I met Melanie decades ago, but we became friends and comrades when we were both teaching at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, in the mid-1990s. I remember endless passionate discussions about gender and racial justice, US imperialism, Palestine, radical feminist work in and outside the academy. We spoke about how to remain true to our dreams and aspirations, what a pain it was to trudge to class in two feet of snow, and strategized endlessly about how to get Melanie’s dog Ruby to follow our lead rather than trot off with the two of us in tow. I have such fond memories of and learned so much from Melanie’s gentle fierceness and passion for truth and justice. She taught me how to fight and to stay strong. She will always be a feminist freedom warrior who I was lucky enough to share my own life-journey with. With much love and appreciation for a life well-lived, dear Melanie.
—Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Syracuse University