Thanks to our community’s response to the RFC’s fundraising campaigns, this spring we were able to award 74 grants totaling $175,906; two are new awards and 72 are renewals. Because of our supporters’ generosity, we were able to reduce our planned granting cutback and at least partially fund all requests. The RFC Board remains committed to providing ongoing assistance to these beneficiaries.
New Grants
1. Youth Serves Time in Federal Prison. $3100 for a Special Travel award* to study community organizing in Central America, and for a Carry It Forward award** for the 22-year-old targeted activist youth arrested while protesting at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (formerly the School of the Americas) and sentenced to months in federal prison. IL
(*Special Travel awards are one-time grants that serve an important developmental or educational purpose for young people entering adulthood.)
(**CIF awards of $600 are given to 18 to 24-year-olds to help pay for costs associated with college or similar programs designed to prepare them for adult life.)
2. Young Son Reunited with Father. $2000 Attica award* for the two-year-old son whose soldier father fled to Canada after refusing to be deployed to Iraq for “a war totally based on lies” and became active in the Canadian anti-war movement. After an extensive legal battle, he was deported to the U.S. and sentenced to 15 months in the brig. CA
(*Attica Fund Prison Visit awards enable the children and grandchildren of political prisoners to visit their jailed loved ones.)
Renewals
3. George Ziefert Fund Award.* $2650 for sports and cultural programs and two CIF awards for the nine-year-old son and 16, 19 and 22-year-old daughters whose father, an independent journalist, was fired and blacklisted for expressing progressive views and covering controversial topics. MN
4. Ozzy Klate Memorial Fund Award*. $2000 for a summer intensive ballet program for the 17-year-old daughter whose mother participated in civil dis-obedience at a recruiting station. After she and her co-defendants were acquitted on state charges, federal prosecutors employed an obscure statute to con-vict them. NY
(*Visit www.rfc.org/namedfunds to find out more.)
5-11. Parents Fight for Better Environment, Racial Equality. $18,500 for educational and cultural programs for 13 children, aged two to 12, from seven families. Several parents were beaten and arrested while marching against environmental racism, others were attacked and/or imprisoned for their commu-nity organizing work. CA, GA, NY
12-13. Muslim Anti-War Activists Targeted. $12,500 for school tuition and an Attica award for the nine children, aged three to 15, of two Muslim men convicted of money laundering after an FBI sting targeted them for their public anti-war activities and support for a local Mosque. NY
14-19. Intergenerational Activist Communities Work for Peace. $11,667 for art, music, gymnastics, riding and dance lessons for 12 children, aged four to 17, from six families who are members of several pacifist communities. Parents and teenage children have engaged in peaceful anti-war protests and many of the parents have been imprisoned for civil disobedience. ME, NY, VA
20. Second Generation Activist Fired. $7500 for educational support for the four daughters, aged 10 to 19, and the five-year-old son whose father, himself the son of a political prisoner, was fired for giving a lecture supporting political prisoners. GA
21. Family Threatened by KKK. $6025 for ballet lessons, school tuition and orthodontia for five children, aged four to 13, whose activist mother received death threats from the Klan for her efforts to desegregate a public housing complex. OR
22. Mother Threatened with Jail. $5800 for childcare, summer camp and gymnastics lessons for four sons, aged five to 17, whose mother was threatened with prison for trying to address the needs of low-income families. TX
23. Summer Programs for Children of Pacifist. $4500 for cultural and sports programs for the 10 and 15-year-old sons and eight, 12 and 16-year-old daughters whose father faced fines and jail time for his anti-missile shield action. OK
24. Iraq War Resister Imprisoned. $4455 for educational support for the five and six-year-old daughters and 12 and 15-year-old sons whose father served a four month sentence for refusing to return to Iraq. CO
25. Activist Mother Forced Out of Job. $4055 for music, art, dance, gymnastics and martial arts lessons for the three-year-old son and five, seven and 11-year-old daughters whose mother’s support for an arrested Muslim caused her boss to pressure her to find another job. GA
26. Mother Continues Legacy of Activism. $4000 for educational and recreational programs for the three children, aged two to nine, whose mother, the daughter of a targeted activist, has worked for children’s, women’s and poor people’s rights and against racism. She has been arrested, beaten, harassed and jailed for her organizing. OR
27. Daughters Assaulted. $4000 for school tuition for the seven, 12 and 16-year-old daughters and 15-year-old son whose mother, an anti-female genital mutilation activist, was forced to flee Africa with her children after two of her daughters were attacked in retaliation for her work. NY
28. Mother Beaten, Pepper-Sprayed and Harassed. $4000 for school tuition for the eight-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter whose mother, an African American community organizer, was targeted by the local police. GA
29. Son of COINTELPRO Target Harassed. $4000 for the twin 10-year-old daughters of a community activist targeted for his organizing efforts on behalf of students, the homeless and low income communities. GA
30. Children to Camp. $3800 for summer camp for the 11 and 12-year-old daughters whose father was hounded by the police for his role in organizing demonstrations against corporations that produce genetically modified foods. MN
31. Son & Daughter to Cultural Event. $3280 for Special Travel awards to participate in a Juneteenth celebration for the 20-year-old son and 23-year-old daughter whose mother, a community organizer and reparations activist, was targeted by COINTELPRO. GA
32. Mayor Targets Mother. $3100 for music, art and dance lessons for the seven-year-old son and nine-year-old daughter whose mother, an anti-environmental racism activist, was threatened for requesting to know a city council member’s position on locating a soil processing plant in her low-income, predominantly minority community. PA
