I've been thinking a lot recently about January 2017, right after the U.S. presidential elections, when anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant rhetoric was on the rise nationwide. Trump had just imposed a travel ban against foreign nationals from several majority-Muslim nations. The mood in my town was tense. Some neighbors, friends, and I organized a group to talk to our local elected leaders on the town council. We used personal stories to urge our councilors to designate the town as a sanctuary city. We were worried that our Muslim neighbors and immigrant residents may be targeted by the rising hostility.

I was surprised by how disappointed I was when President Biden left office without acting on our request that he exonerate my grandmother, Ethel Roseberg. Despite keeping my expectations low and reminding myself that it was unlikely he would actually issue a statement exonerating Ethel, I got caught up in the thrill of news stories and television coverage supporting our campaign and by the surging number of petition signers and the hundreds of email message supporters sent to the Office of the Pardon Attorney.

I wish I were writing to you in very different circumstances.

These are dark times. Violent, racist, misogynistic and xenophobic rhetoric has taken hold. We’re faced with the prospect of mass deportations, an increased assault on civil liberties and equal rights, catastrophic environmental degradation, seemingly endless war-mongering abroad and ramped up repression at home, including the loss of bodily autonomy and full human rights for women, the LGBTQIA+ community and so many other vulnerable populations.

By Cleo Rohn, RFC Granting Coordinator

After awarding over $220,000 in fall grants, we ready ourselves for what comes next.