Last fall, the sons of Ethel Rosenberg forced the release of newly declassified documents related to her case, including the bombshell NSA memorandum – dated eleven days after Ethel’s arrest in 1950 – confirming that the US government knew she was not a spy long before her trial and execution. Authored by a top U.S. codebreaker who decrypted secret Soviet communications, the memo revealed his conclusion from reviewing Soviet Intelligence that Ethel Rosenberg was not a spy.
Last summer the RFC lost a founding member of the Board and a dear friend when Bruce Miller died after a battle with cancer. Bruce served on the Board for more than 30 years, from 1990 until his death. He was also a treasured family friend. I met Bruce, his wife Jane and their girls more than 40 years ago. I started babysitting for their daughters when they were three and six years old and I was 12 or 13. Our families vacationed together and often gathered to celebrate holidays and birthdays. When I described our relationship to friends, I often used the expressions “friends who are family” or “chosen family” and that’s absolutely who they were to me.
In the shadow of the election, the RFC awarded over $220,000 in fall grants to targeted activist families, awarding over $450,000 for the second year in a row to provide as much critical support as possible. Our 90 fall grants include nine brand new RFC families from across the country. Parents in these families are ex-political prisoners, racial justice organizers, peace activists taking a stand against genocide, survivors of police violence, authors facing book bans for uplifting queer youth, and more. All of these families will have long roads ahead of them for the next few years, and it’s on us to do everything we can to support them in the fight.
While Robert and Michael Meeropol were disappointed that President Biden left office without exonerating their mother Ethel Rosenberg before he left office in January, they also were deeply grateful for the support they received.
The RFC joins Rosenberg sons Robert and Michael Meeropol in thanking the numerous allied organizations and thousands of people who supported the exoneration campaign. You signed and shared the petition, sent emails, wrote letters, attended online briefings and took other actions that helped raise awareness about his effort.
As we face increased attacks on activists, threats of crackdowns on those fighting for reproductive health care, rights for trans children, DEI efforts in schools and workplaces and a host of other issues near and dear to many of us, it is more important than ever to expand our network of followers and supporters. Are there friends, loved ones or colleagues in your life who you think would want to know about us? Let us know and we’ll send them a one-time letter introducing ourselves.
From Executive Director, Jenn Meeropol: "My father often described the RFC, especially in our early days, by explaining that if it was going to take generations to bring about true, meaningful change to a more just society, then we needed to support institutions committed to carrying forward and passing on progressive values from one generation to the next..."
As the RFC moves into its 35th year, we hope to celebrate with our larger community. We invite all interested artists (particularly those engaged in using art for progressive social change) to create an original work inspired by the RFC and our mission of celebrating the children of resistance.