Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun
Media can be a problem. A big one. Extinction Rebellion just blockaded newspapers over their failure to report on the climate crisis. Meanwhile, a new report dispels the media narrative about the “violent” Black Lives Matter protests. The report finds that in 93% of the thousands of protests involving nearly 20 million US citizens, the protesters caused no harm to people or property. These stories show that our media needs to rise to the challenge on reporting on important issues and the dynamics of nonviolent struggle better. What the media does or doesn’t say about nonviolence and nonviolent action has a profound impact on whether or not people understand what nonviolence is, how it works, and how they can use it in their own lives.
Nonviolence News seeks to show, week after week, that nonviolence is a powerful, effective, and often-used force of nature in our world.
In this edition, you’ll learn that 1,000 strikes have occurred in the United States since March. You’ll hear about the incredible act of respect the Irish Lacrosse Team engaged in when the sports administrators barred the Iroquois (the originators of the sport) from a championship slot over a sovereignty dispute. You’ll be inspired by the ancestral dances happening in Chicago by Aztec and African dancers to heal anti-Blackness in Latinx culture. And so much more!
Read the news. Share the news. Talk about it with friends. Nonviolence News strives to change the way we see the world . . . and the ways in which we change it.
Rivera Sun, Editor
Photo Credit: Extinction Rebellion in Poland, part of a global week of actions.
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WhatsApp Food Swap in Costa Rica: In the Cabécar Talamanca territory of Costa Rica, a group of Indigenous women have started a money-free food exchange network to support their communities during the pandemic. Read more>>
Brazil’s Soccer Federation Adopts Equal Pay For Men and Women: The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) rocked the world of soccer with the announcement that both men and women will have equal income. Every player will receive equal daily rates and prize money when playing with the national squad. Read more>>
Argentina’s Empresas Recuperadas Offer Co-op COVID Recovery: Like in the US, cooperatives in Argentina are proving to be more resilient in the face of the COVID crisis than traditional businesses. Many of these co-ops have their origin in the class struggle and economic crisis of the early 2000s, where over 400 bankrupt capitalist firms were converted to worker-ownership They provide a model for a just and cooperative COVD-19 recovery. Read more>>
Ireland Gives Up Lacrosse Championship Spot In Solidarity With Iroquois: When the Iroquois were disbarred from the world championships on the grounds that they were not a sovereign nation – despite being the originators of the sport – the Irish team stepped aside in solidarity, opening up a championship spot that should go to the Iroquois. Read more>>
Julian Assange Supporters Rally To Defeat Extradition To United States: Activists are campaigning to free the Wikileaks founder before his court hearing. Read more>>
In Sri Lanka, Affected Families Resist Climate Of Fear On International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances: Thousands of people have been disappeared. Many of the events faced restrictions and intimidation. Read more>>
1,000 Strikes Have Occurred In the US Since March: Payday Strike Tracker has kept count of each one in this unprecedented – and largely underreported – strike wave. Read more>>
As Pandemic Drags On, ‘Free Them All’ National Days of Action Demand Mass Decarceration: Covid-19 turns “every cell and cage into a potential death chamber,” organizers say. Read more>>
As Belarus Protests, Ukraine’s Civil Society Reacts – With Solidarity: Hosting Belarusians at their homes, documenting police violence and organizing solidarity actions – Ukrainian civil society has reacted quickly to events in Belarus. Read more>>
Staff Refuse To Enter Unsafe School Buildings: The special education staff of P352X in Bronx, NY, composed of five different sites (buildings), will be coordinating a refusal to enter unsafe buildings. Read more>>
University of Michigan Residential Staff Strike: “The bottom line is our health can’t wait. Our communities can’t wait. The University’s inaction in the face of ResStaff’s explicit concerns and action items over the last few weeks has made it clear that public health is not the priority.” Read more>>
