Editor’s Note:
This week, three major fossil fuel pipelines were stalled, stopped, and shut down: the KXL, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, and the Dakota Access Pipeline. This is a testimony to the millions of people who stood up at Standing Rock, in Nebraska, and along the many thousands of miles impacted by these pipelines. It is hopeful news for a world that desperately needs to reverse its addiction to fossil fuels.
Nonviolence toward the Earth is essential for human survival. Nonviolence is more than the absence of violence. It is the presence of the systems and structures that nourish and support the well-being and dignity of all. More and more people are becoming articulate about the ways that violence isn’t just physical. It can also be emotional, systemic, cultural, economic, social and so much more.
Likewise, nonviolence also comes in many shapes and sizes, in systems and structures, cultural beliefs and social practices. As you read Nonviolence News, keep your eye out for these examples. Nonviolence isn’t just something protesters can use to make social change. One article this week, calls out the double standard of politicians demanding nonviolence from protesters. Provocatively, it says: if governments like nonviolence so much, they should try it.
I believe governments should try nonviolence. They should learn and use nonviolent approaches to policing and security. They should implement policies that embody and create structural and systemic nonviolence, such as restorative justice, participatory democracy structures, and economic justice policies. They should work tirelessly to end the violence of racism, sexism, anti-LGBTQIA attitudes, imperialism, militarism, and more.
And why stop with governments? Imagine our world if every institution and organization aspired to replace violent systems with the viable nonviolent alternatives that exist. Schools, churches, businesses, social groups, online platforms, sports teams, media sources . . . there’s room for increasing nonviolence in all of these areas. Nonviolence News is committed to finding the stories of where this work is being done and uplifting them to help inspire others to do the same.
Enjoy this week’s news and keep your eye out for the ways people are already changing and transforming.
Rivera Sun, Editor
Photo Credit: Stop KXL Pipeline demonstration, 2017.
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In A Historic Win For Working People, Seattle Taxes Big Biz: The Tax Amazon movement claimed “a historic victory for working people” on Monday when Seattle’s city council passed a new tax on big businesses to fund local economic relief. Read more>>
DAPL Pipeline Shut Down By Federal Judge: After three years and several spills, the detested pipeline opposed at Standing Rock was shut down by a federal judge until an Environmental Impact Assessment is completed. Read more>>
Atlantic Coast Pipeline Cancelled After Years Of Activist-Driven Delays: The pipeline was delayed for three years by coalitions of activists, including leadership from a historically African-American town.”The future does not belong to Big Oil,” activists say. Read more>>
KXL Pipeline Stalled (Again): A recent court decision declined to include the KXL pipeline in its fast-track ruling for fossil fuel projects. This is good news on the pipeline that would open up major tar sands production. Read more>>
Indigenous Peoples In Argentina Win Unprecedented Ruling: It is beyond doubt that this ruling, which sets a new standard at the continental level, is a first sign of justice for a centuries-old debt to the Indigenous peoples. However, despite its paradigmatic nature, this precedent remains precarious. Read more>>
Supreme Court Upholds Treaty Rights For Native Tribes In Eastern Oklahoma: “Today we are asked whether the land these treaties promised remains an Indian reservation for purposes of federal criminal law. Because Congress has not said otherwise, we hold the government to its word,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in the majority opinion. Read more>>
Thailand’s Cabinet Legalizes Same-Sex Partnerships: This is considered a milestone, and awards equal rights to same-sex partnerships as to heteronormative marriages. Read more>>
Federal Appeals Court Upholds Endangered Species Protections for Yellowstone Grizzlies: “This decision solidifies the belief of numerous wildlife advocates and native tribes that protecting grizzly bears should be based upon science and the law and not the whims of special interest groups.” Read more>>
