March 1, 1943 A huge rally in New York City’s Madison Square called on the U.S. government to reconsider its refusal to offer sanctuary to Jewish refugees of Nazi Germany.
March 1, 1954 Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific Day, or Bikini Day, marks the anniversary of the explosion of the largest-ever U.S. nuclear weapon which contaminated major parts of the Marshall Islands [see February 28, 1954]. The land and people of the south Pacific have been exposed to numerous nuclear bomb tests and their radioactive aftermath. In addition to the 67 atmospheric U.S. tests at Bikini and Eniwetok Atolls, France tested 193 weapons in French Polynesia, 46 in theatmosphere. The U.K. exploded 34 devices on Malden and Christmas Islands.The day is also intended to call attention to the potential danger of the increasing trans-oceanic shipment of hazardous nuclear materials, and the need of nuclear and shipping nations to consider the rights and health of the indigenous peoples of the region. The proposed South Pacific Nuclear-Free Zone Treaty
March 1, 1956 The University of Alabama permanently expelled Autherine Lucy, the first African-American person ever admitted to the University (following a federal court’s ordering her admission).She was met with rioting by thousands of students (none of whom were disciplined) and others. She charged in court that University officials had been complicit in allowing the disorder, as a means of avoiding compliance with the court order. The trustees expelled her for making such “ baseless, outrageous and unfounded charges of misconduct on the part of the university officials.” Burning desegregation litgerature at the University of Alabama. Students, adults and even groups from outside of Alabama shouted racial epithets, threw eggs, sticks and rocks, and generally attempted to block her way. Autherine Lucy Foster receives her master’s degree from University of Alabama in 1992. Autherine Lucy Foster ultimately received her master’s degree from the University of Alabama in library science in 1991, the same year her daughter, Grazia, earned her undergraduate degree. The University now grants an endowed scholarship annually in Lucy Foster’s name.
March 1, 1961 President John F. Kennedy issued Executive Order 10924 establishing the Peace Corps as a new agency within the Department of State. The same day, he sent a message to Congress asking for permanent funding for the agency, which would send trained American men and women to foreign nations to assist in development efforts. The Peace Corps captured the imagination of the U.S. public, and during the week following its creation, thousands of letters poured into Washington from young Americans hoping to volunteer. What is the Peace Corps today?(A happy surprise; the website is still up and functioning at 7:54 PM 2/28/25. -A)
March 1, 1974 Former top Nixon White House aides H.R. Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman, and former Attorney General John Mitchell, were indicted on obstruction of justice charges related to the Watergate break-in.
February 28, 1919 Gandhi, 1919 Mohandas Gandhi launched his campaign of non-cooperation with Imperial British control of India. He called his overall method of nonviolent action Satyagraha, formed from satya (truth) and agraha, used to describe an effort or endeavor. This translates roughly as “Truth-force.” A fuller rendering, though, would be “the force that is generated through adherence to Truth.” More on Satyagraha (civil disobedience) Excerpt from The Core of Gandhi’s Philosophy by Unto Tahtinen on the concept of Satyagraha
February 28, 1946 Ho Chi Minh, the leader of the newly formed Democratic Republic of Vietnam, facing re-imposition of French colonial rule over his country, sent a telegram to President Harry Truman: “. . . I most earnestly appeal to you personally and to the American people to interfere urgently in support of our independence and help making the negotiations more in keeping with the principles of the Atlantic and San Francisco charters [founding documents of the League of Nations and United Nations].”
