Editor’s Note
Public health is nonviolence in action. It’s a collection of policies and practices rooted in systemic and structural nonviolence as opposed to “systemic and structural violence“. For example, in a bid to stop obesity and diabetes, Oaxaca, Mexico, just banned the sale of junk food and sugary drinks to minors. It’s a stunning example of how systemic and structural nonviolence can be used to meet a public health challenge.
You know what else is a public health crisis? Racism in the United States. In this week’s Nonviolence News, you’ll learn that Los Angeles just became the latest city to declare racism a threat to public health. In other places, schools and teachers (above) are resisting a triple whammy of health crises: racism, unsafe re-openings amid COVID-19, and the presence of police officers in public schools.
What is structural nonviolence? Many things. It takes the form of land returns to Native tribes, closing debtor’s prisons and youth jails, shutting down pipelines and restoring wild species in former extraction zones. You’ll read about successes and steps forward on all of these in this week’s Nonviolence News. You’ll also find a beautiful report on how Mexican artists, performers, puppetistas, and farmers are uniting to preserve heirloom corn. In the Knowledge section, you’ll find articles on pranks as protests, 15 years of BDS, and how Germans are using humor to stop the rise of the alt-right.
Enjoy the news. Be sure to join us for the next Nonviolence News Happy Hour on Aug 21st to discuss it all. We’ll be joined by people from our collaborating organizations: the MK Gandhi Institute, Metta Center for Nonviolence, Backbone Campaign, Nonviolence International, and the River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding. Find out more here>>
With solidarity,
Rivera Sun, Editor
Photo credit: Black Lives Matter, United Federation of Teachers, the Democratic Socialists of America, and other groups gathered on the National Day of Resistance to protest against reopening of schools as well as police-free schools on August 3, 2020, in New York City. By Ron Adar/Sopa Images/Lightrocket via Getty Images.
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Activists Celebrate Decision To Close ‘Hellish’ St Louis Jail: The debtors’ jail where those locked inside lived among rats and roaches is finally set to close after recent mass anti-racism protests. Read more>>
Yet Another Fossil Fuel Pipeline Is Shut Down: The Tesoro High Plains Pipeline in North Dakota becomes the latest in a string of pipelines to be shut down. A judge has also ordered that damages must be paid to the landowners. Read more>>
Elk Return To Kentucky: After a decades-long effort, Kentucky now has the largest elk population east of the Mississippi. Even better: they are living in a mountain terrain of shuttered coal mines. Read more>>
15 States And Washington D.C. Will Sell Only Zero Emission Trucks and Buses By 2050: These states recently announced an agreement that all new truck and bus sales will be zero emission vehicles by 2050. Read more>>
Prisons Are Being Converted Into Farms, Community Centers, and Shelters: These old correctional facilities are finding new life and helping their communities truly thrive. Read more>>
1,000 Acres of Big Sur Land Returned To Esselen People After 250 Years: The tribe will build a sweat lodge and traditional village to conduct traditional ceremonies and teach the public about their culture. There will be no permanent homes or businesses on the land. Read more>>
Oaxaca Bans Sale of Junk Foods & Sugary Drinks To Children: In an experiment aimed at reducing obesity, this Mexican state banned the food that causes it. Read more>>
Los Angeles Declares Racism A Public Health Crisis: The metropolis passed an anti-racist policy agenda, becoming the 37th county in the country to declare that racism is a public health crisis. Read more>>
King County, WA, Will No Longer Incarcerate Youth: They plan to convert the remaining detention units at the county’s juvenile jail to “other uses” no later than 2025, citing a desire to move public funding away from “systems that are rooted in oppression.” Read more>>
100 Mapuche Activists Occupy Mayor’s Office In Chile: The occupants said that their action is in support of 27 political prisoners of that ethnic group who are on hunger strike and in repudiation of recent attacks by Chilean citizens which the police did nothing to stop. Read more>>
Mauna Kea Encampment Pauses During Pandemic, But Continues Resisting the TMT Telescope: The conflict has been oversimplified in some media coverage as a divide between culture and science. But one young organizer doesn’t agree. “We don’t have a problem with science; our ancestors used astronomy and the stars to navigate,” she says. “But we don’t support desecrating the land in order to do that.” Read more>>
Chileans Protest Against Sebastian Piñera: During a testimony to congress, protesters objected to the president’s human rights violations … then the police violently dispersed them. Read more>>
