2026 Bay Resistance & Unión del Barrio

The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA) announces that the 2026 ALBA/Puffin Award for Human Rights Activism will go to Bay Resistance & Unión del Barrio. One of the largest monetary awards for human rights in the world, the ALBA/Puffin Award is a $100,000 cash prize granted annually by ALBA and the Puffin Foundation to honor the nearly 3,000 Americans who volunteered in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) to fight fascism under the banner of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.

Ceremony Remarks

Remarks from Puffin Foundation Director of Grant Operations, Ilene Richman.

“I’m so happy to be with you today on behalf of the Puffin Foundation, with board members Neal & Sabine Rosenstein, with our friends at ALBA, and with Kimi from Bay Resistance and Adriana from Unión del Barrio.

I’m also delighted that we’ve been joined by past winners of the ALBA/Puffin Prize. Your presence demonstrates that these awards are not just a one-off recognition, but also an invitation to community, an opportunity to build fellowship and networks amongst people who are all working in different realms, but with common purpose, and, as Audrey noted, in the spirit of the Lincoln Brigade volunteers, whom we are also honoring today. That’s the type of relationship-building that was envisioned by our founder, Perry Rosenstein, when he worked with ALBA to create this prize.

I recently had the opportunity to go to Asheville, NC for the first time where I had many interesting conversations with residents. One that really stuck with me was with a young woman who was my ride share driver. She is an immigrant from Colombia. She is up on political issues and she has opinions about them. And she does not vote. She had never voted. Not because of lack of access or logistical problems, not because of intimidation, but because of the “soul killing” that Adriana referenced. She feels that it doesn’t matter. She feels that the choices are bad and that her participation will not change anything.

I understood where she was coming from. It is very easy to feel powerless right now. Here in the US, even if we can vote or reach out to our reps, even when we turn out in record numbers to demonstrate, even if we get arrested for civil disobedience – still, our elected officials do what they please, in contravention of all normative standards of morality, human rights, and social justice.

It’s not surprising that a lot of people feel so disempowered, disconnected, and disrespected that they disengage. They turn off the news and they don’t participate in even the most fundamental forms of community and civic engagement.

I think it’s abundantly clear from what we’ve heard today that the organizations we are honoring have a deep understanding that people can be brought from powerlessness to empowerment, and that two of the most important tools with which we the people can actually make systemic change are solidarity and organization.

As Adriana said, we are all responsible for each other. Bay Resistance calls for what they refer to as Transformative Solidarity: “We commit to being accomplices for our collective liberation. We are committed to being in solidarity with each other.”

And Unión del Barrio describes the necessity of organization when they note that: “Protesting alone will not win us substantive social, political, nor economic change. Radical rhetoric alone will not be enough; history and current conditions prove that the only way to bring about real change is through organized liberation struggle.”

The power and beauty of the work of these organizations lies in creating the means by which people can come together, not as individuals but as a community –- el pueblo. When we do so, we can defend our neighbors and each other, wield our collective power, and create, as Kimi said, something different and something new — the world that we want to live in.

It is a privilege and a joy to be here today in recognition of their accomplishments, and with the hope of increasing their impact by conferring upon them this year’s ALBA Puffin Prize.”

Press Release

ALBA and The Puffin Foundation recognize the danger that current assaults on human and economic rights pose to vulnerable populations. With this choice, we reaffirm our commitment to our roots, the fight for economic and racial justice that the Lincolns committed themselves to when they took up the fight against fascism.

Bay Resistance is a powerful network of community organizations, unions, and neighborhood groups organizing to defend our communities and defeat fascism in the Bay Area. The mission of Bay Resistance is to advance racial, economic, climate, and gender justice by activating individuals and families to build a just world for all of us.

Unión del Barrio is an independent political organization dedicated to the struggle on behalf of “la raza” living within the current borders of the United States. Since 1981, Unión del Barrio has led struggles to resist migra and police violence; defend the rights of workers, prisoners, mujeres, and youth. They unconditionally uphold the right of self-determination of indigenous people, and of all poor and oppressed people throughout the world.