Editor’s Note from Rivera Sun
Did you hear about the protests in Baghdad, Iraq? What about the ones in Catalan or Ecuador? (Find these stories below.) There’s so much going on in the world! As citizens, we should be heartened by these stories. People like us are refusing to put up with injustice. What’s my top pick this week? The 500 people who staged an anti-Columbus Day history tour at New York City museums. That was a great way to interrupt the whitewashing of Columbus and insert a much-needed reminder of the true and on-going history of Indigenous people.
Also, protests in Haiti have been marked with violence from police and protesters . . . but the art community called people together for a creative protest and the police let the massive march proceed without incident. This story shows the power of art and creativity in de-escalating violence while escalating confrontational and transformational people power. Read more about it here.
Special thanks to Citizens for a Healthy Community in Colorado for putting a shout-out for Nonviolence News in their newsletter. This encouraged a number of people to sign-up for this FREE weekly newsletter. It also connected people in that community to dozens of ideas for creative action and nonviolent resistance into their hands each week! Do you have a newsletter? Feel free to let people know about Nonviolence News. You might be surprised at how it inspires your community to make change!
Enjoy this week’s news,
Rivera Sun, Editor
Photo Credit: Protesters in Port Au Prince, Haiti. Photo by Rebecca Blackwell, AP.
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Here’s what you’ll find in
this week’s Nonviolence News:
Victory! Success Stories
Recent Actions
Migrant Justice
Climate Action
Women’s Rights
Peace Action
Creative Action
Knowledge & Reflection
Calls-to-Action
Indigenous protests force Ecuadorian president to cancel IMF loan. Read more >>
UK’s first Chick-fil-A is set to close after facing intense pressure from LGBTQ groups. It has been open one week. Read more>>
Largest non-profit hospital system in Memphis, TN erases the debt of over 6,500 patients after two activist media groups target it with investigative reporting. Read more >>
Houston, TX airport workers win 65% wage increase by 2021—getting them one step closer in their #FightFor15. The change comes after months of rallies and civic pressuring. Read more >>
How Minneapolis organizers took on suburban-sprawl style zoning rules and won. Read more >>
General Motors and United Auto Workers reach deal to end 31-day strike. Read more >>
Latin America is rising up against neoliberalism. Here is a round-up of recent mass protests, on-going struggles, a few victories, and nonviolent actions. Read more >>
In Iraq, police use live ammunition, tear gas, and water cannons to clear the streets of Baghdad of anti-government protesters demanding jobs, improved services and an end to corruption. 9 have been killed and hundreds wounded. Read more >>
Minneapolis citizens turn out en masse to denounce Trump during recent visit. Read more >>
Catalans protest the sentencing of independence movement leaders, blocking the road to Barcelona airport and other key infrastructure. Editor’s Note: Stay tuned for more news from Catalan. I’m planning to run a special section on this next week. Read more >>
Indigenous Peoples Day: still here, still resisting colonization. Read more >>
Thousands of US citizens march to demand that Congress #ImpeachNow and oust Trump from the Oval Office. Read more >>
P.A.I.N. and Truth Pharm hold die-in during Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy hearing to hold the Sackler family financially accountable for their role in the opioid epidemic. The groups have rejected an earlier – unsatisfactory – settlement offer. Read more >>
As of this date, 2,479 individuals from 105 countries have signed the Nonviolence Charter pledge, and 118 organizations from 39 countries have endorsed the Nonviolence Charter. Read more >>
Chicago teachers are about to go on strike. Their demands are radical. Read more >>
Royal Mail is facing its first national postal strike in a decade after staff voted overwhelmingly for action. Read more >>
Anti-Brexit protests held in 40 locations along Irish border. Read more >>
How Somali immigrants formed collaborations and cooperatives to help their fellow immigrants … and wound up transforming a Maine town. Editor’s Note: This story is close to my heart, since I grew up here and remember the arrival of the first Somali immigrants (earlier than this article notes, starting in the early 90s). The work toward this change was a long haul, required a lot of work from this community, and is still on-going. It’s great to share this perspective on the positives. Read more >>
