Editor’s Note from Rivera Sun
This week’s news is full of the power of relentless persistence. You’ll find many stories of people who continue to rise up despite the odds, keep going despite obstacles, and simply won’t give up on justice. For example, the Immokalee Workers (pictured above) have been organizing for nearly a decade – and won campaign after campaign to get Fair Food Pledges from fast food giants – but Wendy’s refuses to sign the pledge. So, the farmworkers refuse to give up. They’re about to launch a new wave of organizing next week – this time, the effort is focused on a shareholder pressure campaign.
Other stories of persistence come from around the world: Iraq’s protesters continue to demonstrate despite the horrific violent repression that killed 600 of their fellow citizens. Catalonia’s pro-independence movement continues to demand the release of imprisoned leaders. Rajasthan farmers have been resisting displacement for over a decade, and Brazil’s Petrobras workers have relaunched their strike against privatization.
These stories remind us to keep going when it gets tough, to relaunch when we’ve stalled, and to remember the words of nonviolent scholar Gene Sharp, “you can’t lose if you never give up”. I hope they offer you some strength and courage for your own efforts. Your fellow human beings continue to stand up for what’s right and rise up for change even when its not easy.
Rivera Sun, Editor
Did you know that Peace and Justice Studies professors at universities have started putting Nonviolence News on the curriculum?! Wow! The students read the news each week and then talk about it in class. That’s so cool!
Thank you for supporting this great work and fantastic way of teaching.
Spain Announces Steps to Aid Farmers After Protests: Demonstrations by tens of thousands of farmers across Spain pushed the government to prohibit sales of agricultural products below cost price by decree, and make it easier for olive growers battered by drought and US import tariffs to access subsidies. Read more >>
DC Prosecutors, Once Skeptics, Support Restorative Justice: Introduced in the juvenile justice system for most charges, the program is proving its effectiveness even to skeptics. Read more >>
UK School Scraps Racist Hair Policies: After listening to the students, this school overhauled its hair policies to dismantle white supremacy. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg: the school has also been overhauling its curriculum. Read more >>
Canadian Government Backs Down In Ontario Teachers Negotiations: The Canadian government backs down on high-school class sizes, online courses, in bid to restart talks with teachers: After weeks of teachers’ strikes, the government is ready to start negotiating. Organizers say it’s not over yet, however. Read more >>
Wells Fargo Drops Funding Arctic Drilling: Following other major corporate banks, Wells Fargo said it will no longer fund drilling in the Arctic. Read more >>
Catalonia’s Independence Movement Isn’t Stopping: Tens of thousands of people Saturday gathered in Perpignan, France, to demonstrate their support for the independence of Catalonia and to demand the release of Catalan political prisoners. Read more >>
How Migrant Fishermen Resist Exploitation: Barred from the “stakeholder” processes that are supposed to stop their debt bondage, migrant workers on fishing boats are using strikes and organized actions to assure their safety and rights. Read more >>
54 Grad Students Fired For Protesting For Cost Of Living Adjustments: The grad students are part of a months-long protest calling for the wages of grad students to be increased to cover rising housing costs. Read more >>
Rajasthan Farmers Resist Land Acquisition: for over a decade, these 500 farmers have resisted the injustices of a state land grab that displaces them. Read more >>
Inside Iraq’s Courageous Protests: People in Iraq have been protesting for five months, and the movement continues to spread to different cities to air grievances centering on corruption and poor governance. Read more >>
Seniors Protest Eviction With “Brookdale Walker Brigade”: If I have to move I’m going to lose my friends, my house, my doctor, my neighborhood…everything. Read more >>
Brazilian Petrobras Workers Strike Relaunches: Amidst layoffs of striking workers and court rulings reinstating them, the workers are re-launching their strike to fight privatization. Read more >>
Texas Copper Workers Strike Enters Fourth Month: 150 union members at a copper refinery in Amarillo, TX, have been striving for fair wages, and protections to pensions and healthcare. They are joined with 1500 fellow workers at mines in Arizona that are owned by the same company. Read more >>
