Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun
There’s that famous quote (often misattributed to Gandhi, it comes from Churchill): First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you … then you win. The “Injustice League” is at the fighting stage. Sexism, racism, classism, dictators, coupists, oppressors, earth destroyers are being pushed to the ropes by people-powered movements. They’re fighting tooth-and-nail (and tear gas-and-bullets) to maintain their violent destruction. Nevertheless, if we persist, we’ll win.
A feminist revolution is rising across the globe. While some countries commemorated International Women’s Day with calm rallies and the usual platitudes from power holders, that was not the case in many other places. In Mexico, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, India, Turkey, Colombia, Algeria, the Philippines, Ukraine, and Brazil, women faced down cops, tear gas, and counter-demonstrators as they demanded an end to physical and sexual violence, economic justice, and unjust laws; opposed the rule of tyrants, stood up for LGBTQIA rights, and more. Don’t miss the incredible 72-photo journalism essay tracking these demonstrations worldwide.
Beyond women protesting, it’s been a week of intensity for movements of all genders. Myanmar continues to resist the military coup despite killings, arrests, and repression. Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement is protesting the heavy crackdown on its key leaders – all of its organizers have been either arrested or in exile, and 47 face life sentences. Belarus’ uprising continues to resist the faux re-election of its decades-long president. In the Philippines, Duterte’s counter-insurgency campaign is terrorizing the populace, regardless of whether they’re armed rebels or ordinary citizens.
There is some hope: A vegan revolution is sweeping China. Many members of the one billion person population are ditching meat consumption. They’re making the shift not only because they oppose animal exploitation, but also because they’re fed up with the climate impacts of animal farming and the growing classism attached to eating meat. You’ll find many other hopeful, intriguing, and inspiring stories in this week’s Nonviolence News.
Enjoy the news, and don’t miss the juicy and exciting events in the Call-To-Action Section.
Rivera Sun
Photo Credit: Participants with the word “Harta” on their bodies, link arms as they mark International Women’s Day at Avenida 18 de Julio in downtown Montevideo, Uruguay March 8, 2021. The word is a term to say exhausted or “had enough”. REUTERS/Mariana Greif
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20 Major US Cities Defunded Police: ‘We’re transferring money to the community’. More than 20 major cities have reduced police budgets in some form, and activists are fighting to ensure that is only the start. Read more>>
‘A Big, Big Deal’: Climate Activists Applaud Rutgers University’s Fossil Fuel Divestment Plan: Rutgers University will become the latest U.S. academic institution to commit to divesting from fossil fuels in a bid to combat the climate crisis. The move by New Jersey’s largest state university follows a recommendation by the school’s Ad Hoc Committee on Divestment and approval by its board of governors and board of trustees. The committee—which is composed of students, faculty, and staff—was acting on a request from the student-led Endowment Justice Collective. Read more>>
The Results Are In – Universal Basic Income Helps: Stockton, CA, launched a program to hand out $500/month in cash to low-income families. A year later, nearly all the applicants report less anxiety. They spent the money on basic needs, like gas, medical care, or shoes for their children Read more>>
Toronto Swaps Google-backed, Not-So-Smart City Plans For People-Centered Vision: A year after ditching a Google design to create a tech-heavy waterside development, Canada’s largest city is stressing affordability and sustainability. Read more>>
American Rescue Plan & Black Farmers: Today, one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, a landmark $1.9 trillion relief package was signed into law that will provide desperately-needed relief for millions of working-class people — including direct payments, expanded unemployment benefits, significant child tax credits, and more. The relief package also includes $5 billion in debt relief for Black farmers and other farmers of color, in what is being called “the most significant piece of legislation with respect to the arc of Black land ownership in this country.” Read more>>