Tens Of Thousands Of Sudanese Protest For Swifter Change: The protesters who ousted their dictator are in the streets again. This time, they are marching against the civilian-military Sovereign Council, demanding a greater role for civilians in the country’s transition towards democracy and faster reform. Read more>>
Mexican Citizens Blockade Border To Deny Americans Entry Over COVID-19 Concerns: Residents of Sonoyta, the Mexican border town facing Lukeville, Arizona, formed a blockade at the border over the weekend in a bid to block Americans from entering the country amid a rise in the U.S. state’s coronavirus cases. Read more>>
Black Exotic Dancers Organize “Strippers Strike”: Ending unspoken racial quotas; enforcing equal and fair auditions; better protections across all workplaces; and providing access to the best-paying shifts are just some of the things that the Portland-based “stripper strike” is demanding. Read more>>
Taking Down Statues, France Confronts Its Colonial And Slave Trade Past: France is divided over what to do about statues of figures connected to slavery and colonialism. Read more>>
What’s It Like To Participate In A Rent Strike? Striking Tenants Share Their Experiences: “We are anxious. We worry. We fear. It’s not that we don’t want to pay the rent forever. We’re rent striking because we don’t have income. There was no choice but to strike. Everyone wants to live in livable, good conditions. That’s not the case in our building.” Read more>>
Protesters Attacked by Police Are Suing to Vindicate Their Constitutional Rights: Victims of police abuse are filing litigation and at least one judge has halted some of the most egregious misconduct. Read more>>
Massive NYC March Demands Liberation and Justice For Palestine: Thousands of people joined a massive rally and march for Palestine in Brooklyn, New York, as part of the “Day of Rage” against Israeli annexation, colonization and Zionism in Palestine on Wednesday, 1 July. Read more>>
Chicago Protest Decries Continued Theft Of Palestinian Land: Over 300 cars and 700 Palestinians, Arabs, and supporters gathered today in the heart of our community in the southwest suburbs of Chicago to say #NoToAnnexation, no to colonization, no to the occupation, and no to the continuation of the theft of Palestinian land at the hands of Israel. Read more>>
Facebook Ad Boycott Continues After Zuckerberg & Sandberg Blow Off Civil Rights Groups: 900 companies are participating to varying degrees that don’t always involve total divestment, and the boycott has yet to significantly impact Facebook’s bottom line. But it has also become a major embarrassment for Facebook, highlighting its continual shell game of promising to fight hate speech and then taking half-hearted or ineffective action. Read more>>
Meet The Vibrant Community of Resistance Behind New Orleans’ Historic Protests: Decades of grassroots organizing has led to some of the largest protests in New Orleans’ modern history, and the seizing of empty housing for the displaced. Read more>>
Black Women In Italy Weren’t Being Heard. That’s Changed. In Milan’s local black communities, the solidarity protests became an opportunity to speak out about issues of endemic racism beyond the U.S. experience. “We stand in solidarity with what is happening in the U.S., but we also want this to be a starting point to openly confront racism at home that is no less alarming than police brutality in America.” Read more>>
Black Lives Matter Protesters Targeted By Driver Attacks: A spate of incidents has occurred across the US in which drivers have plowed their cars into protesters. Read more>>
Prisoners Mobilize For Black Lives And To End Brutality Behind Bars: On the streets, the excuse is, “he had a gun”. In prison, the line is, “he had a knife”. The pattern is parallel. Read more>>
If Black Lives Matter, Black Living Must Also: The #LivingWhileBlack hashtag documents the ways the activities of ordinary life have been criminalized for Black people in the US. Read more>>
#ShoppingWhileBlack & #BlackOutDay Reveal Racism In Retail: These two efforts document racism in shops and stores, and mobilize people to shop at Black-owned businesses and not at racist stores. Read more>>
Being Black In Japan: This short film demonstrates what it can be like to be Black in Japan as a boy deals with the racist taunts of his new classmates. Read more>>
Why We Must Stop Playing The Name-Shame Game: After a professor asked a Vietnamese student at my college to “anglicize” her name, she bravely spoke out against the pressure to assimilate to whiteness. Read more>>
Editor’s Note: Special thanks to Yes! Magazine, who compiled an incredible special edition on migrant justice from which these articles largely come.
