Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun
Nonviolence is more than just protest. It includes solutions as well as objections to business-as-usual. It can be personal as well as political. From the tens of thousands of people in Lebanon demanding an end to the violence of economic austerity (pictured above) to peace activists in the United States refusing to pay war taxes, nonviolent action, practices, and approaches come in all shapes and sizes.
It also includes practicing nonviolence toward yourself. This kind of nonviolence practice isn’t something we explore much in Nonviolence News – but maybe we should. While many of us know how to use nonviolent tools for making change, it’s also important to dismantle the abusive violence that is built into how our culture expects us to treat ourselves. This includes things like: overwork as normal, stressful daily lives, treating our human complexity like robots, and decompressing with habits that are actually harmful.
So, what do you do to practice nonviolence toward yourself?
Between personal practices and direct action, nonviolence also includes structures and solutions, practices and policies that end or reduce harm in our communities. In this week’s Nonviolence News, you’ll find bright ideas like low traffic neighborhoods reducing accidents and air pollution, a demand from two thirds of US students to get cops out of their schools, projects by communities to establish housing land trusts to end evictions, food justice efforts like community gardens and Indigenous food sovereignty movements, Scotland’s bold energy democracy putting power in people’s hands (literally), and how El Salvadorans are reviving an ancestral language to empower transgender individuals.
You’ll also find stories in this week’s Nonviolence News of more familiar protest tactics: tens of thousands marching in France for climate action, blockades to stop pipelines, protect forests, and halt weapons sales; and thousands of coal miners and steelworkers on strike. All these ways of practicing nonviolence are connected … and all of them work to dismantle the many ways violence causes incalculable harm to people and planet.
I hope this edition inspires you to practice nonviolence toward yourself, treat others with it, and use its tools to implement nonviolent solutions in our communities and the world.
In solidarity,
Rivera Sun, Editor
Photo Credit: Massive Protests Rise Up in Lebanon Against Rapidly Declining Economic And Living Conditions.
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Undocumented and Formerly Incarcerated People Win Access to COVID Aid in New York: The fund provides $2.1 billion in relief for those who have been excluded from the federal stimulus packages. This victory comes after one year of statewide organizing efforts from the #FundExcludedWorkers Coalition — led by impacted workers, culminating in two hunger strikes, and supported by over 100 organizations. “History is made today!” they tweeted. Read more>>
Renewable Energy Smashes Records in 2020: Good news on the climate front: renewable energy is moving forward faster than ever. “There is a huge amount to be done,” say experts. “The international community must look to this trend as a source of inspiration to go further.” Read more>>
‘New Era for Marijuana Justice’: New York Legalization Bill Signed Into Law: One advocate said the law is “rooted in racial and economic justice, in an effort to repair harms while also setting a new standard for anti-racist, class-conscious, and gender-expansive policymaking. Read more>>
Coca-Cola and Delta Only Opposed Georgia Election Bill After Public Backlash: The companies have donated tens of thousands of dollars to the lawmakers who sponsored the voter suppression bills. Read more>>
Low Traffic Neighborhoods Make Fairer, Safer Cities: Low traffic neighborhoods (LTNs) involve using planters, camera gates, bollards or other measures to restrict motor vehicle use in residential streets. Read more>>
‘This Victory Belongs to Trans Youth’ – Move To Eliminate Gender-Affirming Care Stuck Down: “This victory belongs to the thousands of Arkansans who spoke out against this discriminatory bill, especially the young people, parents, and pediatricians who never stopped fighting this anti-trans attack.” Read more>>
Four Unions at Rutgers University Reach Historic Deal to End Layoffs: After a year of austerity, faculty and staff at Rutgers University have voted for an agreement to protect jobs. Read more>>


Students in Turkey Are Standing Up for LGBT Rights: After a newly appointed university official dissolved Bogazici University’s LGBTI+ club in January, students across the country launched a nationwide protest movement. Read more>>
Massive Protests Rise Up in Lebanon Against Rapidly Declining Economic And Living Conditions: During the protests, hundreds of Lebanese citizens staged a vigil in front of the Lebanese Central Bank, before proceeding to march towards the presidential palace, while being escorted by army vehicles amid tight security. Many of the participants carried banners and posters demanding improvement in the country’s housing, education and healthcare services, shouting slogans such as “this country belongs to the working class” and “End capitalism”. Read more>>
‘We Need Police-Free Schools’: Survey Finds 2/3 of US Students Want Cops Removed From Campus: “Students deserve more than an education system that is hell-bent on criminalizing them instead of providing them with the resources they need to succeed.” Read more>>
Over a Thousand Alabama Coal Miners Are on Strike: 1,100 miners in Brookwood, Alabama, are on strike for a better contract and an end to unfair labor practices. Read more>>
1,300 Steelworkers Strike Raging in Pittsburgh: The USW says that while ATI has improved its wage offer slightly, it wants workers to accept expensive changes to health care, among other concessions. The workers have not had a pay increase since 2014. Read more>>
Union Activity Is Ramping Up on College Campuses: Undergrads at multiple schools are organizing. Read more>>
Meeting Housing Justice With Social Housing Solutions: With 10 million tenants struggling to make rent, the COVID eviction crisis calls for a huge expansion in social housing like community land trusts, tenant co-ops, and publicly-owned housing. Read more>>