Kashmiri Human Rights Defenders Continue To Fight Injustices Amid Growing Repression: Humanitarian work in one of the world’s most militarized zones has only gotten more difficult as India resorts to new levels of intimidation and hostility. Read more>>
Workers in Myanmar Are Launching General Strikes to Resist the Military Coup: As work stoppages, walkouts, and marches rocked the streets, female garment workers are proving crucial to the movement against military rule. Read more>>
Australia’s Rulers Are Clamping Down on the Right to Protest: “As we face a mounting ecological crisis, combined with racism and violence against First Nations people and refugees, Australia’s state and federal governments are ramping up anti-protest laws and even harassing the media. We need an organized fightback.” Read more>>
‘Saving Lives Is Never a Crime’: Aid Groups Reject Charges Over Mediterranean Refugee Rescue Missions: “This is a political declaration of intent to criminalize solidarity, and it has a deadly consequence: people die, when they could be saved,” said the crew of the vessel Iuventa. Read more>>
With 47 Charged, Every Prominent Hong Kong Activist Is Now Either In Jail Or In Exile: Hundreds protested outside the district court where the activists attended a hearing. Read more>>
Protesters Demand Justice For Athlete Amid Investigation Into Death: Protesters took to the streets in Buenos Aires on Wednesday to demand what they say is “justice for Diego Maradona”. The football icon’s death in November has sparked investigations in Argentina into how he died and whether there had been any negligence in his care. “He did not die, they killed him,” the organizers of the demonstration said in materials sent out on social media before the march. “Justice for Diego. Trial and punishment of the guilty.” Read more>>
New Haven Bus Drivers Go On Wildcat Strike: In New Haven, Connecticut, bus drivers have gone on a wildcat strike over the lack of vaccines. Read more>>
Bloody Sunday’: Left Activists, Labor Leaders Executed in Philippines After Duterte Says ‘Finish Off’ the Communists: “The government’s increasingly brutal counter-insurgency campaign… no longer makes any distinction between armed rebels and non-combatant activists, labor leaders, and rights defenders.” Read more>>
The Activists Working to Remake the Food System: They’re committed not just to securing better meals for everyone, but to dismantling the very structures that have long exploited both workers and consumers. Read more>>
Black Workers in Alabama Aim to Slay the Trillion-Dollar Behemoth That Is Amazon: Unionizing the Amazon warehouse workforce, which is 85 percent Black, is above all a civil rights issue, say organizers. Read more>>
In Belarus, Opposition Pressure Continues Inside and Outside the Country: Six months on from the disputed re-election of Alexander Lukashenko as president, the opposition in Belarus shows no signs of giving up on its demands. Protesters are calling for Lukashenko to resign, for an end to the regime’s use of violence against its own citizens, and for the release of political prisoners. The odds are undeniably stacked against them. Read more>>
World BEYOND War And Allies Drop Banners Over Rails: Peace activists dropped banners over Canadian National Railway’s Toronto tracks to demand that Canadian National stop shipping weapons en route to Saudi Arabia & stop profiting from the war on Yemen. Read more>>
Animal Rebellion, Protesting Snowmen, and Naked Spring Rebellions: Extinction Rebellion’s newsletter is a real treat. Creative tactics, direct action, and amazing photos. Check it out here>>
China’s Vegan Revolution Takes Hold: Concerns over carbon emissions and food crises are fueling a move away from meat consumption as a symbol of wealth. Read more>>
Indigenous Water Protectors Face Off Against the “Pandemic Pipeline”: Biden halted Keystone XL, but Enbridge’s Line 3 would pipe the same tar sands oil into the U.S. and across Anishinaabe treaty lands. Read more>>
The Sunrise Movement Helped Create The National Climate Agenda For Rapid Change: The new popularity of the term Green New Deal can be credited to this group of young climate activists known as the Sunrise Movement. Read more>>
Faith Groups Rise Up To Demand Climate Action: “We envision a world transformed, in which humanity in all its diversity has developed a shared reverence for life on Earth.” So declares a new joint statement—entitled “Sacred People, Sacred Earth”—supported by religious groups and leaders across the globe who planned more than 400 events in over 40 countries for Thursday in what organizers are calling the largest-ever faith-based day of action for climate justice. Read more>>
