Editor’s Note from Rivera Sun
Rent strikes, worker strikes, debt strikes, shopping strikes . . . they’re all building toward the goal of a general strike. On May Day, hundreds of organizing groups held strikes to support the many campaigns for healthcare, PPEs, hazard pay, paid sick leave, decarceration, keeping stay-at-home orders while increasing economic relief for ordinary people, and more. There is an effort to continue the strikes, particularly on the first of every month. Learn more about that here >>
Speaking of learning, in our “Knowledge & Reflection” section we have a special treat: a round-up of webinars and upcoming online opportunities for learning. Since there’s more than any of us could sanely attend, I have a creative suggestion: rally 5 friends, split your forces, then meet up for a Zoom coffee hour to share your favorite takeaways. Knowledge is power … and like many forms of power, it’s even stronger when we wield it collectively.
That’s what Nonviolence News is all about: increasing our shared power through sharing our stories.
Rivera Sun, Editor
STOP!
DROP a little donation. (Thanks!)
Then ROLL on through to your favorite nonviolence stories.
Much love, Rivera
Three Japanese Mega-Banks Move Closer To Quitting Coal: Mizhuo Financial Group will stop new investments and loans for coal power, and Sumitomo also revised its policy. Japan’s Bank for International Cooperation, a powerhouse of coal development in Asia, will stop accepting loan applications for coal generation. Read more >>
Public Pressure Saves .Org Web Domains: In a move celebrated by advocacy groups across the globe as “a major victory for the millions of nonprofits, civil society organizations, and individuals who make .org their home online,” a body that oversees web addresses on Thursday blocked a takeover of the top-level domain by the private equity firm Ethos Capital. Read more >>
Immokalee Workers Win Major Concessions: Testing, housing support, and contact tracing are all among the many new wins for the relentlessly persistent farmworkers. Read more >>
Georgia Teachers Organize For Safer End-Of-Term Working Conditions: When the school administrators wanted all of the teachers to fulfill end-of-term in-person work at the same time, these teachers and their community organized to get the administration to reconsider that approach. Read more >>
Finland’s Universal Basic Income Experiment Was a Success; Now It’s Time To Use It Everywhere: After the initial pilot program showed its benefits, experts are saying it’s time to roll it out post-pandemic. Editor’s Note: Poverty is the worst form of violence, said Gandhi, and strategies like universal basic income offer structural nonviolence solutions. Read more >>
Female Genital Mutilation Banned in Sudan: In a significant victory for women and girls’ rights in Sudan, the country’s transitional government banned the practice. Now, the sovereign council needs to back it up. Editor’s Note: Remember, the recent nonviolent Sudanese revolution was led by women. Coincidence? I think not. Read more >>
Row Upon Row of White Shoes Outside White House Demand Protections For Nurses: National Nurses United held a vigil in front of Trump’s White House as a remembrance for 88 nurses who have died so far. Read more >>
Essential Workers Strike Across the United States: Their demands are straightforward. They want PPE. They want fair wages. They want the authorities and their fellow citizens to take their health and work seriously. Read more >>
Tenants Take On Philadelphia Gentrifier: A new and rapidly growing association of residential and commercial tenants of OCF Realty was formed to demand that OCF meet the needs of its tenants during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond. Read more >>
Immigrants Making PPE Strike After Coworker Dies: Mexican immigrants making personal protective equipment at LSL Healthcare in the suburbs of Chicago walked off the job, shutting down production as the workers demanded paid time off to go into quarantine. The walk-off came off after a co-worker died of COVID. Read more >>
US Strikebreaks Mexican Border Factory Workers’ Strikes: Demanding safety before profits, the border town workers went on strike. Now, Trump is pushing them to go back to work. Read more >>
General Strike Movement Issues Call To Change the World: Building on May Day Actions, the campaign for mass general strikes continues. Read more >>
Amazon Vice President Quits In Protest Over Treatment of Whistleblowers and Strike Organizer: Tim Bray quit and released a public letter in opposition to the company’s refusal to honor their workers’ demands. Read more >>
Amazon Tech Workers Support Warehouse Workers: From the office to the warehouse floor, Amazon workers are protesting the company’s callous disregard for health and safety. Read more >>
LGBTQ Activists Protest Bigoted Samaritan Medical Tent In Central Park: The group behind the medical facilities requires their volunteers and staff to sign an anti-LGBTQ statement. Read more >>
Prisoners Demand Decarceration: Here are three stories on the situation prisoners are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic. People are speaking out to release prisoners so they are not exposed to the virus in situations where they cannot protect themselves. The call is To Free Them All, Now. Read more >>
Armenians Defy Lockdown To Protest Utility Bills: Ignoring the state of emergency ban on rallies, a small group of people protested outside the government headquarters, complaining that their gas and electricity had been suspended after they hadn’t paid the bills. They want the government to stop the companies from collecting fees during the economic crisis. Read more >>