Over Ten Thousand Israelis Demand Netanyahu’s Resignation: Thousands took to the streets of occupied Jerusalem to demand the resignation of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged corruption scandals and his mishandling of the coronavirus crisis. Read more>>
Albuquerque Marches Against Federal Goons: After Portland’s shocking scenes, many worried about violence from federal agents in Albuquerque, but the march encountered no attacks. “After the rain cleared,” participants reported, “a double rainbow appeared above the protesters.” Read more>>
Thousands March In Germany Against Strict Pandemic Measures: Although millions of German citizens are in favor of these rules, others see them as a limitation of their freedom. COVID-19 cases, however, are on the rise in Germany. Read more>>
US Teacher Protests Erupt in 36 Cities As #DemandSafeSchools Takes Off: Demonstrators honked their cars, showed off signs with slogans like “Grades Not Graves” and gave speeches. Read more>>
Humanitarian Camp Raided By Border Patrol, 30+ Arrested: The government ramped up its efforts to stop humanitarian workers on the U.S.-Mexico border and raided the ‘No More Deaths’ aid station, Byrd Camp, arresting over 30 people. Read more>>
Amazon Workers Shut Down Warehouse For 3 Hours: A caravan of cars, organized by Bay Area Amazonians, an Amazon warehouse worker and delivery-driver led group, shut down deliveries to demand the company implement more safety measures to protect workers against COVID-19 and increase pay to reflect the cost of living in one of the country’s most expensive metro areas. Read more>>
Mutual Aid Unites Neighborhoods: Many mutual aid groups around the country have rallied to provide help in the face of the pandemic. Bed-Stuy Strong in New York assembled an army of volunteers to help vulnerable neighbors with food deliveries and basic supplies. Read more>>
#ZimbabweanLivesMatter Campaigns Against Human Rights Abuses: The hashtag draws from US protests, and demands justice after arrest, abductions, and torture of high profile political activists. With several activists in hiding and on the police wanted list, Zimbabwe’s human rights situation has once again become a subject of global debate. Read more>>
Seattle Introduces Bill To Abolish Police: After defunding the Seattle police, the city council is now considering replacing the police department altogether with a citizen-led community safety program. Read more>>
The Defense of Black Lives Must Include Disability Justice: There is much more work to be done to advance and promote equity and accessibility for people with disabilities—particularly for those of us who exist at BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and disabled intersections. Read more>>
Fossil Fuel Industry Funds Racist Policing and Pollutes Communities of Color: Struggles for racial and environmental justice across the U.S. have a common enemy: the fossil fuel industry. Read more>>
Group Holds Reparations Walk To Raise Money For Reparations: Each time the group raises $25,000, another mourner will join the three who have been taking turns on the daily pilgrimages. As of Friday, the group had collected more than $67,000. Read more>>
Mexican Artists, Performers, and Farmers Resist Monsanto: Using art and pageantry, artists and farmers unite to support local seeds against megacorporations like Monsanto. Read more>>
One Black Philadelphia’s Neighborhood Fight Against an Oil Refinery: A look at how Grays Ferry joined the environmental racism movement in order to save its residents’ lives. Read more>>
Indigenous Organizers Against Mining and Covid-19: The Xinka in Guatemala were already applying traditional organizing skills to combat another public health threat: metals mining. Now they’re drawing from those same roots to combat the pandemic. The democratically elected Xinka are distributing food to families who have presented Covid-19 symptoms and gone into quarantine. They’re also supporting inter-community exchange of health information, food, and traditional medicines. Read more>>
The Evolution Of Extinction Rebellion: The movement took off with a bang! But can it survive internal challenges and resurge post-pandemic? Read more>>
Unlike The Pandemic, Nuclear War Can Be Stopped Before It Begins: Seventy-five years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the anti-nuclear movement is taking big steps toward abolition. Read more>>
What Is Peacebuilding? “Peacebuilding is the process of creating self-supporting structures that remove causes of wars and offer alternatives to war in situations where wars might occur.” Read more>>
Kateri Peace Conference: Bending the Arc: Striving for Peace, Justice in an Age of Endless War: The 22nd annual peace and justice conference will be held online this year. (August 21-22) Learn more>>
Portland, ME, City Hall Encampment Demands Justice For Unhoused Persons and Housing Justice For All: The camp has been in place for two weeks, won several victories and continues to push on other demands. Read more>>