33. Iraq War Resister Released. $3000 for a range of sports lessons for the 14-year-old twin daughters of a formerly incarcerated conscientious objector. CA
34. Son Returns to Camp. $3000 for summer camp for the 13-year-old son whose parents, members of a pacifist, activist community, were jailed for 45 days for attempting to hand-deliver a letter to the president of a major war contractor. CT
35. Program for Children of Torture Survivors. $3000 for a support group for 20 youth, aged three to 18, whose activist parents are survivors of torture in their home countries. PA
36. Mother Imperiled. $3000 for childcare, gymnastics and cultural programs for the one-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son whose mother, a lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and trans-gender (LGBT) community activist, was threatened by the state with the removal of her son because of her activism. OR
37. Jailers Threaten to Burn Children. $3000 for cultural programs for the nine-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter of a refugee women’s rights activist who was brutally tortured and whose children were menaced by her Iranian jailers. VA
38-39. Native American Environmental Activist Released. $2822 for summer camp and swimming, guitar and violin lessons for the six-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son whose father was jailed for destroying traps set for mountain lions. MI
40. Puerto Rican Nationalist. $2100 for school tuition and a CIF award for the 13-year-old daughter and 19-year-old son whose father is a former political prisoner. PR
41. Mother Disabled by Beating. $2000 for school tuition for the 10-year-old daughter whose mother was beaten during a Republican National Convention. WA
42. Repeatedly Imprisoned Vieques Activist. $2000 for educational support for the 14-year-old son of a leader of the struggle to free Vieques. PR
43. Granddaughter of COINTELPRO target. $2000 for a summer college prep program for the 17-year-old granddaughter of an African American political prisoner. NY
44. Children, Mother Fled War Horrors. $2000 for cultural programs for the 14-year-old daughter and 18-year-old son who fled the Congo after their mother received death threats for organizing against mass rape. IL
45. Father Charged for Protesting with his Children. $2000 for a Special Travel award to study Spanish for the 20-year-old daughter whose father was arrested at a peaceful demonstration with his kids. He faced additional charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for bringing his children with him to the event. NC
46. LGBT Leader Harassed. $1915 for educational support, therapy and cultural programs for the 18-year-old granddaughter of the founder of a grassroots organization who has been attacked for advocating for civil rights for the LGBT community. OR
47. Puerto Rican Environmental Hero. $1913 for educational support and counseling for the 14-year-old son of an environmental activist repeatedly incarcerated and fined for his non-violent actions to force the Navy out of Vieques. PR
48. Father Disappeared, Mother and Daughter Flee. $1800 for a summer cultural enrichment program for the 13-year-old daughter of an activist father “disappeared” during the Guatemalan civil war for his anti-military, pro-student efforts. IL
49. Mother Beaten by Police. $1500 for tutoring for the 13-year-old son whose mother, an animal rights and civil rights activist, suffered numerous beatings, arrests and a miscarriage at the hands of the police. PA
50. Daughter Heads to College. $1500 for a computer for the 17-year-old daughter of a formerly incarcerated, anti-imperialist political prisoner. CA
51. Father Tortured, Family Flees. $1500 for school tuition for the 16-year-old daughter whose father, a democracy activist, was detained and tortured in Africa. OH
52. Daughter Returns to Home Mother Fled. $1500 for a CIF award and a Special Travel award for the 23-year-old daughter whose mother, a community organizer working with unions and landless people in Colombia, was threatened and kidnapped by the same right-wing paramilitary forces that killed her brother. NY
53. Anti-War Father. $1500 for a computer for college for the 18-year-old son whose father was blacklisted for his anti-war activism. MO
54. Father Fought for Indigenous Rights. $1500 for summer camp and tutoring for the 11-year-old son of a deceased Native American prisoners’ rights activist. NM
55. Son of Exiled COINTELPRO Target. $1500 for tutoring for the 16-year-old son whose father, a COINTELPRO target, was forced to flee the country. AL
56. Educational Support for Teenager. $1500 for tuition for the 18-year-old granddaughter of a former Puerto Rican political prisoner. PR
57. Cultural Programs for Sons. $1324 for music lessons for the nine and 12-year-old sons of a formerly incarcerated prisoners’ rights activist. VT
58. Father Released. $1255 for swimming and martial arts lessons and music camp for the 13-year-old daughter of a formerly incarcerated, anti-globalization political prisoner released after spending over seven years in prison. OR
59. Father Imprisoned for Refusing to Fight. $1200 for piano lessons for the nine-year-old daughter of an Army Sergeant who served a year in prison after refusing redeployment to Iraq. He is the co-founder of the first anti-war organization of Iraq veterans. FL
60. Five Years for Demonstrating. $1000 for school tuition for the 10-year-old daughter whose father was imprisoned for protesting the Navy’s use of Vieques as a bombing range. PR
61. Daughter of Political Prisoner. $1000 to produce a musical for the 17-year-old daughter of a formerly imprisoned Black Panther. CA
62. Independentista Father. $900 for orthodontia for the 12-year-old son of a previously incarcerated Vieques activist. PR
63. Son of Reproductive Rights Activist. $816 for educational support for the 18-year-old son of a targeted reproductive rights activist. NJ
64. Grandmother Shot At, Harassed. $479 for summer camp and cultural programs for the eight-year-old grandson of a founding member of a Black Panther chapter who helped establish and run a community health clinic. OR
65. Child Forced into Shelter. $300 for recreational equipment for the 16-year-old son whose mother, a LGBT activist, was forced into a shelter after participating in a gay pride parade. OR
CIF awards
66-72. CIF awards. $4800 for eight beneficiaries, aged 17 to 21. AZ, CA, CT, MA, NY, PA
Attica awards
73-74. Attica awards. $4000 for two beneficiaries, aged four and 18, from two families, to visit incarcerated loved ones. CA, MI
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