February 28, 1954 The U.S. detonated its largest thermonuclear blast ever, in a test of a new hydrogen (fusion) weapon design in the atmosphere at Bikini Atoll, part of the Marshall Islands. Castle Bravo had an explosive yield of 15 megatons (equivalent to 15,000,000 tons of TNT), it was double the maximum possible expected by the Atomic Energy Commission. Carried out in spite of adverse weapon conditions (the monitoring station was downwind at the time of detonation), the unexpected yield created a radioactive fallout plume that contaminated three other atolls of the 29 in the Marshall chain. Though too late to avoid their contamination, hundreds of Marshallese and U.S. servicemen were evacuated.To avoid another such radiological disaster, future tests required an exclusion zone 1370 km in diameter (850 miles), an area equal to about 1% of the earth’s surface. Because Bikini had been essentially destroyed, subsequent test weapons were detonated from barges. All about Castle Bravo
February 28, 1958 The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) was founded in London by philosopher Sir Bertrand Russell, then 86 years old, and the Reverend Canon (Lewis) John Collins of St. Paul’s Cathedral.The peace symbol was originally developed for CND. History of the CND The CND today
February 28, 1989 The Nevada-Semipalatinsk Movement to Stop All Nuclear Testing was founded in the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). Olzhas Suleimenov, a popular Kazakh poet, was chosen to lead this first anti-nuclear non-governmental organization in Kazakhstan, formerly part of the USSR. Nevada-Semipalatinsk ended nuclear arms tests at the Semipalatinsk Polygon. Organizers had been inspired by the large Nevada Test Site anti-nuclear demonstrations and encampments outside Las Vegas in the mid-to-late 1980s. a Semipalatinsk test demo at Semipalatinsk, 1990 Read more
February 29, 1968 The National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (Kerner Commission) warned that racism was causing America to move “toward two societies, one black, one white – separate and unequal.” Former Illinois Governor Otto Kerner and his commission were charged by President Lyndon Johnson to look into the causes of the many riots that had taken place in recent years. The 1968 Kerner Commission Got It Right, But Nobody Listened
February 29, 1984 U.S. District Judge Miles W. Lord held the officers of A.H. Robins Company personally liable for the injuries caused by the intrauterine contraceptive device they had produced and sold, the Dalkon Shield. Eighteen women had died, and more than 300,000 ultimately claimed injury. The top three executives had to pay $4.6 million personally, and the company paid out $220 million in compensatory and $13 million in punitive damages to thousands of women.
Judge Miles W. Lord Judge Lord: “The whole cost-benefit analysis is warped. They say, well you can kill so many people if the benefits are great enough . . . Once they put a price on human life, all is lost. Life is sacred. Life is priceless.” He also criticized Robins’s legal strategy of requiring witnesses to discuss their sex lives: ”You exposed these women, and ruined families and reputations and careers, in order to intimidate those who would raise their voices against you,” he said. “You introduced issues that had no relationship whatsoever to the fact that you implanted in the bodies of these women instruments of death, mutilation and of disease.” Judge Lord was called before a review panel for his professional and judicial conduct in the case but the charges were dismissed and he continued to serve until retirement. Read about the case
This story was originally reported by Mel Leonor Barclay and Jasmine Mithani of The 19th. Meet Mel and Jasmine and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy.
Organizations that provide services to LGBTQ+ victims of domestic and intimate partner violence expect much of the federal funding they rely on to dry up as the Trump administration’s executive orders target the work they have been carrying out for years.
Some received direct notices from the federal government to stop work that promotes what the administration is calling “gender ideology extremism” and to include disclaimers on their websites that the federal government doesn’t support their mission.
Federal grants make up significant shares of operating budgets for many domestic violence nonprofits, and losing that funding puts their continued existence at risk.
Groups that focus specifically on LGBTQ+ victims are part of a broader network of federally funded nonprofits that provide life-saving counseling, housing and legal aid to people experiencing violence from spouses, partners or family members. Some nonprofits also train social workers, therapists and lawyers in how to work sensitively with LGBTQ+ victims of violence.
The White House has promised to slash funding for programs that don’t align with the administration’s ideology on gender, race and immigration.
Domestic violence groups and the broader network of gender-based violence nonprofits have been on high alert since a temporary federal freeze in late January, as The 19th reported this month. The vague language of President Donald Trump’s executive orders — “illegal” diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility activities; “gender ideology extremism” — has left organizations scrambling to figure out if they stand to lose federal funding.
Some are trying to protect their funding by removing language or resources that they fear may be at odds with the executive orders. The people leading groups founded specifically to support LGBTQ+ people say that for them, there is no hiding: The executive orders specifically target the people they are focused on serving.
