Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun
Recent polls show that US citizens now support police reform in overwhelming numbers. “This is why we march,” said Black organizers in response. Organized action propels change. It’s certainly encouraging for many interconnected social justice movements that have been pushing for change for a long time.
In the photo above, a Treaty Defender holds feathers aloft. She is part of the Native-led blockades that disrupted President Trump’s Fourth of July Rally at Mount Rushmore with a demand to honor treaties and return stolen land. Eleven major US cities took a step toward launching pilot programs on universal basic income. Numerous racial justice gains were won this week. Black-led bike protests are some of the largest demonstrations for Black lives in New York City.
Be sure to explore the “Knowledge” section. You’ll discover everything from visionary solutions to practical advice. There are articles on how to practice nonviolence when others (or you) are acting like trolls online. There are studies on how violence backfires on movements and the politics of Gene Sharp. You’ll also discover one of my favorite articles this week: how #TikTokGrandma became a powerfully supportive ally to the youth that made Trump’s Tulsa Rally a complete flop.
Nonviolence News also shares stories from around the world. Some evoke our solidarity, empathy, outrage, and understanding. Others teach us how to improve our own organizing. Nonviolence is a global field. We can all learn from one another. You’ll find these and many more stories in this week’s Nonviolence News. Enjoy.
Yours,
Rivera Sun, Editor
Photo Credit: Treaty Defenders block the road leading to Mt. Rushmore.
Thank you! To all the people who contributed last week, thank you. Your generosity helps us continue to share and reveal the power of nonviolence in action. Donate here>>
Los Angeles, Atlanta, and 9 Major Cities Move Toward Universal Basic Income: These 11 cities are launching or working on pilot programs, especially in the wake of the pandemic. (Pictured above is Michael Tubbs, founder of Mayors For Guaranteed Income & Mayor of Stockton, CA.) Read more>>
‘This Is Why We March’: Poll Shows Overwhelming US Support for Police Reform, Increased Accountability: Nearly a month into the nationwide uprising over racial injustice and police brutality, Americans across the political spectrum agree that policing in the U.S. must undergo serious reforms in order to serve the public, according to a poll released Tuesday. Read more>>
Oakland School Board Votes To Remove Police: The “George Floyd Resolution” eliminates the school district’s police force of 10 sworn officers and 50 unarmed campus safety officers. Read more>>
US Housing Justice Advocates Applaud Repeal of Amendment That Blocked New Public Housing: Fair housing advocates applauded the repeal of a 22-year-old provision which blocks the construction of new public housing units. Read more>>
George Washington University Commits To Divest From Fossil Fuels: Sunrise GW led the successful campaign to fully divest the university endowment from the fossil fuel industry by 2025, achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, and further sustainability measures on campus. Read more>>
Reddit Bans Hate Speech: Long overdue, the company finally updated their policies to ban hate speech and removed 2,000 forums from its site, including a major site for followers of Donald Trump. Read more>>
Facebook Bans Boogaloo Groups: Under pressure from advertisers and racial justice activists, Facebook banned extremist “Boogaloo” groups. Read more>>
NASA Renames Headquarters After Mary W. Jackson: One of the “Hidden Figures” behind the computing and mathematics of the space program, Mary W. Jackson, a Black woman, is finally receiving public recognition for her genius work. Read more>>
Redskins Announce Formal Review of Name: Under pressure from corporate sponsors, Native Rights activists, stadium owners and public officials, the Washington football team announced that they would start the process of changing the name, which is viewed as derogatory toward Natives. Read more>>
#StopHateForProfit Campaign Is Succeeding Against Facebook … Even If The Pundits Don’t “Get” It: Media pundits can’t seem to wrap their heads around the phenomenal success of the #StopHateForProfit boycott, which now counts more than 750 companies pausing their Facebook advertising in July to protest the spread of racism on the platform. Read more>>
60 Cities in 20 Countries Protest Bolsonaro’s Fascism & Mishandling of COVID-19: Brazilians at home and abroad protested Bolsonaro’s dismissive response to the pandemic, which has led the country to have the second highest infection rate. Read more>>
