Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun
The Nonviolence News Conversation is next Friday and we have soooooo much to talk about. In this week’s round-up alone, we could explore the Haitian judges strike (have you ever heard of all the judges in a country going on strike?!), Fight for $15’s nationwide fast food strike, Myanmar’s bold resistance to the military coup, and more. Extinction Rebellion shared stories of tunnel-diggers, tree-sitters, and cross-continental climate trekkers. Amsterdam is trying to ban fossil fuel ads (think airline sales pitches for the holidays). And, I definitely want to talk about the new “Rebellion of One” roadblocks.
RSVP here for the Nonviolence News “Happy Hour” Conversation on Friday, Feb 26 from 4-5pm ET>>
We’re holding these conversations once-per-month, so look back over this month’s Nonviolence News stories (all 100+ of them) and bring a list of things to talk about. Find the February editions here and here. What else can we discuss? The architect building horno (ovens) for migrants at the US-Mexico border, how Taiwan is squashing online misinformation with humor, and the reason Southeast Chicago residents (pictured) are on hunger strike against environmental racism so egregious, you need to read it to believe it. (Unless, of course, you live in their neighborhood.)
See you there,
Rivera
Photo Credit: A marcher attends the Block the Permit block party in front of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s house in Logan Square, Chicago, in November 2020. The neighborhood residents are furious that a toxic plant was permitted for their neighborhood as a wealthier, whiter area got the very same polluter shut down. Photograph: Oscar Sanchez
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Leveraging Strategic Position, Argentine Vegetable Oil Workers Win Big Raises with Coordinated Strike: It was the country’s longest national strike of the year, and it ended in total victory: the unions won a 35 percent increase in wages for all of the workers, not just those earning the minimum. More than 20,000 working-class families won a decent wage for 2021. (In Argentina wages are negotiated in annual rounds of collective bargaining.) Read more>>
National Bison Range Transitions Into Tribal Trust For The Flathead Indian Reservation: “The restoration of this land is a great historic event and we worked hard to reach this point. This comes after a century of being separated from the buffalo and the Bison Range, and after a quarter-century-long effort to co-manage the refuge with the FWS,” said CSKT Chairwoman Shelly R. Fyant. “And who better to do it than the original inhabitants of the land who depended on the buffalo for centuries? That was our mainstay.” Read more>>
Turkey Anti-Coal Campaigns Score Two Big Wins: Last week two local anti-coal fights in Turkey scored big wins. First, the Çırpılar thermal coal plant project, which would have caused wide-scale destruction on the local ecology, was denied an application to overturn a local court decision to uphold the EIA. Meanwhile, in Northern Anatolia, the local resistance in Bartın managed to stop a second EIA process of the Amasra Thermal Coal Plant project (after the first was overruled by the State Council). 350 Turkey worked closely with the local groups in both regions that made these victories possible. Read more>>
After Threatening Strike, Chicago Teachers Set “New Standard” With Safer School Reopening Plan: Hard-fought negotiations and a strike threat led to Chicago teachers reaching the “most comprehensive agreement for reopening schools” in the country, potentially setting a model for other districts nationwide. Read more>>
After Generations, Lower Sioux Community Gets #LandBack: The Lower Sioux Community is celebrating the return of ancestral land with great historical significance. It’s the site where the Dakota War of 1862 started after the United States did not honor the Mendota Treaty. Now, the Minnesota Historical Society has returned the land. Read more>>
Tokyo Olympics Chief Resigns After Sexist Comments: International backlash forced the head of the Tokyo Olympics committee to resign after his sexist comments shocked the world. Read more>>
‘Together We Fight, Together We Will Win’: Workers Strike Nationwide to Demand $15 Minimum Wage: “We have won $15 in cities and states across the country. And now, it is time to win $15 nationwide.” Read more>>
Haitian Judges Launch General Strike Against President: After the current president of Haiti fired three Supreme Court judges, the nation’s legal field is leveraging a strike against him. Read more>>
The Columbia University Student Strike Is About Far More Than Tuition: Rather than waiting for the adults in the room to relieve our debt burden, students are taking matters into their own hands. Read more>>
‘You Messed With the Wrong Generation’: Daily Protests Pose Strong Challenge to Myanmar Coup: Read local perspectives on the coup and watch protest videos shared by citizen journalists. Read more>>
New Toxic Plant in Chicago Minority Neighborhood Sparks Hunger Strike: A metal recycling plant is due to open on the polluted Southeast Side months after the same firm shut a metal scrapyard in a white, affluent part of town. Read more>>
Fryeburg Water Protests Potential Sale of Bottled Water Company Poland Springs: A crowd of about 100 people gathered in downtown Fryeburg, Maine, last Saturday to “sound the alarm” that Nestle may sell Poland Spring Bottled Water to private equity firm One Rock Capital. Read more>>