5 Ways Immigrants Area Leading Social Change: Often denied legal recognition and systemic support, immigrant communities have long been finding solutions to the social ills plaguing all communities. Read more>>
What Is The US-Mexico Border To The Indigenous Peoples Who Have Always Lived There? For Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the U.S.-Mexico border is increasingly a symbol and tool of genocide. When this border was created, Indigenous peoples of the region were divided, including the Yaqui, O’odham, Cocopah, Kumeyaay, Pai, Apache, and Kickapoo. Read more>>
Reclaiming Neighborhood Power: New York’s immigrant communities turn to the tools of civic life to protect their rights. Read more>>
Anti-Asian Immigration Rhetoric Has A Long, Sordid History: Southeast Asian migrants have faced racism, targeted immigration enforcement, and denial of their basic human rights for generations. Read more>>
Black Immigrants Must Be Part Of The US Immigration Narratives: The arrival of Black immigrants was driven in large part by many of the same forces that brought other waves of immigrants to this country—pursuing education, safety, economic opportunity, fleeing the impact of U.S. policy, or following the path of family members who came before them. And all these groups would live alongside each other in established Black northern communities and, perhaps, for the first time, the African diaspora encountered itself in a new way. Read more>>
How Zimbabweans Welcome Climate Migrants: Zimbabweans who had to flee their low-lying farms because of drought are finding an unexpected welcome in the nation’s Eastern Highlands. Read more>>
New Report Finds Economic Benefits of Protecting 30% of Planet’s Land and Ocean Outweigh the Costs 5-to-1: “Protecting nature halts biodiversity loss, helps fight climate change, and lessens the chance of future pandemics. This is sound public policy, economically, ecologically, and morally.” Read more>>
Bike Kitchen Bratislava; A Bike Co-op Powered By the Sharing Economy: In 2011, a group of cycling enthusiasts in Bratislava, Slovakia, founded the Bike Kitchen, a cooperative self-help bike repair workshop where people come together to cook and organize events. From day one, the group’s aim has been to promote bike culture and to fight for cycling infrastructure in a city that is dominated by cars. Read more>>
Collective Governance On Farms Increases Biodiversity: In an idyllic pasture on the banks of the Sava River in Eastern Croatia, a pastoral collective is stewarding the land to increase biodiversity. Read more>>
‘It’s All On Hold’: How Covid-19 Derailed The Fight Against Plastic Waste: The pandemic prompted states to temporarily ban reusable grocery bags and stalled legislation aimed at reducing plastic packaging. Read more>>
Global Peace Index 2020 Is Out: This year’s report includes an analysis of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on peace, including Positive Peace: the attitudes, institutions and structures that create and sustain peaceful societies. It examines how the impact of the pandemic, and in particular its economic consequences will increase the risk of severe deteriorations in Positive Peace over the next few years, and also examines which countries are best placed to recover from the shock. Read more>>
Drafting Women Into the US Military Is Not Progress: The National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service is disguising an argument for militarism as one for equality. Read more>>
To Defeat Systemic Racism, The US Must End Endless War: As we look inwards to dismantle America’s legacy of racism that pervades the law enforcement and national security apparatuses, we must also recognize that racism and militarism are mutually reinforcing. Read more>>
Re-imagining Community Protection: A new resource developed by members of the Shanti Sena Network and Nonviolence International shares examples of existing and potential community protection initiatives. Read more>>
How Museums Are Documenting US Protests: From collecting and storing placards to recording oral histories from those who were there, museums across America are archiving vital moments in history-in-the-making. Read more>>
Protest Music Has Come “Roaring Back To Life” When We Need It Most: While protest songs never went away, the nationwide awakening to civil rights has created a need for new voices. Read more>>
The Nature of Fashion Report; Rewiring Fashion For Livable Planet: What would the fashion industry look like if it truly functioned as an ecosystem? By realigning ourselves with what occurs in nature, we can design a next-generation textile production model that recognizes its connections to the biosphere. Read more>>
How Urban Design Can Make Or Break A Protest: Cities’ geography can aid, underscore or discourage a protest movement’s success. Read more>>
If Governments Believe So Much in Nonviolence, They Should Try It: It’s time governments led by example and stopped using armed police as the go-to solution for societal problems. Read more>>
5 Lessons From The K-pop Fans Who Fizzled Trump’s Tulsa Rally: As K-pop fans (and Black organizers and artists) are demonstrating, joyful, powerful movements draw more people in and reflect the kind of world we want to live in. Read more>>
The Long Walk: When a group of Black mothers in Ohio were told to wait for school integration, they started marching every day in protest. They kept going for nearly 18 months. Read more>>
Street Medics of Color Keep People Safe(r) At Minneapolis Protests: “Having street medics is important to be able to respond to the disproportionate amount of police and state violence towards civilians during peaceful protests,” one street medic explained. “All kinds of civilians go to public demonstrations: youth, elders, immigrants, differently abled folks, immunocompromised, and so on. Not everyone has access to health care, and medics on the ground help folks with basic care, which also puts less stress on first responders.” Read more>>
Strike For Black Lives on July 20: JULY 20TH is a day of reckoning. Across the country, workers will rise up to strike for Black lives. Together, we will withhold our most valuable asset — our labor — in support of dismantling racism and white supremacy to bring about fundamental changes in our society, economy and workplaces. Join us in walking out for justice. Read more>>
Campaign Nonviolence National Conference ONLINE: Join nonviolence visionaries, scholars and practitioners as they share their expertise from a wide variety of fields. They will offer concrete pathways to build the transformed world our hearts long for, a world free from the violence of racism, poverty, war and the environmental crisis. Join us in embracing the nonviolent shift, connecting with each other and committing to creating a just, healthy and sustainable world for all. (Aug 6-8) Learn more>>
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>>
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