“Some groups are making an effort to kind of change the way they talk about their services and the populations they serve. Our organization literally has the words gay and lesbian in our IRS name — we’re not fooling anybody. And obscuring what we do and who we serve doesn’t help those services stay accessible,” said Audacia Ray, the interim executive director of the New York City Anti-Violence Project, officially the New York City Gay And Lesbian Anti-Violence Project Inc., which supports LGBTQ+ and HIV-affected victims of violence.
LGBTQ+ Americans, with the exception of gay men, are more likely to have experienced domestic violence, partner abuse or dating violence than cisgender and heterosexual people. Queer women are significantly more likely to have experienced intimate-partner violence in their lifetime than straight women, according to an analysis of federal survey data by the Human Rights Campaign.
Transgender people are four times more likely to be victims of violent crime than cisgender people, according to research from the Williams Institute at UCLA. Fifty-four percent of respondents to the 2015 U.S. Trans Survey — the most recent data available — said they have experienced intimate partner violence, and 47 percent reported being sexually assaulted. Transgender people are also more likely to experience severe physical intimate partner violence than the average American.
Nonprofits serving victims of violence have long relied on federal funding, especially since the Violence Against Women Act created specialized grant programs 30 years ago. They receive little support from private philanthropy: Most recent data from the Equitable Giving Lab shows about 0.1 percent of charitable giving in the United States goes toward LGBTQ+ causes, and less than 2 percent goes toward women and girls.
“The danger of this moment is that it becomes very nebulous to people how federal funding contributes to the basic social safety net. There aren’t donors. There isn’t all this money,” said the executive director of a regional nonprofit serving LGBTQ+ victims of violence that receives about 40 percent of its funding from the federal government. The organization helps offer shelter and direct cash assistance, among other services, to LGBTQ+ people fleeing violence.
The executive director spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear that their organization would be targeted further by the Trump administration.
“When people are facing imminent threat of being murdered, and there are no resources to give people funding to flee that situation … it is going to result in more death. Truly, I believe that.”
The need for targeted LGBTQ+ services
Nonprofits focused specifically on LGBTQ+ communities sprung up to meet the specific needs of this population, which experiences higher incidences of violence and also discrimination based on gender-identity and sexual orientation.
LGBTQ+ people are vulnerable to abuse related to their identity, including threats of outing that could cost them housing, jobs or other relationships. Queer survivors are often isolated from typical support systems like family who could help them in an abusive situation. Transgender people are more likely to be killed by intimate partner violence, and the risk is increased for people of color, especially Black trans women.
Groups focused on LGBTQ+ survivors serve as a critical safety net for LGBTQ+ victims, often accepting referrals from national and local groups without tailored resources. The Hotline, a national nonprofit that supports victims of domestic violence, describes the “fear of not receiving services” as an obstacle “to reaching safety that LGBTQ+ people might confront.” It offers referrals to service providers focused on LGBTQ+ people – the same providers that are now staring down the loss of federal funding.
Given the executive orders, “there’s no universe in which some of the work doesn’t take a hit. I feel very clear about that,” said Ray of the New York City Anti-Violence Project. And at the same time, “we have to be able to answer the phone and support our community, who’s directly impacted by all this violence.”
NYCAVP runs a 24/7 hotline for victims of violence, as well as free long-term counseling, legal services and connections to support groups. About two-thirds of the organization’s budget comes from a mix of federal, state and local government grants. Most of its funding comes from programs targeting “underserved communities.”
Ray said that the New York City Anti-Violence Project, in addition to offering direct services to victims, including through its hotline, also spends resources advocating and advising lawmakers on legislation affecting LGBTQ+ people. For example, NYCAVP helped shape the 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, the first federal funding statute that banned discrimination based on actual or perceived gender identity and sexual orientation.
“My immediate thought was we will do what we do as long as we can, and we’re not preemptively laying people off or shutting anything down,” Ray said.
“We have a couple different contingency plans around, ‘What are the services that we need to prioritize and center, and how do we continue to do that as long as possible?’”
The executive director who spoke on condition of anonymity said their organization connected with more than 600 LGBTQ+ people facing abuse and violence in the past year. Some came as referrals from domestic and intimate partner violence organizations that weren’t equipped to serve them, or who were working with a victim needing relocation to a state less hostile to LGBTQ+ people. “It’s kind of like an informal witness protection program,” they said.
