In this presentation sponsored by the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires, activist, author, and attorney Robert Meeropol will talk about his life experience as the son of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, the organization he started to honor their legacy, and the recent campaign to exonerate his mother.
- September 28, 2018
- 10:45 am - 11:45 am
- Hevreh of Southern Berkshire
- 270 State Road, Great Barrington, MA
- $5 at the door (no advanced reservations required)
Robert was six years old when his parents were sent to the electric chair in 1953, executed by the U.S. government after one of the most controversial trials in American history. Hours before their execution, the Rosenbergs wrote to their sons, Robert and Michael, that they died secure in the knowledge that others would carry on after them. The Rosenberg Fund for Children – the foundation Robert started in 1990 - is the embodiment of that trust.
Orphaned at six, kicked out of school, seized by police, it took Robert 40 years to transform horrendous childhood circumstances into a positive vision. In this presentation, Robert will discuss how the public’s understanding of the facts about his parents’ case has evolved as groundbreaking, previously secret evidence has emerged in recent years, and how that new evidence led to a national campaign asking President Obama to exonerate his mother.
Robert will also share how his experiences inspired him to start the RFC to help today’s “children of resistance” – kids whose activist parents have been targeted because of their work to combat racism, protest police brutality, preserve civil liberties, safeguard the environment, wage peace, and organize on behalf of immigrants, workers, prisoners, queer and trans people, and others whose lives are under threat.