First Nation Community Sets Up Warming Teepees For Unhoused Persons: In Winnipeg, brutally low winter temperatures have settled in. Indigenous people have set up warming tents to help those left out in the cold. Read more>>
#ReleaseDishaRavi: Global Outrage After India Arrests Climate Activist Over Farmer Protest Toolkit Shared by Greta Thunberg: Public figures within and beyond India are demanding the release of Disha Ravi, a climate campaigner accused of sedition for allegedly editing and distributing an activist “toolkit” in support of the ongoing farmers’ protest that was tweeted by Fridays for Future founder Greta Thunberg. Read more>>
Incarcerated Organizer Airlifted to Hospital Following Attack by Prison Guards: Worried loved ones staged a protest at the hospital demanding that family be allowed to visit — a demand still unmet. Read more>>
Teachers Unions Resist Unsafe School Re-openings: There is an all-out onslaught against teachers unions in order to force through unsafe plans to get teachers and students back in the classroom. But against all odds, teachers are fighting back. Read more>>
Tunnel-Diggers, Tree-Sitters, and Trekkers – Extinction Rebellion’s Direct Action Around the World: Climate activists are digging tunnels under fossil fuel infrastructure and locking down. They’re tree-sitting to stop forests from being razed. They’re trekking across Africa to protect the environment. In Extinction Rebellion’s latest round-up, you’ll also find news about America’s first citizen assembly, Sri Lanka’s climate actions, and the Global Money Rebellion. Read more>>
Kazakhstan Eco-Activists Decry Luxury Hotel Near Sugar Castles: “We are against the transformation of Bozzhyra into a place killed by mass and uncontrolled tourism, as well as against it being turned into a haven for the elite,” read the appeal, which had drawn almost 7,000 signatures as of February 12. Read more>>
Amsterdam Moves To Ban Fossil Fuel Advertising: The adopted motion asks the municipality to investigate how ads and marketing events of the fossil fuel industry and for air travel can be banned from the street scene. Read more>>
Build Back Fossil Free Week Of Actions Mobilizes Thousands: Thousands of activists across the nation ran, rallied, and posted on social media as part of a week of action, calling on President Biden to Build Back Fossil Free. Activists organized socially-distanced events from San Francisco to Standing Rock to St. James Parish, Louisiana, urging President Joe Biden to protect and invest in Black, Indigenous, Brown and working-class communities and to launch a national climate mobilization to end the era of fossil fuel production. Read more>>
Rebellion Of One Launches A Brand New Climate Justice Tactic – A Single-Person Roadblock Multiplied By 1,000: The action is open to anyone and there is a role for everyone. Each person wears a sign with a simple and emotive message. They each have an incognito support team, hiding in plain sight amongst the passersby on the pavements. They remain sitting in the road until they choose to move, or are moved. Read more>>
The Jacksonville Environmental Groups Tackle Racial Disparities: Local leaders shift from largely lackadaisical approach that allowed polluters to contaminate Black neighborhoods to working with and advocating for Black residents. Read more>>
Forest Defenders Under Fire In Cambodia: Authorities in charge of protecting the massive Prey Lang forest in Northern Cambodia are intent on harassing environmental activists rather than nabbing illegal loggers. Read more>>
Myanmar’s Creatives Are Fighting Military Rule With Art—Despite the Threat of a Draconian New Cyber-Security Law: A community of artists based in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, is creating striking, often satirical images and circulating them as part of the civil disobedience campaign on social media and out in the streets. The images feature ironic slogans, comical illustrations of military leaders and the three-fingered salute popularized during last year’s pro-democracy protests in Thailand. Read more>>
The Architect Baking Bread Along the Border Wall: Award-winning designer Ronald Rael wants to build hundreds of these centuries-old stoves for migrants seeking asylum. Read more>>
Beautiful Trouble Releases New Digital Toolbox: Tactics, strategies, stories, and more; Beautiful Trouble has a new online toolkit for all you amazing activists. Read more>>
Tech Company Aims to Disrupt Predatorial Prison Phone Industry: The Ameelio app ensures that incarcerated people and their loved ones can stay in touch without going into crippling debt. Read more>>
Taiwan’s Humor over Rumor Tackles Misinformation With Laughter: This innovative approach has helped squash coronavirus misinformation. Read more>>
Celebrate Love as Growth and Liberation, Says adrienne maree brown: Love is not a random occurrence; it is a practice that doesn’t have room for abuse or injustice. Read more>>
Black Revolutionary Love Reimagines Democracy: Revolutionary Love comes from a desire for the greater good and is rooted in radical risk-taking for justice. Read more>>
Russian Protesters On Why They’re Risking Their Futures: Why did Russian citizens come out in such large numbers last month? This researcher spoke to 50 protesters in Moscow. Here’s what she found. Read more>>
