A couple weeks ago we posted about the London exhibition "J’Accuse," by Nicole Farhi, that features sculptures of 25 victims of injustice (including Ethel Rosenberg). As a follow up, we've just learned and are sharing this article about Ethel Rosenberg biographer Anne Sebba's recent visit to the exhibition. Sebba's book, "Ethel Rosenberg: An American Tragedy," inspired Farhi's inclusion of Ethel Rosenberg's sculpture in her collection.
On this World Art Day, sharing a sobering exhibition by artist and former fashion designer Nicole Farhi. Entitled "J’Accuse," the piece displays 25 busts of victims of injustices, serving time in prison—or facing a death sentence—for an offense they did not commit. Among the faces is Ethel Rosenberg, who was wrongly convicted and executed during the McCarthy era for conspiracy to commit espionage.
Happy birthday to Paul Robeson, a man who was solidarity personified. He was a fierce civil rights and antifascist activist, a talented musician and a supporter of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg—he even participated in a rally to save the Rosenbergs before their execution in 1953. His legacy continues to be an inspiration to us all.
Read more: https://progressive.org/latest/Remembering-Paul-Robeson-VonBlum-2023040…
On this day in 1951, just one week after Ethel and Julius Rosenberg's conviction, Judge Irving Kaufman issued the death sentence.
Anne Sebba writes in her biography, "Ethel Rosenberg: An American Tragedy" that Kaufman consulted the prosecution and the U.S. government before their sentencing. While FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover argued against the death penalty, arguing for it was Roy Cohn, a prosecutor on the Rosenberg Case who later became a mentor and fixer to a young Donald Trump.
As the RFC's spring granting period comes to a close, our staff and Board are hard at work reviewing applications from targeted activist youth and kids whose parents are ex-political prisoners, racial justice organizers, peace activists taking a stand against genocide, survivors of police violence, authors facing book bans for uplifting queer youth, and much more.
The outreach for potential new grantees was especially intense this cycle given the ongoing assault on protest, free speech and outspoken activists.
On this day in 1951 in a Manhattan courthouse, a jury found both Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, as well as their co-defendant Morten Sobell, guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage.
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were wrongfully convicted and executed at the height of the McCarthy era—we understand the extreme danger of the current administration thrusting the U.S. back into the Red Scare days. The recent unlawful arrest and detention of Mahmoud Khalil, the targeting of Yunseo Chung and too many others is a warning sign of what's to come.
On this day in 1951 began the trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, who were falsely accused of passing the "secret of the nuclear bomb" to the Soviet Union. Two years later the pair was unjustly executed.
Almost 100 years before in 1857, another important legal case with an appalling outcome occurred on the same day on March 6th. The Supreme Court released their wildly unjust decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford, ruling "that Scott, an enslaved person, was not an American citizen and therefore could not sue for his freedom in Federal court."
Ali Abbasi's 2024 film "The Apprentice" tells the story of Roy Cohn—the prosecutor who helped send Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, wrongfully, to the electric chair in 1953—and his molding and mentoring of a young Donald Trump.
We are incredibly gratified to share that on February 10th, Mass. Congressman Jim McGovern made a speech on the House floor to share Ethel Rosenberg's story and issue an apology to the Rosenberg/Meeropol family. This was the first time a sitting politician in Washington has made a public admission of the tragedy of Ethel's execution, admonishing a government that would allow such an injustice. Her family was moved to tears by the gesture.