Without federal funding, they said, their ability to help these victims will significantly shrink.
How nonprofits are fighting back
In a lawsuit filed Thursday by Lambda Legal on behalf of nine nonprofits that receive federal funding, the plaintiffs argue that the Trump administration’s executive orders, including the order calling for the end of federal funding for activities that promote “gender ideology extremism,” amount to “an existential threat to transgender people.” They argue the orders are unconstitutional because they violate the groups’ free speech, due process and equal protection rights.
“The executive orders force plaintiffs to silence their speech and viewpoints… that are not only of great societal importance but also central to plaintiffs’ missions… or forgo federal funding,” the complaint reads. “That choice is an impossible one.”
Among the plaintiffs suing Trump is FORGE, one of the only organizations in the country focused on supporting transgender people experiencing intimate partner violence. FORGE trains providers who assist transgender and nonbinary survivors of sexual assault, intimate partner violence and hate crimes. The 30-year-old organization also connects victims with wellness services.
According to the case filing, 90 percent of FORGE’s funding is derived from federal grants, the highest out of any listed plaintiff. It has received grants from a wide range of agencies including the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the National Institutes of Health.
Several other plaintiffs that received funds from HHS programs, according to the complaint, were sent notices in late January to “immediately terminate, to the maximum extent, all programs, personnel, activities, or contracts promoting ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’” or, separately, “gender ideology.”
“Trans and nonbinary people are scared and hurting – not only from the high levels of violence so many of us experience every day, but also because of the dehumanizing, erasing, and damaging impact of the Executive Orders. For the past 30 years, FORGE has been committed to serving trans survivors of sexual assault, stalking, and hate-fueled harm. We are not going anywhere,” michael munson, executive director of FORGE, said in a statement. “Conditioning federal funding on rejecting transgender identity and DEI not only harms trans people, but it also creates a world that is less safe and less free for us all.”
Deleting language and resources
The National LGBTQ Institute on Intimate Partner Violence urged fellow providers to “hold the line together” and stand in solidarity with LGBTQ+, immigrant and BIPOC survivors in an email obtained by The 19th. The missive explicitly called upon organizations to continue serving LGBTQ+ survivors, to not take down materials tailored to the queer community and to keep pronouns on public-facing materials. It also cited previous reporting from The 19th detailing how some groups removed mentions of LGBTQ+ people from their websites.
“For organizations that have removed LGBTQ+ materials, we encourage that these materials be restored,” the statement read. “We urge organizations to not cede our collective power as a movement and back down in our work to protect LGBTQ+ survivors.”
The group reminded organizations in its network that federal law — the same law that the New York City Anti-Violence Center helped pass — makes it illegal to discriminate based on actual or perceived gender identity or sexual orientation. “These federal non-discrimination policies remain in place and give us power to protect transgender survivors in the work that we do,” the organization said.
The Los Angeles LGBT Center, where the institute is housed, declined to speak on the record, citing the current lawsuit.
Several days later, Respect Together, the umbrella organization of the National Sexual Violence Resource Center and the Pennsylvania Coalition to Advance Respect, publicly apologized for removing resources for LGBTQ+ people from their websites.
“Federal and state funding accounts for the vast majority of our operational budget, and as a result, we acted too swiftly to the news from the current administration,” the apology reads. “We heard you, and recognize that this was the wrong choice,” CEO Yolanda Edrington said in the statement. “We are committed to rebuilding trust, learning from this experience, and ensuring that our actions align with our mission to support survivors of all communities, their allies, and advocates.”
The Hotline, which had deactivated a page on LGBTQ+ resources earlier this month, has now restored it. The organization did not respond to a request for comment on the restoration, but told The 19th earlier this month that it was reviewing its website to protect its federal funding.
Even if groups commit to still serve all people in need, regardless of identity, removing resources adds friction. Visibility and ease of navigating resources when you are in need of services is important, said Tandra LaGrone, the CEO of In Our Own Voices, a nonprofit supporting LGBTQ+ people of color in upstate New York, which has received a grant from the Office on Violence Against Women.
