer. In her lengthy career, this “people’s lawyer” defended Black Panthers, Weather Underground members and other outsiders. As Lynne explained in a 2015 interview with Guernica, "I'm particularly committed to the political people who needed defense. They're out there fighting the government on behalf of everybody."

It’s been an extraordinary year since we announced the campaign to exonerate my grandmother in our spring 2016 newsletter. The article here details the effort’s many accomplishments, including garnering petition signatures from almost 60,000 people across the country and around the world!