Youth Participation Rises in the Defense of Páramo Ecosystems: Efforts to protect the páramo overlap with Indigenous struggles for recognition and environmental justice. Local leaders know that the future of all these actions depend on one group in particular: young people. Read more>>
7 Indigenous Technologies Changing Landscapes: Most Indigenous communities hold intimate place-based knowledge, gained across generations, which is an ideal starting point for addressing contemporary challenges such as biodiversity loss, land degradation and climate change. Read more>>
In Photos: International Women’s Day Around the World: From tear gas to prayer, people around the world stood up for women in a thousand different ways. Read more>>
The World Not Only Needs Women Leaders—It Needs Feminist Leaders: “Because gender equality not only serves to advance the cause of women—a fairer society benefits us all.” Read more>>
Ugandan Ecofeminists Fight Back Against Oil Industry and Land Grabs: “We were like squirrels against an elephant.” This women’s history month, Ugandan women are making history by standing up against oil companies displacing women from their land. Read more>>
China’s Female Students Want to Abolish Girls’ Day: Fed up with sexist, paternalistic “well-wishes” on Girls’ Day, young women on college campuses are fighting to reclaim International Women’s Day and the feminist values it was founded on. Read more>>
Transphobic Discourse Is The Real ‘Trojan Horse’ of Mexican Feminism: The fight against the ‘erasure of women’ has become transphobic. Read more>>
Linking Food And Feminisms – Learning From Decolonial Movements: Feminist movements that are anti-racist, decolonial, anti- and post-colonial, including indigenous feminism, offer other ways of thinking about the link between feminism and food. Specifically borne from the context of Turtle Island and Abya Yala, decoloniality offers a particularly powerful lens. Read more>>
#8M in Latin America: This past March 8, on the International Working Women’s Day, millions of women across Latin America and the Caribbean took to the streets to resist patriarchy and exploitation in all forms, demand equal rights, and protest the growing femicides, transphobia, and gender-based violence in the region. Here’s how it went down across different countries. Read more>>
London Vigil For Missing Woman Is Banned; Women Resist The Decision: When the police banned a vigil for a missing woman, the organizers challenged the decision. “We have a right to feel safe in the streets.” The risk being charged with criminal conspiracy if they proceed with the vigil. Read more>>
Reparations Summer Shifts Donors From Charitable Giving To Reparations, $25K At A Time: Wealthy White donors in Reparations Summer are “actually in a process of healing and transformation that will result in them not only moving their own resources, but actually organizing their communities to move resources as well,” explains Janis Rosheuvel, a program director at Solidaire Network, a community of donor organizers in philanthropy who assisted with Reparations Summer. Read more>>
Criminal Charges Dropped Against Breonna Taylor’s Boyfriend: Nearly a year to the date that Louisville Metro Police Department officers entered 26-year-old Breonna Taylor’s home in a raid that ended with them shooting and killing the young woman, charges have finally been permanently dropped against her boyfriend Kenneth Walker. Read more>>
#DefundThePolice.org Posts Organizing Resources and More: Have you checked out DefundPolice.org? It’s a new one-stop shop with hundreds of organizing resources, tools, and policies to defund police and reinvest in community. Read more>>
Coalition Groups Fund Billboards to Get Mayor’s Attention For Changing Policing: While the billboard was designed by the Citizens Coalition for Justice Reform, the group was approached by a Black Lives Matter group in Birmingham. They offered to donate billboard space bought with money given by Black Lives Matter Grassroots, as part of a statewide prison reform campaign. Read more>>
What If Liberal Anti-Racists Aren’t Advancing Equality? Much of today’s advocacy around racial justice places the onus on individual actors and the private sector. We need collective action instead. Read more>>
Kyrgyzstan’s Ballet Troupe Walkout Shines Light On Cultural Underspending: Protesting artists chose the visit of their better-paid Russian colleagues to make their point. Productions involving Russian stars bring in big money as tickets cost double and triple shows without them. Local dancers, who are paid around $100 per month out of the state budget, do not see any extra money from these visits. Read more>>