The erasure of information can lead victims to feel like they are at fault, LaGrone said.
Ray said that it’s a big risk to not change their organization’s public-facing content in anticipation of a potential loss of funding, but they think holding steady is the right thing to do. Backing down won’t reduce violence, they said.
“I really believe that complying in advance of direct demands and being forced to change those programs is contributing to the overall violence against LGBT people,” Ray said. “That sort of advance compliance is extremely worrisome to me, because it shows that those orgs are concerned about the org as an institution more than they’re concerned about the community as a directly impacted population.”
Reviewing a directive from DCPAS Director Daniel J. Hester. This applies to DOD civilian personnel. On Friday the 28th, they “must terminate the employment of all individuals who are currently serving probationary or trial periods in the DOD.” The document lists categories of exception: positions “designated mission critical,” “political appointees.” There are a few other technical exception categories. Document signed yesterday.
Yesterday I saw a video from VA Secretary Doug Collins (former member of Congress from Georgia) bragging about how they were cutting $2 billion worth of what were clearly, in his estimation, worthless and stupid contracts. They were in fact almost one thousand different contracts tied to everything from medical and burial services to cancer prevention and doctor recruiting programs. I’ve posted that video below. This afternoon I received this email from a longtime reader …
I’m a contractor working for a service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) for 15 years. I’ve worked on projects with the Veterans Benefit Administration and the Veterans Health Administration. During that time, I’ve run marketing campaigns to get veterans to enroll in healthcare, conducted program evaluations and process improvement efforts, and provided strategic communications support.
I’ve been very proud of my work and the VA mission. But today I’m devastated. My contract was one of more than 800 that were canceled last night. The cancellations were not based on any evaluation. DOGE appears to have simply identified all professional services contracts and canceled them.
The cancellations will not only have a terrible impact on VHA healthcare, it will destroy hundreds of SDVOSBs because a great deal of VA contracts go to SDVOSBs. I don’t know how Republicans in Congress can let this destruction continue when so many of them profess to care deeply about veterans.
This afternoon, VA appears to have reversed course, now saying their going to review and potentially reverse at least some of the cancellations. “Under pressure, VA halts contract cancellations in major reversal” reads the WaPo headline. It goes on: “Records show the 875 contracts at issue included support for medical and burial services, cancer programs, and efforts to recruit doctors for critical vacancies.”
“I don’t have a lot of hope that they’ll reverse many,” the TPM Reader followed up.
The last Trump administration might not have introduced the concept of disinformation, but 2.0 has taken propaganda to a new dangerous level. Are we better equipped to combat it this time around?
But I have some ideas that might help. Here is what I have learned from my work as a debunker and a cross-border reporter with a background in breaking news, where you have to learn to protect yourself and your information:
Limit the time you spend consuming news. The news cycle is being deliberately weaponized to make you feel hopeless in ways that many journalists are unable or unwilling to understand and mitigate at the moment.
Limit your time on social media unless you can have trusted private networks. And even then don’t talk about anything unlawful. Save those conversations for face-to-face meetings.
Embrace physical media. Write things down. Send letters to each other. No, really.
It’s possible to step up and help when others won’t. We can learn from previous disasters and do better, if we work together.
Find and form trusted mutual aid networks.
Support your local libraries.
Do not waste your time appealing to authority that has demonstrated they are unwilling to fight for you. Fact-checking is always important, but it is only effective on its own in a healthy democracy. We are not in a healthy democracy.
Learn your regional history, particularly unresolved crimes against humanity such as slavery and genocide. Learn about vulnerable groups and how they are treated. Often, those painful histories are leveraged in the service of disinformation campaigns. Listen to marginalized people.
Follow people online who you have already observed having integrity. Give people the benefit of the doubt if you hear rumors. Do not give them the benefit of the doubt if you observe them engaging in bad behavior.
Toss toxic people out of your trusted networks.
Keep a journal. Write a few words in it every day, if you can; it doesn’t need to be a long letter to yourself. Writing down your thoughts will help you remember what you want to remember, and it will also provide you with a bulwark against weapons-grade gaslighting.
Take breaks and find joy somehow. This is going to really suck. Find or make a haven for yourself if you possibly can.
