MOTD: Aug 02, 2023

James Baldwin in the South of France in November 1979. (Ralph Gatti / Getty Images)
MOTD
Born on this day in 1924, James Baldwin would have turned 99 years old this year. Baldwin was once a pupil of Abel Meeropol, the high school English teacher who wrote "Strange Fruit" and, along with… Read More

MOTD: Jul 31, 2023

Deborah Jane, the screenwriter and Executive Producer of Strange Fruit: The Hip-Hopera
MOTD
Today’s #StrangeFruitMOTD reports on the premiere of a new film, “Deborah Jane, the screenwriter and Executive Producer of 'Strange Fruit: The Hip-Hopera,' is the first Black woman filmmaker to ever… Read More

MOTD: Jul 13, 2023

CIRCA 1963: Rhythym and Blues Singer Joe Hinton poses for publicity photo circa 1963. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
MOTD
Today's Strange Fruit Mention of the Day: Protest songs in honor of Black Music Month (in June), featuring Joe Hinton and Billie Holiday.

MOTD: Jul 07, 2023

Brooklyn photographer Jon Henry’s photo book “Stranger Fruit”
MOTD
Today’s Strange Fruit Mention of the Day: “Brooklyn-based photographer Jon Henry has spent the last nine years in the making of his project ‘Stranger Fruit,’ a book with photos of Black mothers from… Read More

MOTD: Jul 04, 2023

Singer songwriter Jean Rohe performing on stage with her acoustic guitar
MOTD
In what has become an annual 4th of July tradition, we’re sharing this remarkable alternative "National Anthem: Arise Arise" by activist artist and RFC friend, Jean Rohe.

MOTD: Jun 30, 2023

Image depicting a still screen from short film commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Rosenbergs' executions
MOTD
Now available to stream: "The Rosenberg Case 70 Years Later: Fighting Fascism Then and Now" For folks who missed either of our live screenings in June 2023 (or would like to rewatch or share it), our… Read More

MOTD: Jun 26, 2023

Fishbone, photo by Pablo Mathiason
MOTD
Today’s #StrangeFruitMOTD comes courtesy of an update of the classic song entitled, "Estranged Fruit” from Fishbone featuring NOFX.

MOTD: Jun 20, 2023

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Illustration by Elizabeth Von Blum.
MOTD
Today's #RosenbergMOTD is this excellent essay by Paul Von Blum in Truthdig, which begins, "On that June 19th evening in 1953, I was a small kid in a suburb of Philadelphia, concerned above all with… Read More

MOTD: Jun 16, 2023

Ethel and Julius Rosenberg prison visit, separated by mesh wire fencing.
MOTD
BREAKING: Rosenberg sons Michael and Robert Meeropol call on Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to direct the NSA and the National Archives to declassify hundreds of thousands of pages… Read More

MOTD: Jun 05, 2023

A George Floyd mural in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
MOTD
Today's Strange Fruit Mention of the Day comes from Cassie Williams’ powerful “poem and essay on black motherhood—and life, ‘Even Breathing Is Strange: Reflections on the 3rd Anniversary of George… Read More

MOTD: May 02, 2023

Harry Belafonte (center) with Burt Lancaster (left) and Charlton Heston (right) inside the Lincoln Memorial during the "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom" on Aug. 28, 1963 in Washington, D.C.
MOTD
Thank you to Renée Graham of the Boston Globe for this thoughtful tribute to the late, great Harry Belafonte. We loved this sentiment and are honored for our organization to be counted among the… Read More

MOTD: Apr 28, 2023

Billie Holiday
MOTD
Earlier this month on April 20th marked the anniversary of Billie Holiday recording "Strange Fruit" in 1939. The song was originally written by Abel Meeropol, a Jewish activist, poet, and high school… Read More

MOTD: Apr 26, 2023

Paul Robeson
MOTD
Earlier this month marked Paul Robeson's 125th birthday. Robeson was a fierce civil rights and antifascist activist, musician and a supporter of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg (he even participated in a… Read More

MOTD: Apr 15, 2023

“Angels in America” plays at Arena Stage through April 23. Courtesy Arena Stage.
MOTD
Today's Rosenberg Mention of the Day comes from Washington, D.C. where the Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater will present a free, one-night-only reading of "Angels in America" on… Read More

MOTD: Apr 07, 2023

Billie Holiday
MOTD
Happy birthday to activist artist Billie Holiday, born #OnThisDay in 1915. She is perhaps best known for her performances of Abel Meeropol's powerful anti-lynching song, "Strange Fruit."

MOTD: Mar 21, 2023

Sculpture "Strange Fruit" by Claudia McGinness crafted in the shape of a thorny tree growing roots, wrapped in chains. Materials include wire and red beads.
MOTD
Today's Strange Fruit Mention of the Day comes to us from Torri Williams, a Coalition Leader of the Marion Community Remembrance Project. The city of Marion in Indiana served as the inspiration for… Read More

MOTD: Mar 09, 2023

Ethel and Julius Rosenberg at Sing Sing
MOTD
The RFC's spring newsletter is here! This issue is especially packed with news and updates as June 19th will mark 70 years since the Rosenbergs' executions. The RFC will be commemorating the… Read More

MOTD: Mar 02, 2023

Illustrated book cover for "Ethel's Song / Ethel Rosenberg's Life in Poems" by Barbara Krasner. The design includes a drawing of Ethel Rosenberg wearing a blue short sleeved collared shirt with her fist raised in the air. Words and phrases are spelled out around her in white, yellow and black text, such as "On strike against meager wages and increased working hours at the same pay"
MOTD
Book Riot issued a list of 8 contemporary Jewish fiction books, and among them is "Ethel's Song: Ethel Rosenberg's Life in Poems," a collection written for teenaged readers by Barbara Krasner. (You… Read More
Donate