Physicians Hold Socially-Distanced Demonstration In Support Of Colleague: Ohio Department of Health Director, Dr. Amy Acton, has been targeted by Reopen Protesters, so doctors are taking a stand in support of her stay-home orders. Read more >>
50 Cars Rally in Boston, MA, During May Day Protests: The protest called for a list of intersectional demands dealing with economic and racial justice, health care, and peace. Read more >>
Philadelphia Unions Call For City-Wide Essential Worker Bill of Rights: As workers grow increasingly desperate in the face of life-threatening conditions, Philadelphia labor leaders have come together to say the city must do more to protect employees deemed essential during the coronavirus pandemic. Read more >>
Navajo Mount Grassroots Effort To Tackle Coronavirus: Women are leading a volunteer effort to care for elders and vulnerable people across the tribe’s vast, poorly served territory. Read more >>
Activist Farmers Care For the Hungry As Brazilian President Downplays Crisis: Feeding people and aiding the sick is how these farmers – long used to activism – are countering Bolsonaro’s lack of relief and mismanagement of the pandemic crisis. Read more >>
Philippine Indigenous Use Traditions To Mitigate COVID-19: A “tengao” is the indigenous variation of a lockdown; once invoked, it means no one can enter or leave the community for a day or more. This and other traditions are being used to keep their communities safe. Read more >>
How Permaculture Can Build Resilience And Meet Basic Needs During A Pandemic: As COVID-19 spreads, people are showing a growing interest in permaculture principles and techniques to heal their lives, communities and the planet. Read more >>
“No Warming, No War” Report Connects Climate and Militarism: The two issues are deeply intertwined and mutually reinforcing. The military itself is a huge polluter — and is often deployed to sustain the very extractive industries that destabilize our climate. This climate chaos, in turn, leads to massive displacement, militarized borders, and the prospect of further conflict. True climate solutions, the report argues, must have antimilitarism at their core. Read more >>
“Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay”: Tens of Thousands Take Part in Covid-19 Rent Strike Across US on May Day: The strike is described as the largest coordinated tenant action in the US in nearly a century. Read more >>
COVID-19 Has Worsened The Pre-Existing Housing Crisis: Rent strikes, spray-painted signs, vacant house occupations, and car protests have erupted demanding that landlords “cancel rent” and pause evictions. Read more >>
Alvin Ailey Dance Company Keeps Dancing Through Videos: The popular dance company has recreated its classics into video collages of their dancers moving through the steps at home to keep people’s hearts strong during the crisis. Watch a video from “Revelations” here >>
Italian Town Prints Local Currency To Help Weather COVID-19: Castellino del Biferno is a small town in south Italy’s Molise region with only 550 residents. Minting money is something town mayor Enrico Fratangelo has been studying for over twelve years. Now he’s putting his skills to use. Read more >>
Milk-Tea Alliance Mobilize Netizens To Push Back Against Online Censorship: Citizens from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand are pushing back against Beijing’s bullies on social media. Read more >>
How To Organize An Online Picket Line: Amidst pandemic restrictions, some tactics can be adapted to the internet. Here’s one example and a how-to manual. Read more >>
Innovations in Nonviolent Direct Action in Crisis: Civil resistance scholar, Erica Chenoweth, shares insights into global trends in nonviolent struggle during COVID-19. Read more >>
What Would Gandhi Do About Coronavirus? Plagues and illnesses played a significant role in Gandhi’s life. Here’s how some leading scholars — including his grandson — think he might have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more >>
Surviving Pandemics Is Indigenous Resistance: Organizer Morning Star Gali of the Ajumawi band of the Pit River Nation speaks about Native life and death in the age of COVID-19, and the long history of resistance to pandemic. Read more >>
The True History of Mother’s Day: Anna Jarvis founded Mother’s Day as a day for international peace demonstrations. She wouldn’t like today’s version or how capitalism killed the early 1900s’ peace movement. Read more >>
COVID-19 Offers Trigger Event For Revolution: COVID-19 is an example of what movement analysts call a “trigger event.” When shocking events of immense scale occur suddenly—such as natural disasters, military coups, economic collapse, or virus pandemics—they drastically alter life as we know it, and radically shift public sentiment. The previously unimaginable quickly becomes reality. Read more >>
The Dangers of COVID-19 Surveillance To Privacy and Protest: There are consequences to the push to loosen privacy standards even further. Here’s how they intersect with protest and political action. Read more >>
The Importance of Vision Amidst COVID-19: East Point Peace Academy offers this video with activist and organizer George Lakey. Read more >>
What Accounts for the Shift from Nonviolent to Violent Resistance in the Syrian Uprising? Why do movements shift from nonviolence to violence? What are the consequences? This new report explores the case study of the Syrian Uprising. Read more >>
What Comes Next? Global Solidarity Like We’ve Never Seen Before: After the pandemic, the struggle for human rights will require much bolder measures than the world has so far witnessed. Read more >>
Editor’s Note: In addition to sharing articles that offer knowledge and reflection on nonviolence, here is a list of upcoming webinars through which to learn more about movements, organizing, and nonviolence. Enjoy.
