Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are people who want crops without ploughing the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning; they want the ocean without the roar of its many waters. The struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, or it may be both. But it must be a struggle.
- Frederick Douglass
 
It might be too early to tell if the #BlackLivesMatter movement will be inked in history books, but the moral clarity and the physical bravery that it has embodied have already drawn parallels to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
 
And what the Civil Rights Movement (and so many before and after) so clearly expressed is that the struggle for rights is paramount. Whether they be rights for people of color, women, immigrants, young people, workers, the LGBTQ community, or mother earth - the struggle for the rights of people and the planet over profit and power is a continuous one that grassroots activists are engaged in every single day of the year.
 
That is why Resist's General Support Grants go out every two months and why our Emergency and Technical Assistance Grants go out continuously throughout the year.  Grassroots organizing and action isn't a once or twice a year event, and providing the necessary financial support shouldn't be either.
 
This past grant cycle your support went to 27 frontline groups that are, as Frederick Douglass so poetically put it, ploughing the ground, generating the thunder and lightning, and making roaring waves for the rights of people and the planet.

• I Did the Time in Spokane, Washington "envision(s) a world where the formerly arrested or incarcerated have the opportunity to fully recover and reintegrate into society with safe and stable housing and meaningful occupations. We hope to educate the public to reduce stigma associated with past offenses by engaging those who represent and support us in political action."
• VAMOS Unidos in New York, New York has a "vision...to develop a strong, empowered base and leadership of low-income workers who are politically conscious, economically self sufficient, and able to win change on local and national policies. Our vision is grounded on the importance of social justice at the local, national, and global level by understanding the root causes and connection of our struggles with those in other communities."
• Springfield No One Leaves in Springfield, Massachusetts "organize(s) residents most directly impacted by the housing crisis and economic inequality to build collective power, defend against displacement, and win long-term community ownership and control over land and housing. Through direct action campaigns, building community solidarity, leadership development, and political education we empower and train residents to be leaders and organizers for a broad social justice movement."

You can check out all of Resist's grantees in our new database of grantees and stories about their work and victories in our news section. 
 
Thank you for all of your support in 2014 and looking forward to continuing this momentum into 2015!
 
For the struggle,
 
Saif Rahman
Director of Communications, Resist
 
P.S. There have been many inspiring victories this year, but here are a few very recent ones to end the year!

• The Cuban Five are free!  A big congratulations to all of the activists who have been working on Cuba and to free the Cuban Five, with a special thank you to grantee International Committee for the Freedom of the Cuban 5.
• Fracking ban in New York State! Thank you to all of the groups who fought to ban fracking in New York State, including grantee Alliance for a Green Economy.
• Pilot program for a Youth Pass on MBTA is enacted! Huge congratulations to all of those who have been organizing for a Youth Pass on public transportation in Massachusetts, including grantee Youth Affordabilit(T) Coalition.