Take care of your health. Don’t forget to rest, eat, and hydrate. Find a place you can retreat and shut out the rest of the world if you have to.
Spend time with your loved ones.
Stand up for each other, even when it’s hard. (And it will be hard.)
We can get through this. But in order to do so, we all have to work together to debunk poisonous lies and preserve our memories and our thoughts, because that’s how we build resilience, real resilience, the type that gives us what we need in order to bounce back from the heartbreak and tragedies of the last few years and whatever is to come. We can do that if we work together, and the time to do so is now.
The earliest evidence that humans inhabited rainforests has been found in Africa, a surprising find which pushes human settlement in these habitats much further back than previously thought.
Modern humans, Homo sapiens, evolved about 300,000 years ago in Africa. The ecological and environmental circumstances in which our species evolved are still not well understood.
It is likely that our ape-like ancestors millions of years ago did live in dense rainforests. But the retreat of Africa’s forests and the spread of savannah and grasslands as Earth’s climate dried is usually linked to the evolution of bipedalism in early human ancestors as far back as 7 million years ago.
As a result, rainforests have often been overlooked as important habitats in the evolution of early modern humans.
New research published in Nature has put a dent in this assumption.
The evidence comes from a site which dates to 150,000 years ago in present-day Côte d’Ivoire on the southern coast of West Africa.
“Before our study, the oldest secure evidence for inhabitation in African rainforests was around 18,000 years ago and the oldest evidence of rainforest inhabitation anywhere came from southeast Asia at about 70,000 years ago,” says lead author Eslem Ben Arous, from Spain’s National Centre for Human Evolution Research (CENIEH) and the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Germany.
The site was first investigated in the 1980s when ancient stone tools were discovered. But the age of the tools and the ancient ecology couldn’t be determined with the technology of the day.
The trench initially excavated by Professor Guédé’s team was overgrown when researchers returned for the current study. Credit: Jimbob Blinkhorn, MPG.
“Several recent climate models suggested the area could have been a rainforest refuge in the past as well, even during dry periods of forest fragmentation,” says senior author Eleanor Scerri, from the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology. “We knew the site presented the best possible chance for us to find out how far back rainforest inhabitation extended.”
The anthropologists used several dating techniques including optically stimulated luminescence and electron-spin resonance to determine the stone tools were 150,000 years old.
Stone tools like this one, excavated at the Anyama site, reveal that humans were present at the rainforested site roughly 150,000 years ago. Credit: Jimbob Blinkhorn, MPG.
Sediment samples also showed the region was heavily wooded, with pollen and leaf waxes typically found in humid West African rainforests. Low levels of grass pollen show it wasn’t a narrow strip of forest either, but in a dense woodland.
This evidence suggests that some early modern humans lived in rainforests while others stuck to their grassland and savannah homes.
“Convergent evidence shows beyond doubt that ecological diversity sits at the heart of our species,” says Scerri. “This reflects a complex history of population subdivision, in which different populations lived in different regions and habitat types.
“We now need to ask how these early human niche expansions impacted the plants and animals that shared the same niche-space with humans. In other words, how far back does human alteration of pristine natural habitats go?”
“This exciting discovery is the first of a long list as there are other Ivorian sites waiting to be investigated to study the human presence associated with rainforest,” says Guédé.
The site which yielded these stone tools has since been destroyed by mining.
A difficult anniversary—and a moment to remember Ukraine by José Andrés
Supporting recovery efforts with the Longer Tables Fund Read on Substack
Today is a day that I’m thinking about the people of Ukraine. It’s been a special place to me over the last few years, where I’ve spent over 100 days on the ground, as the team from World Central Kitchen has worked to keep communities fed since the Russian invasion in 2022.
This week marks three years since the invasion…and the beginning of our work there, so I hope we can all take a moment to remember.
Over these three years, we’ve learned so much about resilience, about innovation, about community—the Ukrainian people have been an incredible example to the world for how to live bravely in the shadow of war, in constant fear of losing their homes, their farms, their lives.