Feeding the People in Times of Pandemic: The Food Sovereignty Approach in Nicaragua: In the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere there are no hunger flags flying. The market stalls are stocked, customers are buying, and prices are stable. Nicaraguan small farmers produce almost all the food the nation consumes, and have some leftover for export. Here’s how this is possible. Read more>>
Thousands of Palestinians Protest Annexation: At least 30,000 Palestinians are protesting in Gaza against Israel’s plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank territory, a decision that can be implemented as of this first of July. Read more>>
Treaty Defenders Arrested At Six Grandfathers (Mount Rushmore) Blockades: More than 100 treaty defenders and other protesters gathered on a highway leading to Mount Rushmore on Friday ahead of President Donald Trump’s speech at the monument. The group blocked the road, holding banners and chanting slogans such as “We can’t breathe” and proclaiming treaty rights. They carried signs with messages such as, “End 500 years of Genocide,” and “It’s a good day to do the right thing.” Read more>>
Hunger Strike At San Quentin Prison Protests Dismal COVID-19 Conditions: The hunger strike comes during a rapidly-spreading outbreak at the prison that’s infected about a third of all people incarcerated there and families say they’re struggling to get information on potentially sick loved ones. Read more>>
Colombians March Against Police Brutality & Army Abuses: Colombia’s human rights defenders, workers, and students held a peaceful torchlight march in Bogota against police brutality, the killing of social leaders, and army abuses after an Indigenous girl was sexually abused by seven soldiers. Read more>>
PRIDE Shifts Gears During Pandemic, Focuses On Racial Justice: Using smaller demonstration and online actions, PRIDE events this year emphasized and amplified the calls for racial justice. Read more>>
Would Abolishing Police Help Sexual Assault Survivors?: Without police, what do we do about the rapists and abusers? Here’s the answer. Read more>>
Brazil’s Indigenous Struggles & LGBTQI Rights Campaigns Resist Bolsonarro: President Jair Bolsonaro’s right-wing regime has been a terror to both groups. Here’s how they’re organizing for their rights. Read more>>
Detroit Fiat Autoworkers Halt Work For Second Day: The workers refused to work under conditions where basic safety and health protocols, including social distancing measures and cleaning guidelines, are being flouted by the corporation and the United Auto Workers union (UAW) in order to maximize profits. Read more>>
Vicious Pepper Spray Attack on Hunger Strikers at ICE Detention Facility: A Cuban asylum-seeker on Thursday described a pepper spray attack he and about two dozen other people faced in May at a private prison where ICE is holding immigrants. Read more>>
How Cities Are Transforming In Response To COVID-19: Economic relief, free bus fares, resistance to water shut-offs and evictions; here are many ways people in cities around the world are responding to crisis. Read more>>
Without Radical Community Education, We Won’t Move Beyond “Comfortable” Reforms: Community education cannot be considered an “add-on” — we must center it as an integral part of our ongoing organizing. Read more>>
Police Attack #DefundPolice Occupation Outside New York City Hall: New York Police officers swarmed the hundreds of people who have been peacefully occupying the park in front of City Hall for the past week, calling for a $1 billion cut to the NYPD budget. Read more>>
Everything You Wanted To Know About Police Reform Bills. No, Really, Everything: Right now, two separate and unequal policing bills are navigating their way through America’s highest legislative bodies. While the two proposals are similar in many ways, The Root decided to take a deep dive into the specifics of the two groundbreaking legislative plans. Read more>>
We Must Confront Anti-Black History in All Forms in the Age of #BlackLivesMatter: “Those of us in Dominican and Latinx communities must acknowledge and resist our own colorism and anti-Blackness.” Read more>>
Black Workers Protest Retaliatory Lay-Offs From Boston Gentrifier: At the close of the rally, workers marched to Culliton’s fancy house — presumably valued above a million dollars in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood where once multiple working-class families were crammed into triple-decker housing. Read more>>
High School Students Increasingly Turn To Social Media For Racial Justice Call-Outs: Students have repurposed large meme accounts, set up Google Docs and anonymous pages on Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter, and wielded their personal followings to hold friends and classmates accountable for behavior they deem unacceptable. “People will post videos of people saying the N-word, or videos where they’re being racist or using derogatory words and stuff like that, and they go viral,” one student said. Read more>>