It’s A Myth That Presidents Welcome Movement Pressure — And Biden Is No Different: Politicians fear the disruptive power of a mobilized base, even when it helps them succeed. Read more>>
India’s Farmers’ Protests Are About More Than Reform — They Are Resisting The Corporate Takeover of Agriculture: India’s historic farmers movement has overcome regional, religious, gender and ideological differences to challenge corporate influence on government. Read more>>
Influence of Vaisnavism on Gandhi’s Philosophical Thoughts and Its Relevance in Contemporary Age: In this materialistic age, where economics has become all important and nuclear power a must, the post independence generation has begun to consider Gandhi and Vaisnavism totally irrelevant in the present context. But is it really so? Is Gandhi irrelevant today–and all his ideals? Not at all. Read more>>
Reparations And Restorative Justice — Not Retribution: Author Charles Henry joins Nonviolence Radio to discuss the politics of reparations and how it is about far more than a financial transaction. Read more>>
Addressing Anti-Asian Attacks With Transformative Justice: At a time when multiple traumas are converging and so much suffering simultaneously witnessed, we need cross-community solidarity more than ever to fight for our collective healing and liberation from all forms of violence. Read more>>
Nonviolence News Happy Hour: Join the M.K. Gandhi Institute and Nonviolence News Editor Rivera Sun and others to explore this week’s Nonviolence News stories. Share your favorite headlines, your burning questions, the most creative tactics, and ideas for taking action in your own community. During this welcoming and low-key online conversation, we discuss nonviolence in small and large groups. We learn from and with one another. Join us! (Feb 26) Learn more>>
Defund Line 3: Indigenous Water Protectors and allies have been using nonviolent direct action to halt the construction of Enbridge Line 3 oil pipeline. You can support them by pushing banks and investors to #DefundLine3. Learn more>>
War Tax Resistance Counselor Training: An estimated 47 cents of every federal dollar of your U.S. income taxes are devoted toward military purposes. Are you interested in joining the long lineage of peacemakers who have withheld taxes to prevent their use for militarism? The National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee will hold a training for counselors on Feb. 20, and leading up to April 15 NWTRCC will provide multimedia resources for those considering this significant commitment. (Feb 20) Learn more>>
Ahimsa – A Way of Life: Ahimsa or nonviolence is not just a philosophical concept. It is a way of life, a life that is rooted in respect for all beings, including respect for nature and the environment. It is a life informed by love, empathy, trust and elegant simplicity. In this context, Kumar will also discuss the basic lessons and insights he gained, while he was a young monk, from his teacher, Acharya Mahapragya (Feb 21) Learn more>>
Backbone Campaign Solidarity Brigades – Using our Creative Tools in the fight to Stop Line 3: Join Backbone Campaign’s February creative activism call to discuss ways we can be in solidarity with the Enbridge Line 3 resistance campaign. We’ll also discuss 1 – 2 other campaigns folks can take action on. (Feb 23) Learn more>>
Fear and Resistance In Belarus & Tunisia: The resistance actions in the wake of Belarus’ 2020 presidential election have now been occurring for around six months. Early on in this process, much was made in the media and among some resisters of a ‘barrier of fear’ to open resistance against the regime being dismantled or dropping away. There are striking similarities with the rhetoric around the barrier of fear during the 2010/11 Tunisian revolution. This presentation explores how Belarusian and Tunisian resisters characterize and explain fear, and explores fear’s deeper relationship to resistance. (Feb 25) Learn more>>
Mending Broken Bridges: Unity, Accountability, and Peace: How do we move forward in peaceful coexistence when there are deep societal divides? What are some steps we can take as individuals? How does Nonviolent Peaceforce play a role? Featuring Kazu Haga (East Point Academy, U.S.) and Rocky Ambago (Nonviolent Peaceforce, Iraq and South Sudan). (Feb 25) Learn more>>
Fasting For Justice: Fasts and hunger strikes are a time-honored form of political resistance and non-violent protest. Join our webinar to learn more about this powerful tool for justice from those who have used it to campaign against violence, and for prisoner justice, climate action, and demilitarization. (Feb 27) Learn more>>
Training on the New Sanctions Kill Toolkit: Get trained in how to give presentations and organize with the Sanctions Kill Coalition (Feb 27) Learn more>>
Kingian Nonviolence Introduction Series: The Kingian Nonviolence workshops are transformational experiences that have helped thousands of people from around the world understand the depth of the philosophy of nonviolence, and learn to begin to bring the practices into their lives and their work. (Starts March 1) Learn more>>
The Role of External Support in Nonviolent Campaigns: Poisoned Chalice or Holy Grail?: Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan unveil a new groundbreaking study, examining the ways that external assistance impacted the characteristics and success rates of post-2000 revolutionary nonviolent uprisings. (March 3) Learn more>>
