Rosenberg Fund for Children

09/04/2026

Today we celebrate 36 years since the RFC opened our doors in 1990!

The RFC was created to echo the type of support that our founder, Robert Meeropol, and his brother received from the extended progressive community after their parents, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, were executed by the U.S. gov at the height of the McCarthy era. Robert and his brother survived their nightmare in large part because of the loving and culturally rich life that was created for them by their adoptive parents, and by the progressive community who rallied to raise a trust fund to help them.

When he launched the RFC, Robert knew firsthand that the educational and cultural activities paid for by RFC grants – for example, art classes or music lessons – could provide a safe harbor for children living through traumatic and unstable circumstances.

It is an honor to keep the vision alive, and to know that since then, more than $10 million (!) have been awarded to families organizing for a better world. We're deeply grateful to the progressive activists in the RFC community and to all the many thousands of donors and volunteers whose contributions have made this work possible.

09/01/2026

It's that time of year again! Kids are heading back to school, and a number of RFC grants are supporting their smooth transition into the beginning of the school year. Whether it's ordering school supplies, funding tutoring or tuition, or supporting kids with their extracurriculars, the RFC's got your back!

We wish all students in the RFC community a happy and productive start to the school year, and we are so excited to hear how it goes for each of you.

Have a wonderful time, and best of luck!

08/23/2026

in 1927, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed by the state of Massachusetts. 50 years later, Mass. Governor Michael Dukakis, exonerated them, stating, "I think anyone who is familiar with that case knows that it was permeated with prejudice and hostility. Sacco and Vanzetti were foreign immigrants, they were admitted anarchists, radicals, and most of us, and most of the people who have studied that case, agree that the case, the trial was permeated with prejudice, with a lack of due process..."

99 years after their ex*****ons, we remember Sacco and Vanzetti and stand in solidarity with all who face political persecution and scapegoating.

08/21/2026

A beautiful and powerful story of resistance ❤️ Preorders available now!

We love these words of praise for the book by RFC Advisory board member, author and distinguished professor emerita, Angela Y. Davis:

“From the breathtaking illustrations to the beauty and simplicity of the story itself, A Cage Is a Cage makes the fight to free our political prisoners accessible for all ages. As he did so astutely with Rattling the Cages, Davidson again places love and solidarity at the center of our struggle for abolition. Until every cage is empty of all living creatures, A Cage Is a Cage should be required reading for all.”

When Rattling the Cages first came out, a friend's daughter asked if there were any children's books to help her understand political prisoners. Coming in March 2027 via PM Press, A Cage Is a Cage is a children's book that will do just that.

Tender, imaginative, and beautifully illustrated, A Cage Is a Cage is a story about love, courage, and the belief that young people can participate in the struggle to abolish both human and nonhuman cages.

All royalties from this book go to the Rosenberg Fund for Children, which supports the educational and emotional needs of children whose parents have faced repression because of their progressive activism and are no longer able to fully provide for their children.

Check it out and preorder today!

https://pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=2349

08/14/2026

This a fascinating and maddening piece about the failures of corporate media to provide a faithful accounting of the dangerous targeting leftists face for exercising freedom of speech rights, particularly in the Prairieland Case.

Dorothee Benz, a social justice writer, organizer and an ordained minister dedicated to fighting white Christian nationalism, cites the false framing of the Prairieland protest as "violent" and lambasts the failure of these publications to expose the false construction of "Antifa" as a real organization that supports "terrorist activity."

Benz calls on all of us to become more engaged in mainstream reporting and to hold these institutions accountable for what they publish.

Janine Jackson: In addition to the visible, horrific murders in the streets by ICE agents, at least 52 people have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in the US, between Trump’s inauguration last January and June 4 of this year. Reasons include unsanitary facilities, inadequate foo...

08/12/2026

It is deeply meaningful to be able to share with our community this textile artwork by quilter and fiber artist, Miriam Madison-Balfour, who shared these photos with us from a recent exhibit featuring the piece. The quilt is inspired by and honors "Strange Fruit," written by Abel Meeropol and first recorded by the great Billie Holiday. The name of the piece is "America’s Legacy, Our Remembrance" -- it appears in "Sacred Memories - quilting our legacies" at the Grailville Oratory in Loveland, Ohio. The exhibit runs from July to September 2026.

More information about the artist is available in the photo roll.

"Strange Fruit" was originally written as the poem, "Bitter Fruit," by Abel Meeropol, a schoolteacher, activist artist and adoptive father of RFC Founder Robert Meeropol. It was a powerful statement condemning the lynchings of Black Americans during the Jim Crow era. He later set it to music and starting in 1939, Billie Holiday routinely performed the song in nightclubs and concert halls across the U.S. and abroad. Her courageous performances were a watershed moment in civil rights history and continue to inspire a vast array of art and culture around the world.

08/11/2026

in 1950, Ethel Rosenberg was arrested and charged with "conspiracy to commit espionage" after testifying before a grand jury.

In 2024, the sons of Ethel Rosenberg forced the release of previously classified documents related to her case, including the bombshell NSA memorandum – dated eleven days after Ethel’s arrest – confirming that the U.S. government knew she was not a spy long before her trial and ex*****on. Instead, authorities attempted to use her as a "lever" against her husband, Julius; but "she called their bluff" and both were ultimately convicted and executed – a great miscarriage of justice.

Rosenberg sons Michael and Robert Meeropol consider the memo the “smoking gun” in their mother’s case and, together with the RFC, relaunched the campaign to Exonerate Ethel Rosenberg in 2024. The campaign garnered massive press coverage and thousands of supporters, and significantly altered the public narrative about Ethel. There's more work to be done, and we will continue the fight.

Learn more about the Exonerate Ethel campaign at https://www.rfc.org/exonerate-ethel

08/06/2026

08/03/2026

Sharing this important article about the ways that government and private actors worked together to create the Red Scare of the 1950s and what lessons that history can offer to current resistance movements. As the article explains, "The persecution of communists and American radicals in the postwar era was not solely – and often not even primarily – a government operation. It was a collective endeavor that utilized the legal and informational framework provided by the federal government but was largely carried forward and enforced by private actors.... The most famous example is the film industry, where a leading role was played by the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals (MPA)"

On January 18, 1949, Edward Hopper delivered a painting to his gallerist depicting three people in a vast, bare space, a loft illuminated only by the light from outside. One of the figures is seated and speaking; the other two (a man and a woman) stand listening. Behind them hang swathes of fabric.....

07/29/2026

We really appreciate this share from Rep Jim McGovern, who for many years has been a compassionate, stalwart supporter of the family's and the RFC's joint campaign to exonerate Ethel Rosenberg. In February 2025 he went so far as to issue an apology to her family on behalf of the U.S. government for her wrongful death. There's more work ahead for the campaign, but in the meantime we're beyond grateful for the Representative's ongoing support.

When Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were executed by the U.S. government, they left behind two sons, ages 6 and 10. All these years later, Robby and Michael are still trying to make sense of what happened.