Land Loss, the Black Commons, and Collective Ownership: The “40 Acres And A Mule” promise was never fulfilled. Organizers today are pushing for the establishment of the Black Commons of cultural, land, and economic resources. Read more>>
1 Person Killed, Another Injured At Protest For Breonna Taylor: Protestors who gathered in Jackson Square Park in Louisville, Kentucky to continue their calls for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor were set upon by gunfire from an assailant. A man who was shot died on the scene, while another person was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. Read more>>
“To My Neighbor Who Accused Me Of Stealing”: An open letter to everyone — progressive allies included — on confronting racial profiling and expanding capacity for compassion and solidarity. Read more>>
Mathematicians Call For Boycott of Police: A group of mathematicians in the United States has written a letter calling for their colleagues to stop collaborating with police. They concentrate their criticism on predictive policing, a maths-based technique aimed at stopping crime before it occurs. Read more>>
Can Community Land Trusts Build Racial Equity? Seattle protests shift from defunding/abolishing the police to redistributing land and real estate. Read more>>
DC Officials Made Redskins Football Team Name-Change A Condition of Move To RFK Stadium: As the sports team searches for a new home, DC officials refuse to let the team move to their stadium unless the derogatory name is removed from the team. Their decision added pressure to corporate sponsor’s demands that the name be changed. Read more>>
Building Resilient Communities From Oaxaca, Mexico to Korchi, India: Diverse communities around the globe have been diving into their traditions and innovating to respond to ecological, economic, political and social crises (including the current COVID-generated one). Read more>>
‘Either We Change Or We Die’, The Radical Farming Project In The Amazon: A growing movement for sustainable agriculture in Brazil has taken on new urgency with the coronavirus pandemic. Read more>>
Indigenous Groups Lead Struggle Against Arctic Oil Drilling: A nationwide grassroots movement led by the Gwich’in people may soon reach its long-sought goal: permanent protection of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Read more>>
Cancer Alley Activists Charged With Terrorism For Putting A Box Of Polluting Plastic Pellets On Owners Front Steps: It begs the question: if the activists are terrorists for putting this on the owner’s steps, what does that make the company that plans to dump these in the river? Read more>>
Why Are The US Rivers & Lakes Shrinking? Cows: Cattle production is draining the West’s water supply at alarming rates. Read more>>
From #CancelRent to Community Ownership: When rent came due this week on July 1st, millions remained unable to pay due to the COVID-19 pandemic and now face evictions. Read how cancelling rent and investing in community-owned housing can make this year’s eviction crisis our last. Download political education and organizing tools about how to build the movement to cancel rent from Right to the City. Read more>>
Housing Activists Unite to Fight Mass Evictions and Defund Police: Calling for rent cancellation, housing activists are preparing to face off with cops evicting Black and Brown renters. Read more>>
Pacific Islander Peace Coalition Opposes War Games: A new coalition of Pacific Peace groups says the “RIMPAC’ military exercises event exploits Pacific peoples and causes environmental damage and should be cancelled. Read more>>
Peace Letters In Yemen: Two people exchange letters of peace from opposite sides of one of the world’s worst conflicts. Read more>>
New York’s Black-led Bike Protests Organize For Racial Justice: In May, seven bike riders were strangers. Now, they’re mobilizing some of the biggest protests in New York together. Read more>>
Oakland’s Protest Murals Are An Open-Air Art Museum For Racial Justice: After boarded up stores were painted with protest murals, a group is tracking down the artists to see if their art can be preserved. Read more>>
The History of UK Credit Unions & Racial Justice: In 1964, a group of British-Caribbeans set up the Hornsey Co-operative Credit Union, the first credit union in Britain, as a reaction to discrimination by major banks. By 1974, Britain had 48 credit unions with 39,000 members — around two-thirds of whom were of West Indian origin. Learn more about the history of how British-Caribbean people led the creation of credit unions in Britain. Read more>>
