This spring we awarded 75 grants totaling $190,487. Ten are new awards and 65 are renewals. We received more new requests for aid than we have in almost a decade, while continuing to support existing members of the RFC community.
NEW GRANTS
1-6. Striking Students Assaulted & Arrested. $6000 for educational support for six student leaders of the strike to repeal the new $800 student fee at the University of Puerto Rico, which is preventing a third of the student body (over 5000 students) from continuing their education. Despite armed police, choke holds, unlawful detainment, and sexual assaults, these targeted activist youth organized peaceful protests and political theatre, built coalitions with community groups and unions, and fought to keep their public university accessible for all. The Ozzy Klate Memorial Fund (see www.rfc.org/namedfunds) will cover $1000 of this grant to support a young drama major who has been a leader of the strike. PR
7-8. George and Edith Ziefert Fund. $2105 for summer camp and extra-curricular activities for the five and six-year-old daughters from two families. The parents are members of peace and international solidarity groups who’ve refused to testify before Grand Juries investigating whether these activists should be charged with providing material support for terrorism. IL, MN
9. Father Disabled by Police Attack. $1954 for educational support for the 18-year-old son of medical marijuana activists. The parents were imprisoned, and the father suffered permanently debilitating physical assaults. OR
10. Youth Organizes for Immigrants’ Rights. $1600 for educational support, including a Carry It Forward (CIF) award,* for the 23-year-old targeted activist youth who has endured a torrent of threats and hate mail for publicly asserting her rights while proclaiming her undocumented status. CA
(*CIF awards of $600 are given to 18 to 24-year-olds to help pay for the cost associated with college or similar programs designed to prepare them for adult life.)
RENEWALS
11-17. Parents Fight for Better Environment, Racial Equality. $25,996 for a range of programs for 16 children, aged two to 14, from seven families. Three mothers and a father were beaten and arrested while marching against environmental racism, others were attacked and/or imprisoned for their community organizing work. GA, NY
18-19. Muslim Peace Activists Targeted. $15,120 for school tuition and an Attica Fund Prison Visit grant* for the seven children, aged five to 17, of two Muslim men convicted of terrorist-related money laundering after an FBI sting targeted them for their public anti-war activities and support for a local mosque. NY
(*Attica Fund Prison Visit grants enable the children and grandchildren of political prisoners to visit their jailed loved ones. See story inside.)
20-23. Children and Parents Working Together for Peace. $13,039 for cultural and educational programs and two CIF awards for 10 children, aged six to 22, whose families are members of several pacifist communities. Parents and teenaged children have engaged in peaceful anti-war protests and many of the parents have been imprisoned for civil disobedience. ME, NY, VA
24. Son Targeted for His Own Activism. $7500 for educational support for the five children, aged five to 15, whose father, himself the son of a political prisoner, was fired for giving a lecture supporting political prisoners. GA
25. Father Charged for Protesting with His Children. $7500 for a computer, and music, theatre and dance lessons for the six children, aged six to 17, whose father was arrested at a peaceful demonstration. He was also charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor for bringing his kids with him. NC
26. Family Threatened by KKK. $7495 for summer camp and educational support for five children, aged six to 15, of an activist who received death threats from the Klan for her efforts to desegregate a public housing complex. OR
27. Activist Mother Forced Out of Job. $5910 for childcare, summer programs, and dance and music lessons for the four children, aged five to 16, whose mother’s support for an arrested Muslim caused her boss to pressure her to find another job. GA
28. Sons Flee with Mother. $4550 for after-school and sports programs for three sons, aged seven, 10, and 15, whose mother was threatened with prison for helping low-income families. TX
29. Father Fights for His Community. $4000 for educational support for the twin 12-year-old daughters of a community activist targeted for his organizing efforts on behalf of students, the homeless, and low-income communities. GA