More Than A Sport, Lacrosse Heals, Resolves, and Establishes Peace: Gifted by the Creator to the Haudenosaunee people, lacrosse has deep spiritual and ceremonial roots for Native Americans. The game is often used to heal the sick, resolve conflicts, and make peace among the nations, in addition to being played for fun. Now, this Native American foundation is striving to make sure its more than just a sport. Read more>>
Meet BreadTube, the YouTube Activists Trying To Beat The Far-Right At Their Own Game: YouTube has gained a reputation for facilitating far-right radicalisation and spreading antisocial ideas. However, in an interesting twist, the same subversive, comedic, satiric and ironic tactics used by far-right internet figures are now being countered by a group of leftwing YouTubers known as “BreadTube”. Read more>>
How DC Peace Team Modeled Community Protection During Election-Related Demonstrations: From Election Day to Inauguration Day, DC Peace Team used unarmed accompaniment and nonviolent force to de-escalate unhealthy conflict. Read more>>
There Are No Make or Break Moments In a Movement: It’s a process, and it never ends. It is always tempting to tell people that the particular fight we are in today is a make-or-break one — that if we win this battle, total victory is ours, and if we lose it, all is lost, so buckle down and focus. But it is almost never true. Read more>>
African Religious Philosophy Can Support Peacebuilding: Proverbs, and related art symbols, contain the practical wisdom of their societies and, as such, can be resources for peacemaking in conflict situations. Conflict resolution approaches drawing on traditional African religious philosophy—especially in the form of proverbs and art symbols that express the social values and moral codes ordering society—can complement and even substitute for formal political institutions and actors, “infusing some creativity, innovation and sustainability” into peacemaking efforts on the continent. Read more>>
Rethinking Harmful Research Practices: María Daniela D. Villamil, a Colombian lawyer and professor, reflects on how research can serve as a complement to peacebuilding, but also as a catalyst for further conflict and trauma. Research practices can create invisible burdens for participants, re-traumatize people recounting their experiences, and misrepresent or under-represent one sector of a conflict vs. another. Read more>>
Stop Bombing Northern Iraq: The US government could take immediate steps to pressure the Turkish government to stop the bombing. Sign the petition. Learn more>>
#JxnNeedsWater: Nearly a month after winter storms wreaked havoc on infrastructure across the South, many households in Jackson, Mississippi remain without water. Please support local mutual aid efforts in Jackson! People’s Advocacy Institute is working to raise $2M in emergency support funds, and we encourage folks to support NEC member Cooperation Jackson, who is providing direct relief and will be building out longer-term autonomous solutions to this infrastructure crisis. Learn more>>
Support Amazon Workers: Don’t cross the virtual picket line as Amazon workers are fighting an uphill battle to unionize. Organizers are requesting solidarity by not shopping at Amazon. Learn more>>
Demand the FBI Stop Lying and Spying On Black Activists: The FBI is denying its surveillance of Black activists. Tell them to stop lying and spying. Learn more>>
#MeToo at McDonald’s: Demand that McDonald’s deal with its sexual harassment problem – and that these major job advertising platforms stop placing McDonald’s ads until they do. Learn more>>
Lessons from the First Wave – Resilience in the Age of COVID-19: Idealist and Shareable invite you to a presentation and interactive discussion featuring case studies and guidance from Shareable’s free eBook, “Lessons from the First Wave: Resilience in the Age of COVID-19.” The event will feature a presentation from Tom Llewellyn, co-author/editor of “Lessons from the First Wave” and host of The Response podcast, and also hear from two mutual aid groups working to address COVID-19 in their communities. (March 16) Learn more>>
Capitol Calling Party – Support Activists in Myanmar: We will be calling for our representatives to support H.Res.134, a bill condemning the military coup and the detention of civilian leaders, and calling for the release of all those detained and for those elected to serve in Parliament to resume their duties. (March 16) Learn more>>
Lay Down My Sword and Shield – Source of and Resistance to Modern Wars: This self-paced course designed by peace activist Kathy Kelly helps participants clarify their views about participating in, paying for or in any way tolerating warfare. Learn more>>
