This fall the RFC made 79 grants totaling $198,487; 2 are new awards and 77 are renewals. As we celebrate the end of the most repressive era since McCarthyism, we recognize the amazing generosity of our supporters, which allowed us to award over $1.5 million during just the last four years. While we hope the new administration ends policies targeting activists, we know it will be a long road back to respecting human rights at home and abroad. Regardless of whether improvements occur, the Board remains committed to supporting these individuals and their families.
New Grants
1. Two Generations of Activists. $2500 for educational and recreational programs for the three children, aged two to eight, whose mother, the daughter of a targeted activist, has worked for children's, women's and poor people's rights and against racism. She has been arrested, beaten, harassed and jailed for her activism. OR
2. FBI Harassed Parents. $2000 for educational travel in South America for the 15-year-old son whose activist parents have been arrested repeatedly for engaging in nonviolent civil disobedience in opposition to war, nuclear weapons and torture. CT
Renewals
3. Herman Warsh Memorial Fund Award. A $2500 Special Travel award* to study Latin American social movements for the 22-year-old activist targeted by his college for organizing campus groups. He was threatened with expulsion for putting up flyers and holding meetings and peaceful protests. College authorities handed him over to the Secret Service after he called the President a war criminal at a speech he gave on campus. NY
(* Special Travel awards are one-time awards that serve an important developmental or educational purpose for young people entering adulthood.)
(TO LEARN MORE ABOUT NAMED FUNDS, CLICK HERE.)
4. Clinton E. Jencks Memorial Fund Award. $5360 for cultural, recreational and educational programs for the four children, aged three to 13, whose mother lost her job because of her organizing efforts. Her boss suggested she find a job where she would "feel more at home." (The Jencks Fund will cover $2000 of this grant.) GA
(TO LEARN MORE ABOUT NAMED FUNDS, CLICK HERE.)
5-10. Parents Fight for Better Environment, Racial Equality. $20,200 for educational and cultural programs for 12 children, aged four to 11, from six families. Several parents were beaten and arrested while marching against environmental racism, others were attacked and/or imprisoned for their community organizing work. NY, GA
11-16. Intergenerational Activist Communities Work for Peace. $15,117 for a variety of cultural, educational and recreational programs, including two Carry It Forward (CIF) awards*, for 13 children, aged four to 23, who are members of several radical 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
(*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.)
17-19. Muslims Targeted for Anti-War Efforts. $11,000 for educational programs and an Attica award* for the seven children, aged seven to 14, of two Muslim men convicted of terrorist-related money laundering as a result of an FBI sting targeting them for their public anti-war activities and support for a local Mosque. NY
(*Attica Fund Prison Visit awards enable the children and grandchildren of political prisoners to visit their jailed loved ones.)
20. Second Generation Organizer. $7500 for school tuition for the four daughters, aged nine to 18, and the four-year-old son whose father, himself the son of a political prisoner, was fired for giving a lecture supporting political prisoners. GA
21. Family Threatened by KKK. $6725 for educational programs for six children, aged four to 15, whose activist mother received death threats from the Klan for her efforts to desegregate a public housing complex. OR
22-25. Children of Political Prisoners. $5,600 for tutoring, dance and music lessons, and sports programs for seven children and grandchildren, aged four to 12, who are members of the same African American community and whose parents and grandparents are political prisoners. PA
26. Sons, Mother Flee. $5550 for educational and sports programs and childcare for four sons, aged five to 17, whose mother was threatened with prison for trying to address the needs of low income families. TX
27. Daughters Assaulted. $4800 for school tuition for the four daughters, aged six to 16, whose mother was forced to flee Guinea with her children after two of them were attacked in retaliation for the mother’s work to end female genital mutilation. NY
28. Anti-War Father. $4625 for music lessons for the 17-year-old son and a Special Travel award and CIF award for the 20-year-old daughter whose father is unable to work due to his anti-war activities. MO
29. Freedom Fighter. $3600 for educational and cultural programs for the 12-year-old son and 13 and 17-year-old daughters of a formerly incarcerated Vieques activist. PR
30. Educational Support for Sons of Reproductive Rights Activist. $3,600 for a computer, a CIF award and educational assistance for the three sons, aged 18 to 23, of a targeted reproductive rights activist. NJ
31. Father’s Life Threatened. $3200 for music lessons for the 13 and 17-year-old daughters whose labor activist father fled Ecuador after being targeted by death squads. IL
32-33. Children of Imprisoned Native American Environmental Activist. $3200 for music lessons and an Attica award for the six-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son whose environmental activist father served an eight-month sentence for destroying traps set for mountain lions. MI
34. Father Assassinated. $3100 for a Special Travel award and a CIF award for the 20-year-old son whose activist father was killed for his efforts to organize for peace and social justice in Central America. CA
35. Iraq War Resister. $3061 for educational support for the five and six-year-old daughters and 11 and 14-year-old sons whose father served a four-month sentence for refusing to return to Iraq. CO
36. Program for Children of Torture Survivors. $3000 for a support group for 20 youth, aged three to 18, whose activist parents are survivors of torture in their home countries. The parents, many of whom come from West Africa, were health workers documenting the incidence of AIDS, community organizers, political leaders fighting corruption, and educators who addressed human rights issues in their classes. PA
37. Journalist Harassed. $3000 for educational and cultural programs for the 4-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son whose activist father, an independent reporter, was visited by the FBI and subpoenaed after reporting on police brutality and racial profiling at protests. CA