Barred From Striking, Airline Food Workers Seek Other Ways to Protest: Airline Workers have to outsmart and circumnavigate the antiquated Railway Labor Act that prevents them from going on strike. Read more >>
Students Protest the Poor State of Voting Rights: “We’re mad at the state of voting rights in North Carolina,” Evans said. “We’re out here every Monday from 12 to 1 protesting a different voting rights issue each week.” Read more >>
Farmworkers Step Up Pressure On Wendy’s Shareholders To Protect Workers’ Rights: The Coalition of Immokalee Workers has long sought to persuade Wendy’s — and its owners, like Peltz and Trian — to join the Fair Food Program. Read more >>
1,000 Nurses Strike for Better Staffing, Wages: Registered nurses at San Joaquin General Hospital in French Camp, Calif., began a 48-hour strike on March 5, according to the union that represents them. Read more >>
Thirteen Disarmament Activists Blockade Trident Nuclear Submarine Base: The direct action came at the conclusion of the annual gathering of the Pacific Life Community, a network of spiritually motivated activists from the Pacific Coast and other western states committed to nonviolent action for a nuclear-free future. Read more >>
Why Wet’suwet’en Is Ground Zero for Indigenous Rights and Climate Justice: As rail blockades shut down Canada, this anti-pipeline struggle erupted to international attention. Here’s an in-depth look at why this struggle is shaking the world. The article includes background and photos. Read more >>
Nearly 100 Barclays Bank Branches Shut Down By Climate Action: In a coordinated action to pressure Barclays to stop financing climate destruction, Greenpeace activists on Monday morning shut down 97 of the British investment bank’s branches across the United Kingdom. Read more >>
Wet’suwet’en “It’s Not Over” – Tentative Agreement is a Milestone, but Pipeline Struggle Isn’t Won Yet: The Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs and the B.C. and Canadian governments have come to a tentative agreement about rights and title, but none of the parties have changed their position on the controversial Coastal GasLink pipeline. Read more >>
Native Activists Lead Just Transition Efforts: Native activists and youth are shaping a clear vision for the transition necessary to guide us toward an environmentally just future. Read more >>
Women Lead the Mohawk Solidarity Blockades: On the front lines of the Indigenous Resistance Movement, young women are taking a stand in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en’s anti-pipeline struggle for Indigenous sovereignty. Read more >>
Climate Divestment Picks Up Steam: By tapping into existing networks and old campaigns, a new wave of student activism is making the fossil fuel divestment movement bigger, bolder and more creative. Read more >>
First Union-Sanctioned Climate Strike Occurs in the United States: thousands of Minneapolis cleaning workers walked off their jobs and struck their downtown commercial high-rises. Among their key demands was that their employers take action on climate change. Read more >>
Indigenous Activists and Allies Target Mining Industry Convention in Toronto: A demonstration was held “in solidarity with every community that has found itself staring down the barrel of a gun for daring to oppose Canada’s ongoing colonial project through resource extraction.” Read more >>
Extinction Rebellion Protesters Tie Themselves To Gigantic Oil Rig: To protest deep-sea oil drilling, two members of the climate activism group boarded a 100-meter-tall rig and fastened themselves to the side of the vessel as it tried to travel through the Marlborough Sounds. Read more >>
Theatre of the Xcluded Takes Over the Stage: In Cape Town, South Africa, an unexpected performance took over the waterfront amphitheater by protesters. They put on a show, Theatre of the Xcluded, about unemployment, climate change and domestic violence. Read more >>
Cat Stickers Used to Cover Up Racist Anti-XR Smear Campaign : “There used to be some racist rubbish here, but I covered it up with … a cat,” say the stickers. It was a smart way to counter a smear campaign that posted fake Extinction Rebellion posters with racist tropes on them. Read more >>
Nepalese Students’ Street Book Clubs Protest Book Import Tax Hikes: Without raising slogans or holding up a single placard, students are protesting the government’s additional taxes on imported books. Read more >>
Creative Zine Collects University Protest Sentiment: “We wanted to show that there is another way to think about the university, that there is a counter narrative.” Read more >>
