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.We just completed awarding our first grants of 2015 at the RFC. In all, seven new grantees joined the RFC community this spring (five families, one targeted activist youth and one group). The new grantees include:
(Guest post by Rosenberg Fund for Children founder, Robert Meeropol. Hear more from Robert about the iconic song, Strange Fruit, see its relevance to current Movement for Black Lives, and watch a powerful performance of it by artist Pamela Means, in the video below.)
(Part 1 of the The RFC at 25 and Ethel Rosenberg at 100 series)
What was the cultural context of Ethel’s trial and execution? The era of the 1950's was captivated by the idea of the housewife in her kitchen. This image was used to sell a multitude of products, to remind women of their proper place, and to reassure the war-weary populace that everything was back to normal and “cooking” again.
If she were still living, my grandmother, Ethel Rosenberg, would turn 100 on September 28th of this year.
The RFC staff was in a meeting on December 17th, 2014 when our phone rang. One of my co-workers stepped into an office to answer the call. The remaining staff continued talking until we heard her surprised, excited response to the caller, our Board chair, Rafael Rodríguez Cruz. He was on his way to Cuba for an educational trip and was calling from Miami to let us know that President Obama had announced plans to normalize relations with Cuba and release the remaining incarcerated members of the Cuban 5.