UK Black Theatre Collective Suggests 5 Changes To Make Theatre More Inclusive: The recommendations include everything from diversity in production teams to better trained hair and makeup support for non-white actors. Read more>>
Frederick Douglass’ Descendants Deliver His 4th of July Speech: In this short film, five young descendants of Frederick Douglass read and respond to excerpts of his famous speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” which asks all of us to consider America’s long history of denying equal rights to Black Americans. Watch here>>
Two White Actresses Step Aside For Black People To Animate Black Characters’ Voices: After being called out on social media, both Jenny Slate and Kristen Bell have announced they are stepping down from their respective animated roles in order for Black actors to actually have the opportunity to play themselves on-screen. Read more>>
How to Protect Yourself From Retaliation When Filming Police Brutality: Here’s what you can do after you film the police to protect the victims, their families and yourself. Read more>>
How Did LA Activists Win #DefundPolice So Fast? Answer: They’d been pushing for it long before the George Floyd protests erupted. Read more>>
Who Was Gene Sharp? What Were His Politics? Sharp was the world’s foremost thinker on nonviolent action. Some nonviolence scholars regard him so highly that even the slightest criticism is resented. On the other hand, some left-wing critics paint him as a tool of US foreign policy. Meanwhile, few members of the public have even heard of him. Read more>>
Boycott, Divest, Sanctions … And Its Critics: No civil society group in the United States has undergone as much censorious repression as the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement — better known simply as BDS — which is one of the most radical critics of Israeli policy in Gaza and the West Bank. Twenty-eight states have passed “anti-boycott” legislation condemning BDS. But is it justified? Read more>>
Bree Newsome Took Down the Confederate Flag 5 Years Ago. She’s Still Organizing: The Black activist climbed a flagpole and took down the symbol of white supremacy five years ago. Today, she discusses her political evolution, the continued road forward for the Black Freedom Struggle and more. Read more>>
What Kind of Support Helps European and Balkan LGBTI (LGBTQIA) Campaigns? There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to campaigning for today’s LGBTI activists, but providing support on short notice allows organisations to be reactive and flexible. Read more>>
In Times Of Rapid Change, Victory Comes To Those Who Train For It: If soldiers train for armed combat, why wouldn’t activists train for toppling the political-economic structure that’s killing our chance for a just future? The stakes are just as high. Read more>>
Omar Wasow On Violent Vs. Nonviolent Protests: This Black social movement scholar’s work has been at the center of recent controversies around the social policing of Black views … but what is he really saying about how violence can backfire on protests? Read more>>
George Floyd Protests Have Dominated The Media. Here’s Why. It’s more than just a simple “if it bleeds it leads” phenomenon says long-time journalist and movement scholar Deborah Mathis. Read more>>
Using Principled Nonviolence In Meaningful Ways Right Now: Have you caught yourself acting like a troll lately? In this newsletter, Metta Center explores how to go deeper with principled nonviolence during these intense times. Read more>>
Supporting the TikTok Teens That Sank Trump’s Rally Was #TikTokGrandma: This is a great example of powerful, intergenerational organizing in which an older person showed up to support young people in taking a creative – and strategic – action that she couldn’t have pulled off on her own. Read more>>
Donate to the Black Hills Bail and Legal Defense Fund: Support the treaty defenders who protested Trump’s Fourth of July rally at Mt. Rushmore. Contribute here>>
Hibakusha Remembrance Webinar: In the hour-long session, with time for Q&A, these experts will address the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, the public health impact of nuclear war, the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the state of international law and other matters to help us all make meaningful the vow: “Never Again.” (August 6th) Read more>>
Sign The Appeal To Pope Francis For Active Nonviolence: Here is an opportunity to lend your voice to the call for a change to a nonviolent way of life for 1 billion Catholics worldwide: sign the appeal to Pope Francis to advance the vision, spirituality, and practical methods for nonviolent change at this critical moment. All are welcome to sign, from individuals to religious communities, organizations to educational institutions. Read more>>