38. 21 Months in Prison for Cutting a Fence. $3000 for educational support for the nine and 12-year-old daughters and 11-year-old son of a formerly incarcerated Vieques activist. PR
39. Jailers Threaten to Burn Children. $2900 for childcare and educational programs for the nine-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter of a refugee women’s rights activist who was brutally tortured and whose children were threatened by her Iranian jailers. VA
40. Father Refused to Fight. $2600 for recreational programs for the twin 13-year-old daughters whose father, a conscientious objector to the Iraq War, was denied CO status and served time in prison for refusing to redeploy. CA
41. Mother Took on Army. A $2500 Special Travel award to study in China for the 20-year-old daughter whose mother was harassed for organizing against racism and sexism in the Army Corps of Engineers. GA
42. Father Protested Training Torturers. A $2500 Special Travel award to volunteer in South America for the 25-year-old daughter whose father was targeted by his employer for organizing against their contract with the Indonesian military to teach military officers attached to a unit that had committed human rights violations and atrocities in East Timor. CA
43. Family Forced to Flee. $2100 for educational support and a CIF award for the 12 and 18-year-old daughters whose father, a Guatemalan human rights activist, was forced to flee their country after receiving death threats. IL
44. Circus Program for Daughter. $2000 for cultural programs for the 16-year-old daughter whose father, a Native American journalist, was fired and blacklisted for expressing progressive views while covering controversial topics. MN
45. Child Forced into Homeless Shelter. $2000 for a computer for the 15-year-old son whose mother is a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) activist forced from their home after participating in a gay pride parade. OR
46. Daughter of Political Prisoner. $2000 for tuition at a performing arts school for the 17-year-old daughter of a Black Panther exonerated after 27 years in prison. CA
47. Young Children’s Home Raided. $2000 for cultural programs and educational support for the 10 and 12-year-old daughters whose father was harassed by the police for his role in organizing demonstrations against corporations that produce genetically modified foods. MN
48. Father Fought for Global Justice. $2000 for therapy for the 17-year-old daughter of a formerly incarcerated anti-imperialist political prisoner. CA
49. Five Years for Demonstrating. $2000 for educational support for the nine-year-old daughter whose father was jailed for protesting the Navy’s use of Vieques as a bombing range. PR
50. Mother Beaten, Pepper-Sprayed. $2000 for tuition for the seven-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter whose mother, an African American community organizer, was targeted by the local police. GA
51. Son of COINTELPRO Target Harassed for his Activism. $2000 for educational support for the twin 10-year-old daughters of a second-generation activist targeted for his own organizing efforts on behalf of students, the homeless and low-income communities. GA
52. Father Fought for Puerto Rican Independence. $1500 for educational support for the 13-year-old daughter whose father is a former political prisoner. PR
53. State Threatened to Take Son. $1500 for after-school programs for the nine-year-old son whom the state threatened to remove from his mother because she was a GLBT community activist. OR
54. Libertad Para Puerto Rico. $1500 for educational support for the 17-year-old granddaughter of a former political prisoner. PR
55. Father Endured Solitary Confinement. $1402 for music lessons for the nine and 11-year-old sons of a formerly incarcerated prisoners’ rights activist. VT
56. Puerto Rican Environmental Hero Attacked. $1210 for educational support for the 14-year-old son of an activist repeatedly incarcerated and fined for his non-violent actions to force the Navy out of Vieques. PR
57. Mother Disabled by Beating. $1200 for tuition for the 10-year-old daughter whose mother, a targeted activist youth, was attacked by police during the 2000 Republican National Convention. WA
58. Repeatedly Imprisoned Activist. $1200 for educational support for the 13-year-old son of a leader of the struggle to free Vieques. PR
59. GLBT Leader Attacked. $1200 for school tuition for the 17-year-old girl whose grandmother, the founder of a grassroots organization, was attacked for advocating for the GLBT community. OR
60. Granddaughter of COINTELPRO Target. $1148 for tutoring and a community service trip to New Orleans for the 16-year-old granddaughter of an African American political prisoner. NY
61. Father Forced into Exile. $1120 for tutoring for the 15-year-old son whose father, a COINTELPRO target, was forced to flee the country. AL
62. Targeted Bosnian Refugee. $1000 for sports and recreational programs for the 16-year-old daughter of a refugee human rights activist. IL
63. Father Tortured by Police. $1000 for dance lessons for the 12-year-old daughter of a former Black Panther tortured in 1971 into falsely confessing to killing a police officer, and recently re-arrested for the murder based on the coerced confession. FL
64. Mother Took on the Courts. $1000 for cultural programs for the 16-year-old son whose mother was targeted for organizing against the re-victimization of domestic violence survivors by the court system. MA
65. Father Disappeared, Mother and Daughter Flee. $1000 for an educational enrichment program for the 13-year-old daughter of an activist father who was "disappeared" during the Guatemalan civil war for his opposition to the military. IL
66. Anti-Globalization Political Prisoner. $750 for educational support and music lessons for the 12-year-old daughter of a formerly incarcerated anti-globalization political prisoner released after spending over seven years in prison. OR
67. Father Released. $255 for sports lessons for the 12-year-old son whose father organized against police brutality and served two years on trumped-up charges. AZ
CIF awards
68-76. CIF awards. $5160 for nine beneficiaries, aged 18 to 24. CA, CT, IL, MA, NY, PR
Attica Prison Visit Program Grants
77-79. Attica awards. $6000 for four beneficiaries, aged three to 23, from three families, to visit incarcerated loved ones. CA
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