The Feminist Case For A Korean Peace Agreement: Feminist peacemakers are calling on the Biden administration to take a peace-first approach with North Korea in order to make progress on longstanding issues such as denuclearization and human rights. Hear from authors of the recent groundbreaking report “Path to Peace: The Case for a Peace Agreement to End the Korean War” by the transnational feminist campaign Korea Peace Now! on why feminist leadership is crucial for the peace process to be successful and lasting. (March 18) Learn more>>
Teach-in International Working Women’s Day: For the past century, women across the world have been coming together to rally around the key issues facing working class women on March 8, International Working Women’s Day. IWWD has roots deeper than organizations like the United Nations and large NGOs would like us to believe. It is a day based in struggle, resistance, unity and internationalism. As we reflect on the legacy of March 8th and collectively imagine paths toward building this necessary unity, we must also think about our history and how we got here. (Teach-in – March 18) Learn more>>
Nonviolence Skills Practice Hour: The Metta Center for Nonviolence is teaming up with Meta Peace Team for a monthly one-hour nonviolence skills practice sessions in 2021 with skills ranging across the spectrum of nonviolent intervention and personal nonviolent development. The session will begin with a short inspirational reading, a skill review, and then participants will have a chance to practice together. (March 18) Learn more>>
Defund Line 3 Campaign Digital Rally: The resistance to Line 3 grows stronger by the day. More than 130 people have been arrested for taking direct action to stop construction. Over 200,000 people and 370 organizations have demanded that Biden kill the pipeline. Join this digital rally to demand that Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and all the rest defund Line 3. (March 19) Learn more>>
Nonviolence and Bioethics: Jain Approaches to the Ethical Dilemmas of Birth, Life and Death: Based on a wide range of textual sources and an international survey conducted with Jain medical professionals in India and diaspora communities of North America, Europe, and Africa, this talk will examine the Jain perspectives on bioethical issues. It will particularly focus on how the central principle of nonviolence has been applied and negotiated in the Jain engagement with the ethical dilemmas of birth, life, and death. (March 20) Learn more>>
Third Harmony Film Screening: The Third Harmony tells the story of nonviolence, humanity’s greatest (and most overlooked) resource. This new documentary reveals the power of nonviolence and a new vision of human nature. A special showing of this amazing film, followed by Q&A, is scheduled for March 20, 2021 at 7pm (Eastern Time). (March 20) Learn more>>
Civil Resistance Tactics in the 21st Century: A new monograph and webinar on innovations in nonviolent tactics. (March 24) Learn more>>
Black Resistance in the Belly of the Beast: For centuries, Black folks have resisted empire, broken free from chains, built community and movements that transcend borders, and forged understandings of ourselves and our position in the world in a global context. Building on such a rich legacy of resistance, we are excited to dive into the history and future of Black internationalism on the path toward liberation for all. (March 24) Learn more>>
Campaign Nonviolence Skillbuilding Webinar “Building Momentum”: Learn how to build participation in your nonviolent actions with creativity, art, humor and best practices from both historic and current movements. (March 23) Learn more>>
Nonviolence News Happy Hour: Join Editor Rivera Sun and our cohosts from the MK Gandhi Institute for a friendly and informal discussion of what’s interesting and exciting in Nonviolence News this month. (March 26) Learn more>>
NoDapl & Line 3 Pipeline Resistance Is Headed To DC in April: here’s a social media toolkit that you can use to spread the word and support the action. (Now-April) Learn more>>
Nonviolence In Education Workshop: Robin Wildman, founder of the Nonviolent Schools Project and a leading organizer of Kingian Nonviolence in Education, will present an engaging lecture, with opportunity for Q and A, about how classrooms and schools can be transformed into “Beloved Communities”, places where all students are loved, included, and valued as human beings. (April 6) Learn more>>
Third Harmony Book Study Cohort Forming: This new book on nonviolence explore nonviolence as more than a tactic, but a way of life and way of seeing the world. Join with others to dig into the many topics of conversation this book evokes.
(April) Learn more>>
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