Puerto Rico Ousts Governor

Posted on

Puerto Rico Ousts Governor & US Activists Stop
A Migrant Child Detention Center
Plus: Syrian seed bank saves the future of wheat.
Nonviolence News: July 27th, 2019

Editor’s Note from Rivera Sun:

Highlights of Nonviolence News this week: Puerto Rico successfully forced their governor to resign. Meanwhile, in Oklahoma, USA, migrant justice activists scored a major victory: stopping Fort Sill from serving as a child detention center.  Icelandic scientists issued an eulogy for a melted glacier destroyed by climate change. Australian artists have sent 1,400 images of an endangered bird to their politicians to protest the Adani mine. Washington, DC, residents protected affordable housing.  South Koreans are boycotting Japanese imports over Tokyo’s unjust export policies. Tennessee, USA, neighbors blocked ICE officials from arresting a father by linking their arms together. Indonesia returned forest management to the traditional  Indigenous stewards.

So, what was my favorite story this week? It was hard to pick, but the Syrians who rescued 100,000 seeds from a genebank threatened by the war won my heart. It’s a great example of the unexpected shapes and sizes that nonviolence takes. And, the action possibly saved the future of wheat! 

This nonviolence stuff works. This is why I collect these stories each week and put Nonviolence News together. The more we know, the more we put the tools of nonviolence into action.  Share this weekly round-up with a friend. We all need a little encouragement as we work for change. Nonviolence News delivers it.

Also, I’m excited to announce that Nonviolence News has a website. We’re keeping it simple right now – there’s no need to duplicate what other news journals already do so well – but this helps us collect the weekly round-ups and send people to a sign-up page. We’re still adding the archives to the site. Who knows? As Nonviolence News grows, perhaps we’ll expand what we’re able to do. We are limited only by our collective ability to envision and create, together. After all, Gandhi’s newspaper, The Young India, was one of the largest circulation newspapers in the world at the time.  (Quite a megaphone, eh? He was supported by generous donors – hint, hint.)

Celebrating and learning along with you,
Rivera Sun, Editor

Photo credit of opening image: Thousands of demonstrators protesting against Ricardo Rossello, the Governor of Puerto Rico July 17, 2019 in front of the Capitol Building in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. The sign reads “Ricky Resign”. (Photo: Jose Jimenez/Getty Images)

Here’s what you’ll find in this week’s Nonviolence News:

Victory! Success Stories
Recent Actions & On-Going Campaigns
Climate Action
Peace Action
Creative Action
Knowledge & Reflection
Calls-to-Action

Nonviolence News shares recent success stories so we see and remember that nonviolent action is powerful and effective. 

400,000 people took to the streets for days of protest and a general strike, forcing the governor ofPuerto Rico to resign. Read more >>

How Puerto Rico banned coal ash pits. Read more >>

Four days after 1,000 protesters shut down the main Fort Sill entrance, Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe called to halt the plan to detain immigrant children at the fort.  Read more >>

Amidst global climate protests, California lawmakers meet with major US automakers and agree to increase fuel efficiency standards by 2026 in order to reduce emissions.  Read more >>

Decolonize This Place, War Resisters League and others won the resignation of Warren Kanders (Safariland CEO) from his position as Vice Chairman of the Whitney Museum of Art’s Board of Trustees. The campaign objected to the Kanders’ role in producing tear gas, riot gear, and police and security officers’ gear.  Read more >>

Syrian gene bank saves 100,000 seeds amidst war, perhaps saving the future of wheat.  Read more >>

DC tenants save affordable housing with community organizing.   Read more >>

Divest the War Machine wins a candidate’s promise not to accept campaign donations from war industries.  Read more >>

Around the world, people are launching nonviolent campaigns and/or using principled nonviolence to transform their communities and fight injustice. Here are a few recent stories. 

Hong Kong airport staff join protesters in calling for the government to hold violent gang attackers who injured 45 people accountable for their action.   Read more >>

Mauna Kea telescope construction blockade and protest swells into the thousands.  Read more >>

On Mauna Kea, a street university has been established at  the protectors’ camp.  Read more >>

Sudanese women push for new government to hold perpetrators accountable for rapes and sexual assaults upon female protesters.  Read more >>

Resist Rockwool demonstrates at Lowes and Home Depot to stop toxic insulation factory.  Read more >>

Editor’s Note: I never enjoy covering bad news around nonviolence, but the US House of Representatives recent support for an anti-Boycott, Divest, Sanctions bill needs to be covered. Not only is BDS one of the few options available for reining in Israeli abuses and securing Palestinians’ rights and freedoms, the anti-BDS bill itself represents legal bans on three major types of nonviolent action. The citizens’ rights to use these types of actions should not be abridged. US House of Representatives passes anti-Boycott, Divest, Sanctions bill.  Read more >>

Kathy Kelly reports on pro-Palestinian activists efforts around the globe.  Read more >>

Puerto Ricans organizers celebrate . . . and plan next steps.   Read more >>

With Japan and South Korea continuing to feud over Tokyo’s controls on exports of chipmaking materials, Japanese companies are increasingly feeling the heat as boycotts by South Korean consumers pick up steam.  Read more >>

While anti-fascists are not generally known for their nonviolent tactics, these anti-fascists share their nonviolent strategies and actions on infiltrating and countering White supremacy in Tennessee. Read more >>

Scottish airport workers launch first of six 24-hr strikes over pay dispute.   Read more >>

Alaskan ferry workers went on strike for the first time in 42 years.   Read more >>

Editor’s Note: this story is a powerful example of nonviolent intervention. Imagine if we were all trained and prepared to engage in actions such as this. Hermitage, TN residents stop ICE from detaining father by linking arms and forming a human barricade.  Read more >>

Living sustainably and protecting our planet are forms of “nonviolence toward the Earth”, which is inseparable from embodying nonviolence toward ourselves and all others. Here are recent stories of nonviolent climate action. 