Former US Assistant Secretary of State arrested while protesting Pompeo’s refugee policies. Read more >>
On Indigenous People’s Day, Anishinaabeg leaders march against Enbridge’s $7.5 billion oil pipeline. Read more >>
The Amazon Uprising and the tangled web of defunding the destruction of the lungs of the planet. Read more >>
XR Global Rebellion Day 8 Report. Editor’s Note: I highly recommend getting on Extinction Rebellion’s newsletter. It’s heartening and includes wonderful photos of climate actions around the world. Read more >>
Extinction Rebellion protests were banned from London. Organizers will take legal action in defense of rights. Read more >>
Dutch farmers drove their tractors in slow-moving convoys to a massive demonstration Wednesday to protest their treatment by the government as it seeks to rein in carbon and nitrogen emissions. Editor’s Note: This is an interesting story. Climate transitions are going to impact us all. The more Just Transitions we can include, the more likely we are to succeed in implementing the changes. In this story, the farmers don’t want to sell (to the government) and retire their farms. Is that a Just Transition or not? What would a better strategy be? I’ll keep my eye out for answers on this one. Read more >>
Imprisoned Ugandan academic Stella Nyanzi refuses to let Ugandan women be spectators in the struggle to end a 30-year dictatorship. “No revolution without a feminist revolution,” she says. Read more >>
On the first anniversary of Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation, hundreds of Mainers held die-ins and protests to remind Susan Collins they haven’t forgotten about her pivotal vote. Read more >>
Light the Night candlelight demonstration calls attention to those harmed by domestic violence, a demographic overwhelmingly female. Read more >>
Sudanese refugee is now CEO of a gaming company that teaches empathy while players navigate from war-torn scenarios toward peace. Read more >>
Kathy Kelly denounces Raytheon corp’s arms fair slogan “strike with creativity” and reminds us of their trail of death, bloodshed, and misery in Yemen. Read more >>
Activists from anti-war group CodePink on Sunday protested an exhibit of paintings of veterans by former President George W. Bush at the Kennedy Center, calling the decision to feature the work an example of “artwash.” Read more >>
Thousands joined a protest called by Haitian art community, engaging in creative, nonviolent actions that stood in contrast to recent violent protests. The police stood down and let the march proceed without incident. Read more >>
500 protesters stage anti-Columbus Day history tour at New York City Museums. Read more >>
San Franciscan artist BiP reveals that the new 8-story tall baby mural is a protest against police brutality. Read more >>
Russian rappers take on police, denouncing excessive arrests from the music stage. Read more >>
8 TV shows that took a stand for justice and made a difference – from Handmaid’s Tale to Orange Is the New Black. Read more >>
Feminist activist and scholar Sally Eck joins Nonviolence Radio to discuss tools and strategies for interrupting oppressive attitudes and language. Read more >>
50 years ago, US soldiers threw their weight into the anti-Vietnam War protests. Along with civilians, 2 million people took part in demonstrations across 200 cities. Read more >>
Join the rapid-response network to #ImpeachNow. This free webinar on Oct 20th will explain how we can help pressure Congress to impeach Trump. Read more >>
Global Days of Listening with the Afghan Peace Volunteers, Oct 21st, 7:30am EST “How to Connect With Those Who Seem Unconcerned”. Read more >>
Join #FireDrillFridays with Jane Fonda in Washington, DC, to oppose militarism and the climate crisis. Read more >>
Flight Free Movement expands to the United States. Find out how to participate in large and small ways. Read more >>
Sunrise Movement offers chance to get skills to make your next strike, rally, or sit-in visually stunning and ready to capture attention in the media. Apply to join the Sunrise Action Art Skills Training, December 13-15 in Kansas City, Missouri. Read more >>
Feb 3-7, 2020, Black Lives Matter At School Week – engage your local school in participating! Read more >>
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Nonviolence News is a sister project to Nonviolence Now. The Nonviolence Now campaign is intended to introduce and share stories of nonviolence, and to ignite the potential of principled nonviolence globally.
Author/Activist Rivera Sun has written many books and novels, including The Dandelion Insurrection and The Way Between. She is a nationwide trainer in strategy for nonviolent movements and her essays are published in journals across the country and around the world. www.riverasun.com