News & Events

From the Executive Director

From the Executive Director
Jennifer Meeropol is the granddaughter of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg and the daughter of RFC Founder, Robert Meeropol.  Jenn became the Executive Director of the RFC on September 1, 2013.  Prior posts on this page were written by Robert (unless otherwise noted), and represent his opinions, which are not necessarily shared by the RFC.
 
 

 It has been a decade since the RFC made its first grants to support the children of activists trying to force the U.S. Navy from using the tiny Puerto Rican island of Vieques as a bombing range.   RFC Board Member Rafael Rodriguez (now Board Chair) became actively engaged in the struggle.  The RFC has been supporting the children of targeted Vieques activists ever since.

Federal Judge Joseph Tauro put yet another dent in our First Amendment rights two weeks ago when he dismissed a suit brought by five animal rights activists.  The activists had claimed that the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) made them fearful of protesting in public against animal abuse committed by corporations, and therefore, impinged upon their First Amendment rights.  The law states that anyone can be prosecuted if their actions cause property loss to an animal-related business or laboratory, or who

Normally, I don’t use my blog solely to reprint material posted by others, but both the importance of Bradley Manning’s case and the connection I feel to it compels me to do so in this instance.  A post from Rootsaction.org follows below: 

Whistleblower Bradley Manning has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and he should receive it. 

Let's help make that happen.

At the RFC we’re always seeking new supporters.  Over the years we’ve gained many contributors at house parties and speaking engagements, at the large public events we’ve staged and through personal contact.   But for over two decades our biggest single source of new donors has come from direct mail outreach.  We’d send letters describing the RFC project to those whose names were on the mailing lists of other progressive organizations, and add those who contributed to us to our list.  We still do this, although not as often as we used to because of sharply increased