In my June 19th report I wrote, “On this 55th anniversary of my parents’ execution, [please] make a special donation not only to help the children the RFC supports today, but also to commemorate Ethel and Julius and the ideals they believed in so strongly. For those of you struggling on fixed incomes who ordinarily might not contribute at this time, I hope you can make a donation of $5.50 …. For those of you who typically give $50 or more, please consider adding an additional $5, $55 or even $555 this one time. Along with your gift, I welcome you[r] … note[s] … on the return card. I promise to read all the replies we receive and your comments will mean a lot to me.”

I was overwhelmed by the response. My parents wrote in their final letter, “At first … you will grieve bitterly for us, but you will not grieve alone” (click here to read the complete letter). It is hard for me to express how satisfying it is to have you reaffirm this truth after 55 years.

I also was deeply touched for another reason. Your responses meant that you read the letter carefully and took the message to heart. You not only drafted a check, you engaged with what I wrote, and gave some of yourself back. One of my purposes in building the RFC was to forge a progressive community of support for today’s young activist families. Your responses are powerful proof that we are achieving this goal.

Here are excerpts from some of the scores of notes we received:

“On June 19, 1953 I pushed my new-born in his carriage to a rally to protest the execution. [P]leas were made and in the end the bastards had their way. Yet – we must always live with hope.”

“The years melt away, the memory is still fresh. I was six years old. I can remember walking … near where we lived. My mother let go of my hand as she read the account. ‘Bastards, they did it,’ [she said.] I knew something so wrong and heinous had happened and our lives would never be the same. From then on my mother’s union activity increased and my model of activism was set.”

“I was the office boy at the Committee to Save the Rosenbergs. I was 12 ½ years old. For several months I took the subway from the Bronx downtown to the office everyday after school.”

“This contribution is given lovingly in [my mother’s] memory. She gave the name Ethel Rosenberg to the Judge in court back in 1985 when arrested for civil disobedience in Los Alamos, NM. He held her longer in jail because of using Ethel Rosenberg’s name. She meant to make a bold statement and it was in the newspapers.”

Given the volume of correspondence, I can’t answer all of it individually. But I thank every one of you collectively.