Extinction Rebellion’s “Rock’in Rolling Rebellion”: A week of actions across the globe challenged media silence on the climate crisis, called out fashion coutures, denounced presidents for inaction, and more. Read more>>
‘We Need a Free Press But Do Not Have It’: UK Climate Campaigners Defend Blockade of Murdoch’s Destructive Media Empire: The real story, according to Extinction Rebellion UK, is that humanity is facing “an emergency of unprecedented scale and the papers we have targeted are not reflecting the scale and urgency of what is happening to our planet.” Read more>>
Winona LaDuke On Earth-Based Economics In ‘The Time Of The Seventh Fire’: Nonviolence Radio shares a powerful talk by renowned Anishinaabe author and activist Winona LaDuke, plus Michael Nagler’s latest Nonviolence Report. Read more>>
Environmental Cooperation As Peacebuilding In North and South Korea: Why does environmental cooperation persist despite high levels of hostilities between the two Koreas? Read more>>
Springfield, MA, Says No To Biomass: More than 75 people gathered on the steps of City Hall on Thursday calling for an end to a long-proposed biomass project in East Springfield, saying it is a threat to public health and an environmental hazard. Read more>>
Aztec and African Ancestral Dancers Join Forces To Address & Heal Anti-Blackness In Latinx Culture: A Mexican ancestral prayer was followed by a traditional West African ritual by African American dancers also wearing their vivid traditional textiles. The two groups gathered Saturday to embrace and showcase each other’s ancestral ceremonies, as part of a series of similar events held since 2018 to celebrate Black and Latinx unity, and to address anti-Blackness in the Latinx community. Read more>>
Nearly all Black Lives Matter Protests Are “Peaceful”, Debunking Trump’s Narrative: In stark contrast to rightwing claims, 93% of demonstrations have involved no serious harm to people or property. Read more>>
Naked With Spit Hoods, Protesters Demonstrate For Daniel Prude: “It was cold. He was handcuffed on the ground, no blanket,” Lupien said. “I think it’s really impactful to just imagine as a human being this happening to you and your loved one. Editor’s Note: This article also helpfully links to coverage of the many other actions also taking place in Rochester, NY, to demand justice. Read more>>
Labor Must Make Defense of Black Lives Its Own Imperative: Black trade unionists are calling on the labor movement to unite in defense of Black lives. Read more>>
How Do You Teach Younger Students With an Antiracism Lens? Educators are finding tools to teach young kids about America’s racist past and present in age-appropriate ways. Read more>>
Multi-day Protests In Burlington, VT, Demand Firing Of Police Officers: Groups have been campaigning to demand that the police department fire three officers for excessive use of force. Read more>>
Hunger Strikers Demand Police Reform: Antioch, CA, activists have launched a hunger strike to demand police reform. The activists want Antioch police to fire Officer Michael Mellone, who was involved in the fatal shooting of a San Francisco homeless man in 2016 and to discipline Cpl. Steve Aiello for his social media posts that they say incited violence against protesters. Read more>>
Building Black Power Through Participatory Budgeting: Participatory Budgeting could be a game changer for racial justice. “First, folks propose ideas on how to spend some money, usually a part of a public budget in their communities. Next, they sort through the ideas and develop project proposals. Then, folks vote on the projects they want funded. And lastly, the projects that win go on to get funded and implemented by the city. Real Money. Real Power.” Read more>>
Thousands of Women March Against Gender-Based Violence In Costa Rica: “I was born to be free, not to be murdered” was the message stressed by citizens who marched to demand justice for the young Allison Bonilla’s femicide and all women who suffer gender-based violence. Read more>>
Vanessa Guillén’s Family Wants Fort Hood Military Base Shut Down: The Texan family is demanding the base be shut down over its rape culture cover up. The top general has been fired, but two other murders of Latinx soldiers also being investigated. Read more>>
Indigenous Women Face a Genocide of Gender-Based Violence: “I was a missing Indigenous girl who beat the odds. Now I’m a journalist and I won’t shut up about a genocidal crisis happening in Canada.” Read more>>
Undressing For Redress – The Significance of Nigerian Women’s Naked Protests: Naked protests are not new in Nigeria. Traditionally, among the Igbo and Yoruba of Nigeria, stripping naked signifies a curse against those targeted. Sometimes, mothers strip naked to put a curse on their truant sons or disloyal husbands. In some cases, it signifies their willingness to die for a cause. Nigerian women have historically employed naked protests to seek redress – with success. Read more>>
