Editor’s Note:
The United States is going through some growing pains. (Understatement of the year.) With secret police snatching protesters off the street, journalists being arrested for doing their jobs, and the Portland mayor being simultaneously tear gassed by federal agents and booed by his constituency (for doing the same thing to the protesters the previous week), the scenes coming out of Portland, OR, are familiar to citizens who have lived under dictatorship, fascism, and totalitarianism.
Fortunately for US citizens, our fellow global citizens have a proven track record in using nonviolent action to oust dictators and stop tyrannical regimes. In 2019, Sudan became the latest in a long list of countries that have had nonviolent revolutions. Armenia, Iran, India, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Lithuania, the Philippines, Zambia, Portugal, Greece, Mali, Chile, El Salvador, Brazil, Ghana, Georgia, Malawi, Thailand, and many others have all used nonviolent action to transform their political situations.
Can the US manage to stop its slide into abject fascism? Many hope so. Many are organizing to counter Trump’s expansion of secret police to other US cities in the coming weeks. From Dictatorship to Democracy should be on everyone’s summer reading list.
Nonviolent action offers hundreds of tools, including tactics for directly challenging repressive police in the streets and strategies for emptying the streets while still engaging in resistance. Nonviolence is versatile. It can be incredibly effective. Each week in Nonviolence News, I collect 30-50+ stories that show us ways to use this diverse and resilient toolbox to make meaningful change. This week, you’ll find stories about divesting from fossil fuel banks, living statues protesting Trump, poor people organizing mutual aid and occupying vacant homes, strikes and boycotts, creative street protests, tool libraries and tiny houses as Gandhian constructive programs, and more.
Take courage. Get organized. People around the world have withstood dictators and ended tyrannical regimes. Nonviolence has got this covered.
In solidarity,
Rivera Sun, Editor
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“70 Years of the Korean War: Intergenerational Korean American Women’s Dialogue and Virtual Vigil.” July 23 at 8pm ET / 5pm PT. Read More>>
Nonviolence In Action: Planning & Strategy Webinar: Join Nonviolence News Editor Rivera Sun to learn how to organize effective actions, powerful campaigns, and movements for change. (Aug 18) Read More>>
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