AJ Muste Foundation for Peace and Justice

Save the Date! We’re celebrating the life and work of Johanna Fernández at this year’s Rebel Soirée on November 5, 2026.

More information regarding the event and No Justice, No Peace! awardees will be coming soon.

Remembering Our Board Chair, Dr. Johanna Fernández

The A.J. Muste Foundation for Peace and Justice mourns the loss of our board chair, Dr. Johanna Fernández, who passed away on July 31, 2026.

Johanna brought extraordinary moral clarity to everything she did. As chair of the Muste Foundation since 2021, Johanna taught us that supporting grassroots organizing was never simply about making grants—it was about standing firmly with people challenging injustice, especially when doing so was difficult. Her principled commitment to social justice activism shaped our board, strengthened our mission, and challenged all of us to live our values more
boldly.

A renowned historian, award-winning author of "The Young Lords: A Radical History," educator, and public intellectual, Johanna devoted her life to uncovering suppressed histories, defending political dissent, and amplifying the voices of those too often excluded from the historical record. She fought a landmark Freedom of Information lawsuit against the NYPD that uncovered long-"lost" Handschu surveillance files and informed her groundbreaking history of the Young Lords. She was a tireless advocate for political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, preserving and elevating his work through books, film, and the donation of his papers to Brown University. Even in her final years, Johanna continued building institutions for future generations through the Latinx Freedom Movement Archive and Exhibition Project, ensuring the history of Latinx activism would not be erased.

"Johanna Fernández was the moral compass of the Muste Foundation," said Executive Director Heidi Boghosian. "She showed us what it means to pair deep conviction with action, and we pledge to honor her commitment to supporting community groups doing mighty resistance work with few resources."

Board member and former student Xavier Fitzsimmons-Cruz reflected on Johanna's enduring influence: "Johanna Fernández always pushed us to see the revolutionary potential out of the anger, despair and darkness of our current political moment. She never backed down from the possibility of a better, kinder world worth fighting for.

The Foundation will honor Johanna at its annual Rebel Soiree on November 5, 2026.
freemumia.com

Rapid Response Grant Requests are officially open for August! 📣 Reminder: requests stay open for only the first week of the month.

Apply online or via the link in our bio! ✊

Grantee Spotlight: Youth Climate Strike LA! The future is youth-led. 🌎✊ We're proud to support Youth Climate Strike LA's Rising Tides, empowering working-class BIPOC youth to organize, build power, and fight for climate justice in their schools and communities.

Our Organizing Grant Cycle is officially open! Are you a good fit for an AJ Muste Foundation Organizing Grant? Here's a reminder of what we do and do not fund.

Apply on our website via the link in our bio today!

Grantee Spotlight: Centro Corona!

Centro Corona reminds us that a physical space is more than just a building—it's an anchor for organizing, a trusted gathering place, and a beacon where community members can connect, access resources, build collective power, and turn shared challenges into collective action.

Our fall Organizing Grant Cycle is officially open! Requests will be accepted until Friday, September 4th at 1:00 PM ET. Don't wait, apply today!

Apply via the link in our bio or below:

Organizing Grants - AJ Muste Foundation for Peace and Justice Organizing Grants Organizing Grants are only available to organizations and projects that are based in the United States. The maximum grant award is $10,000. Most grant awards will be around $5000. Occasionally we will consider requests for multiple-year funding. What We Fund WE DO FUND newly-founde...

Meet Abolish Slavery Virginia, one of our latest grantees. They are building a powerful statewide movement to eliminate all legal slavery and involuntary servitude across the state.

We believe lasting change starts from the ground up, and we are thrilled to support grassroots groups leading the fight for change.

Our Rapid Response Grant Applications are now open! 📣✊

Apply on our website or via the link in our bio!