Online Game Fosters Kindness: Kind Words is a new multiplayer game about writing nice letters to real strangers. That’s it. And it’s a revelation. Read more >>
The Best US Exhibitions for Women’s History Month 2020: From a look back at the history of women’s marches to a group show highlighting African female artists, there’s a wide variety of artwork to celebrate. Read more >>
Bollywood’s First Gay Romance Film Fights Homophobia In India: The film aims to break stereotypes and build support for LGBTQ persons. Read more >>
Bay Area Governments Fight Displacement Through Tenant Organization: Activist, legal scholar and writer Saki Bailey explores how programs like TOPA and Small Sites are increasing tenant rights and opportunities in an effort to prevent displacement. Read more >>
The Bedouin Youth Movement the Media Missed: On the heels of the Arab Spring uprisings in 2010-12, an Arabic Bedouin youth-led nonviolent movement for minority rights and recognition emerged – and few people heard about it. Read more >>
What’s Going On With the Recent Arab Uprisings? Iraq, Sudan, Lebanon, and Algeria have all had recent – or on-going – nonviolent uprisings. Here’s an overview of what’s next for the movements that have shaken up the region. Read more >>
Inside Sudan’s Nonviolent Revolution: Here’s a look at how Sudanese protesters weathered violent repression and stacked odds to oust a dictator, prevent a military take-over, and strive for democracy. Read more >>
6 Guiding Principles For A Regenerative Revolution: Here are six ways you can deepen your efforts toward creating regenerative, meaningful change movements. Read more >>
How Teens Went Door-to-Door To Convince Their Minnesota Town To Go Solar: At a time when the imperative of climate action is clear, this case study offers heartening strategies for success. Read more >>
Rebecca Solnit On Learning From Younger Women: As an older feminist, Solnit describes how she learns from the world views of the younger generation. Read more >>
To Make Change, Change How Humans Think: Nonviolence Radio interviews ‘soldier of peace’ Paul K. Chappell about the ways in which nonviolence aligns with human nature. Read more >>
Prioritizing Electability Hurts the Movements Needed To Beat Trump: “Unelected” Sanders and Warren are helping our greatest source of political power: movements. Movement strategist George Lakey weighs in on how election rhetoric impacts social justice struggles. Read more >>
Wet’suwet’en Calls For On-Going Support: Here is the request for on-the-ground support, monetary donations, and solidarity actions. Read more >>
The Tellin’ Stories Race, Equity, and Family Engagement Summer Institutes: These workshops from Teaching For Change will prepare principals, assistant principals, and senior school-based administrators to apply an asset-based lens to family engagement that is grounded in popular education, community organizing, racial equity, and family engagement research. Read more >>
“The Age of Hybrid Warfare” Free Webinar: War is more than bombs and bullets. Join World BEYOND War on March 25 for a free webinar on “hybrid warfare” – a mix of disinformation, sanctions, and unconventional tactics. We will 1) define what hybrid warfare is, and 2) discuss case studies of hybrid warfare in Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and elsewhere. Read more >>
Stop Deadly Sanctions: The new Sanctions Kill campaign is organizing to educate and mobilize to stop the sanctions. The first set of actions is March 13 to 15. Learn more >>
Solidarity With Palestine: Palestinians are calling for a global week of solidarity actions March 24 to 30. Find information on how to participate >>
Wet’suwet’en First Nation Pipeline Resistance Camp Supporter Toolkit: Here’s a guide to the numerous ways that you can support Wet’suwet’en and engage in solidarity actions. Read more >>
Earth Day Global Climate Strike: On April 22nd, the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, youth are calling for everyone to participate in a mass general strike. Read more >>
Earth Day to May Day 2020 Shut Down DC: Direct action campaign united labor and environmental justice and pushes for a Green New Deal. Learn more >>
#NoWar2020, World Beyond War’s 5th Annual Global Convergence, will be held in Ottawa, Canada, May 29-30, 2020, to coincide with CANSEC, Canada’s largest weapons expo. Register to join us this May for nonviolent activism, skills trainings, art-making, panel presentations, rallying, and more, culminating in the #NoWar2020 Conference on May 29-30. Read more >>