As Evictions Loom, Here Are Practical Tips For Housing Take Overs: Cheri Honkala from the Poor People’s Economic and Human Rights Campaign offers hard-won advice. Read more>>
Pranks As Political Activism: Pigasus For President, Barbie Liberation Front … pranks can be powerful protest. Read more>>
#RunYourHood Connects Runners and Allies: In the wake of Ahmaud Arbery’s murder and the George Floyd protests, this Chicago club connects Black runners and allies. Read more>>
Artist Writes & Draws Alternative Ending To Popular Children’s Book: Revising The Giving Tree to show healthy boundary setting, this artist offers good advice to young readers on relationships, friendship, and longevity of sustainability. Read more>>
How To Make The Far-Right A Joke; Lessons From Germany: In the many instances where far-right activity attempts to exhibit solemnity, gravity or strength, a well-aimed joke is a powerful act of resistance. Read more>>
“He Who Shall Not Be Named”, Harry Potter-Themed Protest Circumvents Censorship Laws: Banned from criticizing the government, Thai democracy activists held Harry Potter-themed protests to cast spells at the government “Who Shall Not Be Named”. Read more>>
Teachers and Students Make Protest Tombstones To Oppose Unsafe School Reopenings: At a protest, students and teaching created haunting mock tombstones to raise the specter of COVID-19 deaths. Read more>>
Gloria Steinem and Other Feminists Write Open Letter About How “Mrs. America Got It Wrong”: Phyllis Shcafly didn’t sink the ERA; insurance industry and business interests did. Steinem also says the series “got her hair right and her character all wrong”. Read more>>
15 Lessons From 15 Years of Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS): Cities and cultural spaces have declared themselves “apartheid free zones”. Companies have divested from Israeli apartheid. Artists have decided not to play in Israel. Academics have ended relationships with Israeli institutions. All as a result of BDS campaigns. Read more>>
10-Min Documentary Shows The Remarkable Ojibwe Struggle To Stop the Crandon Mine: This campaign stopped a major mine and asserted tribal treaty rights. Read more>>
The Second Act of Social-Media Activism: Has the Internet become better at mediating change? Read more>>
Free Speech Fights Have Always Targeted the Left: The original free speech fights happened in small US cities as police hauled labor organizers off street corner soapboxes. Read more>>
Tips For Bystander Intervention: See something? Do something. The 5Ds of de-escalation offer practical responses when we see injustice and discrimination happening. Read more>>
To Cut Police Budgets, Start in Public Schools: The presence of police in schools is emblematic of the worst excesses of our failed experiment in modern policing and the expansion of America’s carceral approach to governing. Read more>>
Nonviolence News Happy Hour: Join with others to explore the stories in Nonviolence News. Share your favorite headlines, your burning questions, the most creative tactics, and ideas for taking action in your own community. (Aug 21) Learn more>>
Anger As A Voice For Change Webinar: Anger is a powerful emotion that can sometimes have destructive effects, but anger can also be harnessed to remind us what’s important, and to create change in our interpersonal relationships and communities. Join facilitators Bianca Pointner and Jonathan Jones for this interactive webinar. (August 25 & September 4 / 5:00pm – 6:30pm) Learn more>>
Abolition Action Zaps: Join Showing UP For Racial Justice as they launch five Wednesdays in a row of weekly Abolition Action Zaps. They will take action together on new and pressing campaigns each week to get feds out of cities, #FreeThemAll, #DefundThePolice and ICE, and demand justice as part of Black and people of color led campaigns for collective liberation. (July 29th-Aug 26) Learn more>>
Ban Militarized Policing In Your Local Area: Charlottesville, VA, banned militarized police. Here’s how you can work to do the same. Learn more >>
#FloodICE With Faux Applications To Their Vigilante Citizens Academy: Thousands have sent in mock applications to bog down ICE’s new program. Learn more>>
Nonviolence Retreat w/ MK Gandhi Institute: Join nonviolence practitioners from near and far to explore the wonders of the world of Nonviolence within, between, and among ourselves. Develop the will to embrace nonviolence by learning about Gandhian Nonviolence, Kingian Nonviolence, and Nonviolent Communication. (Aug 10-14) Learn 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>>
Donate to the McDonald‘s Workers Strike Fund: Bay Area McDonald’s workers are on strike for several reasons, including racism and economic injustice. You can support them by donating to the strike fund. Read More>>
Pledge To Move Your Money From Fossil Fuels: Friends don’t let friends bank on fossil fuels. Here’s where you can pledge to move your money, and encourage everyone you know to join you. Read More>>
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