Yuliya and me
I’m proud of the part that WCK has played in the country, with leaders like Yuliya Stefanyuk, our Ukrainian Response Director. Yuliya has been with WCK from the beginning, first working to coordinate meal production in Lviv, then expanding operations across the country. She’s played a critical role to establish our food distribution networks, secure partnerships, and to make sure that meals are reaching people in need, even in the hardest-hit areas.
And I’m also proud to share that through the Longer Tables Fund, I am continuing to support some amazing organizations and people in Ukraine, to keep recovery efforts moving forward.
You might not have heard me talking about the Longer Tables Fund yet, but it’s one of the things I’m most excited about these days. (No relation to our Longer Tables newsletter here, though it’s a good name, right?) I launched it in 2022—powered by the Bezos Courage and Civility Award that I was honored to receive in 2021—to support people and organizations who believe, like I do, that food has the potential to solve some of humanity’s biggest problems.
Its goal is to make change in three areas: local food systems, where we are aiming to transform the way humanity is producing, accessing, and consuming food; education, where we are hoping to inspire the next generation of food leaders; and (re)building communities, where we are using the power of food to help people build resilience after times of crisis.
In Ukraine, we’re supporting a few amazing organizations doing incredible work to help the nation and its people respond, recover, and rebuild. I want to tell you a little about them—and I hope you’re inspired too.
A dairy farm supported by SaveUA. Photo from saveua.in.ua.
SaveUA
I’m really excited to announce that the Longer Tables Fund is now supporting the work of SaveUA. Representing thousands of Ukrainian farmers, SaveUA is an organization made to help the country’s agricultural system build resilience to the shocks of war. Ukraine historically has been one of the most important breadbaskets in the region, growing grain for Europe and beyond. Ukraine’s energy grid is in crisis due to the ongoing war, leaving many communities without reliable access to power.
We’re helping SaveUA purchase generators for dairy farmers on the front lines. These generators are more than just a source of electricity…they’re a lifeline. They will power milking equipment and refrigeration systems, ensuring that farmers can continue their work, sustain their communities, and feed their people even in the face of unimaginable challenges. This isn’t just about keeping the lights on—it’s about standing with the people of Ukraine as they seek to protect their land, their livelihoods, and their food supply.
A photo from the Superhumans rehabilitation center
Superhumans
The next organization is doing some incredible work for the people of Ukraine who have been physically injured by the war. Over the last three years, thousands of Ukrainians have lost limbs due to mines and shelling, and with mines buried across a huge amount of the country, there will be many, many more people who will require prosthetics and medical support in the years to come.
Superhumansis a rehabilitation center that provides prosthetics, reconstructive surgery, rehabilitation, and psychological support—free of charge. The Longer Tables Fund has supported medical staff at Superhumans by helping invest in advanced surgical and 3D laboratory equipment, which will let the Superhumans team expand their services to include complex facial reconstruction procedures.
I love this project because prosthetics and reconstructive surgery lets people transform trauma into resilience, empowering a new generation of survivors—truly making them superhuman.
Children rescued by Save Ukraine
Save Ukraine
The third organization that the Longer Tables Fund is supporting is called Save Ukraine, an NGO focused on rescuing Ukrainian children that were deported to Russia at the beginning of the war and over the last three years. It’s important work that offers a lifeline to families affected by these deportations, which horribly tear into the heart of communities around the country.
Save Ukraine’s three-pronged approach—to rescue, to restore, and to rebuild—ensures that every child regains the safety, stability, and care needed to thrive.
We are supporting their Community Center and Bomb Shelter in Irpin, one of the cities that I visited in 2022 after it was liberated from Russian occupation. The center will provide comprehensive services for children with disabilities and their families and give them tools to rebuild their lives.
My friends—I think you will agree with me that this work is super important to the rebuilding of a strong Ukraine. I’m proud to support it in the small way we can, especially as we pass such a difficult moment of commemorating three years of war. Since the beginning, World Central Kitchen has been on the front lines, making sure communities are fed. Now, the Longer Tables Fund is the newest step in continuing to build longer tables – creating a community where no one is left behind, where survivors are empowered, and where resilience is born from the hardest of circumstances. With these new projects, I know that the people of Ukraine will continue to be supported today, tomorrow, and for years to come.