New Cohort Forming! Nonviolence Online Community Course – 6 Week Course with Rivera Sun, Wednesdays starting May 28th: Co-facilitated with Pace e Bene’s Veronica Pelicaric, this online course is intended to provide an opportunity to build community while studying nonviolence. Read more >>
Starts May 14th! Introduction To Engaging Nonviolence w/ Co-Author Nina Koevoets: This online course explores basic principles of nonviolence. Learn more here >>
Building the Peace Movement Teach-In: This free webinar draws speakers from different wings of the peace movement to explore how to build the US and global efforts.
Wed, May 20, 8pm ET Read more >>
No War 2020 Goes Online! Access From Anywhere May 28-31: Divest, disarm, demilitarize, this year’s World Beyond War conference features three days of online teach-ins, talks, and workshops. Find out more here >>
“People Power In A Pandemic” Webinar: From Hong Kong to Algeria, activists and peacebuilders are confronting the need to innovate tactically and adapt their strategies amid national lockdown orders, social distancing, and other measures intended to curb the spread of the coronavirus. (May 19th) Read more >>
Movement Generation’s Course Corrections Series: A 4-session online course series to explore the structural causes of this pandemic response and the strategies going forth. If you’re hungry to discuss real solutions and strategies that address the structural inequities that got us into this mess, learn more and register. (Begins May 19th) Read more >>
Friday Night Forums: COVID-19 in Indian Country: The Red Nation in partnership with the Arab Resource & Organizing Center (AROC) and the Center for Political Education is hosting a series of critical conversations on settler colonialism, US imperialism, and decolonization. The COVID-19 pandemic is global, and so our response to it must also be global. Friday Night Forums feature anti-imperialist perspectives and lessons on organizing from around the world, with an eye toward decolonizing Turtle Island. (Online Fridays thru May 29) Read more >>
Connecting Land and Community: Learning Cooperative Stewardship: Thinking about starting an intentional community? Have land or considering buying land? This session with NEC member organization Foundation for Intentional Communities is ideal for anyone who is looking to create community rooted on a piece of land. We will review the legal, social, cultural considerations you will face as you land your intentional community. (Online – May 13) Read more >>
What Would Gandhi Do? Webinar: Coronavirus has uprooted the fabric of our lives. The global pandemic has unveiled gaping holes in our economic and social systems, unleashed humanity’s capacity for goodwill, and propelled us into an uncertain future. How do we embrace not-knowing, recognize fear without giving into it, and respond with a heart of compassion? What would Gandhi do? How do we align with the laws of love and nonviolence in such times? (May 10) Read more >>
Tell Southern US Governors To Put Health Over Profit And Halt Reopen Plans: The move to reopen businesses in the US, particularly in the South, puts people directly at risk. Here’s one way to take action. Read more >>
Global Week of Actions May 25 to 31 Against Sanctions and Imperialism: Join with others to organize against sanctions and imperialism. Be creative – if we can’t gather then do something virtual or a car caravan. Read more >>
#FreeThemAll: Detention Release Now Phone Zap: Join us for an hour-long virtual action to make calls to get migrant people released from detention. We will be calling governors, ICE directors, etc as part of campaigns across the country to #FreeThemAll. Wednesdays 12 PST/ 1 MST/ 3 EST. Read more >>
#ShareMyCheck Supports Economic Justice Based Stimulus Check Redistribution: Here’s how people are sharing the wealth. Read more >>
8 Ways To Support Immigrant Communities: From supporting decarceration efforts to pushing for the return of DACA, here’s how to help immigrant communities. Read more >>
Global Degrowth Day 2020: Celebrate the second annual Global Degrowth Day on June 6. Be part of a diverse movement for global justice, sustainability and well-being. As the coronavirus pandemic may still prohibit gatherings in June, they offer support for creating virtual events. Read more >>
Donate to the NYC Black Mutual Aid Fund: This is a fund that supports an important mutual aid network in severely impacted Black communities in the NYC area. Read more >>
