On April 11, 2026, hundreds of community members gathered at First Churches in Northampton, Mass. to celebrate resistance across generations of activists and 35 years of the Rosenberg Fund for Children. In the midst of our nation’s current reality, in which authoritarianism is on the rise, gender affirming care and reproductive rights are under attack, friends and neighbors are kidnapped by ICE and Border Patrol agents and the current administration wages war abroad, it was especially powerful and moving to come together to try to make sense of the current moment and honor those who have resisted and are resisting, winning hard fought victories across the country and around the world.

The 35th anniversary program included poetry from Martín Espada, remarks from RFC Founder Robert Meeropol and RFC Executive Director Jenn Meeropol, stories of RFC beneficiary families’ targeting and resistance from the RFC’s granting coordinator, Cleo Rohn, and a special statement from RFC beneficiary parent Kirby Amour. We closed the program with music, including a rousing singalong, from singer-songwriter, Pamela Means. While we were looking forward to also hearing remarks from the incomparable Angela Y. Davis about her decades of powerful activism and resistance, she became ill right before our event and was unable to participate. We wish her a swift and full recovery.

We received a number of lovely responses to the event from members of our community. We’re happy to share the following reflection from Paula, a long time activist and committed RFC supporter, about her personal history and how it impacted her experience at the 35th anniversary celebration:

After attending the 35th anniversary celebration, I was moved to share memories of my own experiences as a mother and an activist:

I remember feeling so alone in the 1970s, as a white single mom on welfare who was struggling to support my son and myself. This was during the school desegregation crisis in Boston, when I helped provide security to courageous Black families living in East Boston. Armed racist gangs, funded by wealthy politicians with real estate interests, and supported by the police, were trying to force Black families to leave their homes in this community, which was slowly becoming integrated. I’ll never forget how Mrs. L. stood in the parking lot near her home with a kitchen knife to protect her young daughter from racist bullies she encountered while walking home from school.

Although friends looked after my son when I had a security shift, he was terrified that I would not come home or that something bad would happen to me. My continual struggle for survival and isolation from my own family created enormous pressures on both of us. I wish there had been more assistance for the Black families under attack then as well as for people like my son and me. The supportive therapists and many creative programs that RFC funds now would have been so helpful then, too.

The 35th anniversary celebration on April 11 was very inspiring. Jenn was a wonderful upbeat emcee, sharing her grandparents’ legacy, and providing warm and informative introductions to performers and guest speakers. Hearing Robby speak so movingly about his parents brought tears to my eyes. What a reminder of how the lives of our ancestors can provide such important lessons for us today. Although I have heard both Jenn and Robby share their family history before, what they both said that day touched my heart very deeply. How proud Julius and Ethel Rosenberg would be of how their sons and grandchildren carry on their legacy, care about others, stand up to injustice, and support the children of activists who are trying to repair our broken world. For this and all you do I am deeply grateful.

We’re so grateful to Paula, the RFC staff and Board, and all the performers and consultants who made both this celebration and 35 years of the RFC possible. And most importantly, thank you to all the members of our community who attended the celebration, donated tickets or funds, and have supported our work and made it possible for us to stand with the children of resistance for more than 35 years.