Editor’s Note from Rivera Sun
The United States is, once again, erupting with racial justice struggles. The murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis cops comes on the heels of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, and just days after a white woman in Central Park overreacted to Christian Cooper as he told her to control her dog while he was birdwatching. All three African-American men were targeted by racism; two were murdered by it. And they are just three of the many people in the United States being targeted by the violence of racism and racist violence. As incidents of looting and property destruction are driving media narratives, Black organizers are calling out the harsher violence of white supremacy and a racist police system.
But beneath this storm of arguing over property destruction, the reality of the protests across the United States is that most protesters are using nonviolent tactics.As the corporate media replays images of burning buildings and broken glass, the images (like the one above) of the many courageous people standing up for justice are being lost in the shuffle. It’s up to us to look beyond the headlines and see the deeper story of how thousands of people are taking profoundly courageous action for racial justice even as the violence of militarized police fires tear gas, drives SUVs into protesters, knocks down elderly people, and more.
The key question here is not: is property destruction violence or nonviolence. The question we should all be asking ourselves is: what can we do, today, to ensure racial justice in all communities? If you believe in nonviolence, find nonviolent ways to take action right now to uproot racism from ourselves and our lives; and to end police murders. You’ll see many examples and suggestions in this week’s Nonviolence News.
Photo Credits: A protester takes a knee in San Jose, CA.
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Peace Literacy Through Peace Literature Course w/ Rivera Sun & A Dozen Experts In Peace, Peacebuliding, and Nonviolence : Using the award-winning Ari Ara Series, this summer course introduces practical skills for building peace in our lives, communities, and world. Starts June 10th. Read more >>
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