5 communities building local resiliency in a time of climate chaos: New York borough, Alaska, New Zealand, India, and Kenya.   Read more >>

Remarkable communities implementing systems change in the wake of climate disasters.   Read more >>

Scientists write a eulogy to Iceland’s vanished glacier, citing the climate crisis as the cause.  Read more >>

Resolving energy poverty in Sarawak: Indigenous solutions to the climate crisis.  Read more >> 

Indonesia returns forest management to traditional stewards: the Indigenous people.  Read more >>

European Investment Bank unveils proposal to quit investing in fossil fuels.  Read more >>

Germany unveils zero emissions trains.  Read more >>

100 rebels from Extinction Rebellion, Quebec shut down the road outside the prime minister’s office. 26 were peacefully arrested. XR US, meanwhile, superglued themselves to buildings to demand that Congress declare a climate emergency.  Read more >>     Extinction Rebellion also organized magnificent art-action by XR India, some delicious disruption from XR Belgium, a crop circle protest in the UK,  a funeral march in Chile, and riveting creative actions in Munich. You can read about these actions and find GREAT photos in their 26th newsletter. Read more >>

Localizing resistance to effectively counter climate change and foster climate action.  Read more >>

After tireless but unproductive advocacy efforts, a small group of young farmers in Uganda are turning to direct action in order to halt deforestation. This year they’ve already impounded 27 truckloads of charcoal.  Read more >>

Looking for success stories, effective strategies, and clever tactics for waging nonviolent struggle for environmental justice? Check out this series produced by International Center on Nonviolent Conflict.  Read more >>

If we want to see a world rooted in nonviolence, ending wars, waging peace, and dismantling the military industrial complex need to be part of our global movements for change. Here are some people doing good work on those issues.

Divest From War Coalition exacts divestment promises from candidates, office holders, and municipal governments.  Read more >>

Peace and civil resistance researcher Maria Stephan shares thoughts on how people power can boost the Afghan Peace Process. Read more >>

How nonviolent action, humanitarian policy, and diplomacy can help save lives amidst Libya’s violent war.   Read more >>

US peace activists confront 2020 Iowan candidates about drone policy.  Read more >>

Nonviolence unleashes humanity’s amazing creativity. Here are a few stories that show how people used a creative approach to work for change.

Puerto Ricans take musical protest to Grand Central Terminal to demand resignation of governor.  Read more >>

Artists across Australia say they have mailed more than 1,400 artworks of the endangered black-throated finch to key politicians to express their grief over the Adani mine’s approval.  Read more >>

Editor’s Note: We reported on this in our Climate Action section, but in case you missed it, Extinction Rebellion’s latest newsletter containsa whole slew of wonderfully creative actions. Check it out here >>

Citizen uses parental controls to block her right-wing parents from watching Fox News.  Read more >>

Community rally brings a full mariachi band and taco truck to the front door of a racist white woman who threatened to call ICE on a man for no reason.  Read more >>

Editor’s Note: we reported on the success of this campaign … here’s one of the tactics that helped them win.Artists to withdraw works from New York’s Whitney Museum after discovering board member linked to Safariland, suppliers of teargas used on migrants at protesters in Egypt, Gaza, and Puerto Rico, South Dakota and the U.S.-Mexican border.  Read more >>

In the field of nonviolence, people around the world are deepening their understanding of how nonviolence works to make change and wage peace.

Two generations before Gandhi, this Maori leader was using nonviolent struggle against the British Empire in New Zealand.  Read more >>

“Strategy Web” offers new tool for activists to map vulnerabilities and strengths.  Read more >> 

Here are a few actions and events requesting your participation.

US Department of Arts and Culture calls together artists, community leaders, and cultural creatives to work on the Green New Deal.  Read more >>

Rising Tide calls for climate action.   Read more >>

Campaign Nonviolence Week of Actions September 14-22, 2019, Everywhere. Host or join a march, rally, protest, or other event or action for a culture of peace and active nonviolence.  Learn more >>

Sept 20-27th, join the Global Climate Strike. (It’s not just for the kids, any more. Get ready to go on strike.) Read more >>

Oct 5th is a Day of Action Against Domestic Violence. Hold or join a 2-min die-in protest.  Learn more >>

Thanks for supporting Nonviolence News!
Nonviolence News is a sister project to Nonviolence Now, a global campaign that collects and shares true, inspiring stories of nonviolence in action. They place ads in unusual places – like in Newsweek Magazine, online websites promoting violence, and public transit buses – to promote the effectiveness and versatility of nonviolence. Find out more about them at NonviolenceNow.org 
Activist/Author Rivera Sun is a nationwide speaker and trainer in strategy for nonviolent movements. She is the author of nine books and novels focusing on nonviolence, including The Dandelion Insurrection, The Roots of Resistance, and The Way Between.  For four years, she cohosted nationally-syndicated radio programs on nonviolent struggle. Rivera Sun has worked for Campaign Nonviolence, Metta Center for Nonviolence, and Nonviolence Now, among other groups. Find out more about her work at: http://www.riverasun.com