30. Mother Threatened with Loss of Son. $4000 for childcare and after-school programs for the three-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son whose mother, a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community activist, was threatened by the state with the removal of her son because of her activism. OR
31. Anti-Racist Activism Costs Family. $4000 for educational support for the four and six-year-old daughters whose mother was targeted for advocating for graduate students’ rights and dismissed from her graduate program. As a result, she lost her job teaching at the university. GA
32. Children’s Home Raided. $3800 for summer camp for the 13 and 14-year-old daughters whose father was harassed by the police for his role in organizing demonstrations against corporations that produce genetically modified foods. MN
33. Vieques Activist. $3650 for educational support, sports programs and a CIF award for the three children, aged 14 to 20, whose father was jailed for protesting. PR
34. Iraq War Resister. $3587 for cooking classes, a camera, a guitar and educational support for the four children, aged seven to 17, whose father served a four-month sentence for refusing to redeploy to Iraq. CO
35. Mayor Targets Mother. $3500 for music, art and dance lessons for the nine-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter whose mother, an anti-environmental racism activist, was harassed for requesting to know a city council member’s position on locating a soil processing plant in her low-income community. PA
36. Father Prosecuted for Anti-Missile Shield Action. $3200 for gymnastics, Aikido, counseling and a CIF award for the four children, aged 12 to 18, whose father faced up to six years in prison for his symbolic, non-violent action. OK
37. Daughters Assaulted. $3000 for school tuition for the nine and 14-year-old daughters and 17-year-old son whose mother, an anti-female genital mutilation activist, was forced to flee Guinea with her children after two of her daughters were attacked in retaliation for her work. NY
38. Young Son Reunited with Father. $3000 to allow a five-year-old son to visit his father who refused to be deployed to Iraq, fled to Canada, and became active in that country’s anti-war movement. For the 15 months that the father was in the brig, his son only saw him once, more than a year ago. Canada
39. Iraqi Refugee Children. $3000 for educational support and music lessons for the 13-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son whose mother worked to assist civilians in Baghdad shortly after the 2003 U.S. invasion. She was kidnapped, beaten and forced to flee. IL
40. Journalist Harassed. $3000 for educational programs for the six-year-old daughter and eight-year-old son whose father, a journalism student, was questioned by the FBI and subpoenaed after reporting on police brutality and racial profiling on his college campus. TX
41. Camp for Son. $3000 for a performing arts summer camp for the 15-year-old son of an anti-war activist who was accused of being part of a terrorist-sympathizing organization (a pacifist group), and sent to jail for 45 days for attempting to hand-deliver a letter to the president of a major war contractor. CT
42. Another Iraq War Resister. $3000 for martial arts lessons for the 16-year-old twin daughters of an incarcerated conscientious objector. CA
43. Repeatedly Imprisoned Vieques Activist. $2000 for school tuition for the 16-year-old son of a leader of the struggle to free Vieques. PR
44. Father Imprisoned for Refusing to Fight. $2000 for counseling for the 11-year-old daughter of an Army sergeant who served a year in prison after refusing redeployment to Iraq. He is the co-founder of the first anti-war organization of Iraq war veterans. FL
45. Activist’s Life Threatened. $2000 for guitar, dance and piano lessons for the 16-year-old daughter whose labor organizer father fled Ecuador after being targeted by death squads. IL
46. Father Fought for Indigenous Rights. $2000 for recreational and therapeutic programs for the 13-year-old son of a deceased Native American prisoners’ rights activist. NM
47. Five Years for Demonstrating. $1780 for educational support for the 12-year-old daughter whose father was imprisoned for protesting the Navy’s use of Vieques as a bombing range. PR
48. Mother Continues Family Legacy of Activism. $1750 for recreational programs and summer camp for the three children, aged four to 11, whose mother, the daughter of a targeted activist, has been arrested, beaten, harassed and jailed for her own civil rights activism. OR