In A Time Of Unprecedented Protest, Belarus’ Uprising Is Exceptional: The nonviolent nature of Belarus’ decentralized protests has paralyzed the authorities who seek to discredit and repress the movement. Read more>>
Reimagining School Safety To Defund Police In Education: If schools didn’t have armed security, they could invest in school counseling and other resources that help prevent violence at schools, and protect the vulnerable populations that suffer from school police use of force. Read more>>
After 4 Decades Of Plowshares Actions, It’s Nuclear Warfare That Should Be On Trial — Not Activists: Forty years ago, the Plowshares Eight sparked a movement of nuclear disarmers that continues to take responsibility for weapons of mass destruction. Read more>>
Freedom Singer Rutha Mae Harris On Protest, Prison And Civil Rights: In the early 1960s, she faced armed police as she sang at demonstrations across the US. The voice of the civil rights movement reflects on Martin Luther King, Donald Trump, racism and resilience. Read more>>
Is US Labor Day A Scam? The history of the commemorative holiday shows that the timing – and reality – of the September Labor Day doesn’t honor its historic roots in labor organizing. Read more>>
Indigenous Peoples’ Day Teach-In: Join the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) and Teaching for Change for keynote speaker Winona LaDuke and curriculum workshops. The focus of the teach-in is Indigenous peoples’ histories and experiences around food and water justice today. (Sept 12) Read more>>
People Power: The Strategic Dynamics of Civil Resistance: This free online course starts in early October. Applications are due by (September 13). Learn more>>
We Decide: Arts, Culture and Voting Power: Learn about inspiring nonpartisan programs in both urban and rural communities related to the election and census. We look forward to sharing a space to hear more about what you are engaged in and to foster connections between artists and activists working to build voting power and be counted. Together, we will ask what work will continue after the election to ensure that change for the better actually takes place. (Sept 14) Learn more>>
Nonviolence Communication For The Rest of Us: Leonie Smith offers this training in nonviolent communication for People of Color and others who don’t necessarily feel like they “belong” in NVC culture. (Sept 15) Learn more>>
People Power For COVID-19 and Beyond: Four creative anti-corruption activists will discuss how they are mobilizing to tackle corruption in their countries, which is hampering effective responses to COVID-19. (Sept 16) Learn more>>
Campaign Nonviolence Action Week: 3000+ actions and events to build a culture of peace and active nonviolence. Find one near you. (Sept 19-27) Read more>>
Nonviolence News Happy Hour: Join the conversation! Readers of Nonviolence News join with Kit Miller from the MK Gandhi Institute and Nonviolence News Editor Rivera Sun to discuss what’s happening in the news. (Sept 25) Learn more>>
Before We March: Strategies For Powerful Social Change: Building on strategies used to create effective campaigns here in the US and globally, trainer Rivera Sun will walk participants through creating power analyses, and planning campaigns and strategies that fit specific goals, and adapting to changing circumstances, opportunities and opposition, and more. (Sept 26) Learn more>>
National Town Halls To Stop the Warehousing of Charitable Dollars: A new campaign explains how we can unlock billions for pandemic relief. (Sept 21 & Oct 5) Learn more>>
Fierce Vulnerability for BIPOC: In this workshop, we will explore how we can build a movement that can respond to heightened levels of violence without producing more trauma in the world, and in our own bodies. (Sept 25-27) Learn more>>
New Webinar Series On Building Effective Movements In A Pandemic And Beyond: Waging Nonviolence and Solidarity 2020 and Beyond are launching a new webinar series featuring experienced grassroots activists from a broad array of international struggles. 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. (Oct 6) Read More>>
Engaging Nonviolence 6-Week Course: Study nonviolence with Veronica Pelicaric and Rivera Sun. (online, starts Oct 8) Learn more>>
Kingian Nonviolence Mini-Workshop: Join Kazu Haga to discuss the principles of Dr. Martin Luther King and their relevancy for these times. (Nov 14) Read more>>
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