Take care of yourselves this week, and please keep Ukraine in your thoughts.
February 26, 1966 Julian Bond in 1966 Four thousand picketed outside New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel as President Lyndon Johnson received the National Freedom Award. As Johnson began his speech in defense of his Vietnam policies, James Peck of the War Resisters League jumped to his feet and shouted, “Mr. President, peace in Vietnam!” On the streets, meanwhile, activist A.J. Muste presented the crowd’s own “Freedom Award” to Julian Bond, who had been denied his seat in the Georgia legislature for refusing to disavow his opposition to the war, and for his support of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee.
February 26, 1984 The last of the 1400 peacekeeping troops President Ronald Reagan had sent to the Lebanese capital of Beirut were evacuated. The troops were part of an international force sent to deal with the Lebanese civil war. The president withdrew almost all American troops following the deaths of 241 Marines and 58 French paratroopers in a suicide truck bombing carried out four months earlier by the combined forces of Islamic Jihad and Hizbollah. France withdrew its troops as well. Three weeks earlier, Reagan had told the Wall Street Journal, “As long as there is a chance for peace, the mission remains the same. If we get out, that means the end of Lebanon.” In a barb directed at House Speaker Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill Jr. (D-Massachusetts), Reagan had said, “He may be ready to surrender, but I’m not. News of the withdrawal of peacekeeping troops
February 26, 1998 Libby Davies An international Citizens’ Weapons Inspection Team, led by Canadian Member of Parliament Libby Davies (NDP-Vancouver East), was denied entry to determine the presence or absence of weapons of mass destruction at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, Washington, nuclear submarine base, just 12 km (7 miles) from Seattle and less than 60 km (37 miles) from Canada. They found the WMDs! OMG – right in our back yard!
February 25, 1941 A general strike was called in Amsterdam to protest Nazi persecution of Jews under the German Nazi occupation. The previous weekend 425 Jewish men and boys had been imprisoned (only two survived the war). Truck drivers, dock and metal workers, civil servants and factory employees — Christians, Liberals, Social Democrats and Communists — answered the call and brought the city to a standstill. The work stoppages spread to Zaanstreek, Kennemerland and Utrecht. Two days later the strike was called off: nine people were dead, 50 injured and another 200 arrested, some of whom were to die in the concentration camps. “The Dokwerker” is a statue by sculptor Mari Andriessen in Amsterdam’s Jonas Daniel Meyer Square commemorating the February 1941 strike. It is frequently the rallying point for demonstrations against racism. Read more (pdf)
February 25, 1968 Discussing the war capacity of North Vietnam, a country that had been fighting for its independence for 23 years and had just staged the massive, successful Tet Offensive, U.S. General William C. Westmoreland stated, “I do not believe Hanoi can hold up under a long war.” He was replaced as commander in Vietnam less than four months later. Vietnam commander General William Westmoreland meeting with President Lyndon Johnson Westmoreland’s life and career (It’s NYT’s obit.)
February 25, 1971 Legislation was introduced in both houses of Congress to forbid U.S. military support of any South Vietnamese invasion of North Vietnam without prior congressional approval. This bill was a result of the controversy that arose following the invasion of Laos by South Vietnamese forces. On February 8, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam had launched a major cross-border operation into Laos to interdict activity along the Ho Chi Minh Trail and destroy the North Vietnamese supply dumps in the area. The Ho Chi Minh Trail, named for the leader of North Vietnam, was an informal network of jungle trails down which supplies came from the north, supplying insurgents and troops in the south.
February 25, 1986 The newly elected Philippine president, Corazón Aquino, was sworn in, bringing to an end years of dictatorship under Ferdinand Marcos. In the face of massive demonstrations against his rule, President Ferdinand Marcos and his entourage had been airlifted from the presidential palace in Manila by U.S. helicopters.
February 25, 2011 A Day of Rage saw demonstrations across the Middle East. Protesters in Iraq, Yemen, Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan, and Bahrain showed their support variously for an end to corruption and income inequality, political reform and better public services, and the replacement of long-running dictatorships with democratic regimes. Day of Rage in Taiz, Yemen Reports from throughout the region
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