49. Father Fired for Reporting the Truth. $1700 for sports programs and a CIF award for the 11-year-old son and the 19-year-old daughter whose father, an independent journalist, was fired and blacklisted for covering controversial topics. MN
50. Daughter of Green Scare Defendant. $1700 for violin lessons and counseling for the six-year-old daughter whose environmental activist mother was sentenced to six years in prison under new “domestic terrorism” legislation which allows prosecutors to seek lengthy sentences for property crimes in which no one was injured. CA
51. Puerto Rican Environmental Hero Attacked. $1557 for music lessons and educational support for the 16-year-old son of an environmental activist repeatedly incarcerated for his non-violent actions to force the Navy out of Vieques. PR
52. Mother Disabled by Beating. $1515 for Aikido and music lessons for the 12-year-old daughter whose mother was attacked during a Republican National Convention. WA
53. Daughter Loses Job. $1500 for educational support for the 17-year-old daughter whose mother, herself the daughter of a political prisoner, experienced police persecution as a child. As an adult, she was fired after her boss learned of her support for political prisoners. GA
54. Former Puerto Rican Political Prisoner. $1500 for school tuition for the 16-year-old daughter whose father was jailed for fighting for Puerto Rican independence. PR
55. Mother Fights to End Torture. $1500 for piano lessons and ice skating classes for the six-year-old daughter whose mother provided advocacy and assistance to women whose rights had been violated in her home country. She was detained and arrested before seeking refuge in the U.S. IL
56. Father Dies in Exile. $1500 for tutoring for the 18-year-old son whose recently deceased father, a COINTELPRO target, was forced to flee the country. AL
57. Mother Beaten, Arrested. $1500 for tutoring for the 15-year-old son whose mother, an animal rights activist, suffered numerous beatings, arrests, and a miscarriage at the hands of the police. PA
58. Second Generation Activist Father. $1500 for a summer theatre program for the 10-year-old daughter whose father, himself the son of an African American political prisoner, has been targeted by police for years because of his father, and for his own efforts on behalf of political prisoners. PA
59. Summer Fun for Sons. $1476 for music classes and recreational programs for the 11 and 14-year-old sons of a formerly incarcerated prisoners’ rights activist. VT
60. Parents Face Threat of Deadly Force. $1269 for music lessons for the eight-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter whose parents, members of a pacifist community, have been arrested for numerous protests at an Air Force base near their home. CA
61. Jailers Threaten to Burn Children. $1200 for sports programs and summer camp for the 11-year-old son of a refugee women’s rights activist who was tortured and whose children were threatened by her Iranian jailers. OK
62. Youth Fights Shooting Ranges at His School. $1000 Development Grant* for the targeted activist youth who protested the presence of JROTC shooting ranges on his high school campus and against the removal of college prep courses from the curriculum. In retaliation, his principal banned him from his own commencement ceremony, even though he was graduating with honors. CA
(*Development Grants of up to $1000 are given to targeted activist youth to further their education, support their emotional needs or develop their organizing skills.)
63. Daughter of Imprisoned Native American Environmental Activist. $950 for violin lessons and a summer theater program for the eight-year-old daughter whose father served an eight-month sentence for destroying traps set for mountain lions. MI
64. Anti-Globalization Political Prisoner. $900 for a summer music program for the 15-year-old daughter of a formerly incarcerated anarchist and anti-globalization political prisoner released after spending over seven years behind bars. OR
65. Grandmother, Mother Fight for Activists. $385 for guitar lessons for the 11-year-old daughter whose mother and grandmother were arrested, detained and tortured for protesting students’ human rights violations in their North African home country, and ultimately fled to the U.S. IL
CIF AWARDS
66-74. CIF Awards. $7800 for 10 beneficiaries, aged 19 to 22, from nine families.
ATTICA PRISON VISIT PROGRAM GRANTS
75. Attica Award. $2000 for a 21-year-old beneficiary to visit her incarcerated mother. PA