As a college student Barbara Cahn was a militant opponent of the war in Vietnam and spent time in the Cleveland jail for her participation in an anti-war demonstration. She was very active in her beloved LaGuardia Corner Gardens in New York City, and in the citywide community gardening movement, a movement constantly threatened by the forces of real estate development. And perhaps her background in the anti-war movement had some connection with her being the creator of what became a somewhat widespread slogan in the campaign in Greenwich Village against the massive NYU development campaign that threatened not only the garden but an entire neighborhood: “Flowers Not Towers!”
Barbara was also an extremely talented ceramicist, and was a working studio potter until her death. And for many years, Barbara was a contributing producer to an interview program on WNYC, public radio in New York City, where she and her colleagues received a Peabody Award for a segment she had developed.
The Barbara Cahn Memorial Fund, which will be launched in the fall of 2026 with generous support from Barbara’s husband Alan Ginsberg, will fund RFC grants for arts programs and gardening opportunities for the children of targeted activists and young people who face repression for their own organizing. Anyone who wishes to donate to the Fund should indicate that designation when making a contribution to the RFC.