A noted activist in western Massachusetts has died.
Michaelann Bewsee spent more than 30 years as a community organizer advocating against poverty and war and for environmental policies to combat climate change.
She was 71.
Bewsee helped found Arise for Social Justice in Springfield in 1985 during a state budget battle over welfare benefits.
As she prepared to retire as director of the organization last October, Bewsee spoke with WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill.