Indigenous Food Sovereignty Movements Are Taking Back Ancestral Land: From fishing rights off Nova Scotia, to grazing in Oklahoma and salmon habitats on the Klamath River, tribal groups are reclaiming their land and foodways. Read more>>
Sec. of Interior Haaland Announces Investigative Unit for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People: Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced that the Bureau of Indian Affairs will create the Missing and Murdered Unit. Read more>>
40 Acres and a Mall: When the Crenshaw Plaza Mall came up for sale last year in a historically Black neighborhood of Los Angeles, a group of residents decided to push back against gentrification and bring the property into shared community ownership. The Downtown Crenshaw coalition has now raised the $28 million dollars needed for a down payment on the mall, but brokers have accepted another bid at a lower price. Read more>>
Put An End To ‘Enemy Creation’ And ‘Othering’ With These 5 Actions: After the recent attacks on the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, we must struggle for a safe, secure and nonviolent future. Read more>>


How Wangari Maathai’s Daughter Carries On Her Mother’s Bold Fight For Green Spaces In Kenya: Following in her mother’s footsteps, Wanjira Mathai is empowering Kenya’s youth to lead the struggle to protect the environment. Read more>>
Giniw Collective Halts Line 3 For 5 Hours: In one of the most powerful direct actions against Line 3 so far, Indigenous water protectors prayed in a waaginogaaning, the traditional structure of Anishinaabe peoples, surrounded by allies. For hours as they prayed, they blocked construction of the toxic tar sands pipeline, protecting the land as they brought the bulldozers to a halt. Read more>>
‘Vraie Loi Climat!’: Tens of Thousands March in France to Demand Much Stronger Climate Law: French President Emannuel Macron, said one demonstrator, “is going backwards—he’s performing a moonwalk, he’s an artist who pretends to go forward but in fact he’s only going backwards.” Read more>>
Appalachian Pipeline Blockade Ends With Arrests After 932 Days: The multiyear direct action ended last week after two protesters were arrested and jailed without bond. Read more>>
Extinction Rebellion Sprays Bank of England With ‘Oil’: Protesters dressed as ‘Fossil Fools’ splattered the side of the Bank of England. Read more>>
Fairy Creek Blockade Demonstrators Digging In To Save Old Growth Trees: An activist blockade in Canada has been halting construction of a logging road since August 2020. They’re trying to prevent old-growth logging in the forest. As the blockade heats up, the forest defenders are calling in more supporters. Read more>>
Indigenous Youth Rally Calls on Biden to Cancel Line 3 and Dakota Access Pipelines: In a statement, the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) recognized the importance of Biden’s infrastructure proposal, but said it has a “major oversight: it neither acknowledges nor strengthens tribal sovereignty.” Read more>>
How Persistent Student Organizing Forced One of the Largest Public Universities To Divest From Fossil Fuels: Over eight years, University of Michigan students led bold direct actions, continually recruited new students and forged ties with regents to keep $1 billion from the fossil fuel industry. Read more>>
There’s Another Pandemic Under Our Noses, And It Kills 8.7 Million People Per Year: While Covid ravaged across the world, air pollution killed about three times as many people. We must fight the climate crisis with the same urgency with which we confronted coronavirus. Read more>>
In Louisiana, Activists May Be Winning a Battle Against Environmental Racism: Analysts say the massive petrochemical complex proposed by Formosa Plastics is “financially unviable.” Read more>>
In the Colombian Amazon, Indigenous People Resist Threats To Their Territory: Communities are trying to make their voices heard as mining companies and illegal prospectors eye up the region’s natural resources. Faced with multiple threats, the inhabitants of Yaigojé Apaporis turned to cultural and spiritual practices, as well as finding ways for their leaders to speak out in defense of their ancestral home. Read more>>
As Temps Rise, So Do Water Protector Arrests: Spring is bringing the heat to opponents of the Enbridge Line 3 tar-sands oil pipeline, as levels of arrests and citations for demonstrations against the private Canadian infrastructure project rise faster than at any time since construction began on it in December. Read more>>
Emergency Democracy in Scotland: Across Scotland, 90 community-run renewables projects produce more than 80 megawatts of energy. Europe as a whole hosts at least 1,500 energy cooperatives. “One of the lessons we can learn, I think particularly from Europe, is that we need to work hand-in-hand with environmental justice groups and labor unions that are fighting the bad as we’re building the new.” Energy democracy projects in Scotland offer many lessons for people in other countries. Read more>>


The Price of Dissent Is High For Women Engaged In Political Activism in Vietnam: There are 21 female activists currently serving a prison sentence. Read more>>
Women Activists Face Increasing Harassment In Azerbaijan: There has been a recent spate of online sexual harassment of women opposition figures, and activists say the government is behind it. Read more>>
How a Salvadoran Artist Teaches An Almost Extinct Language To Empower Transgender People: Petrona Xemi Tapepechul uses Nawat to empower others. Read more>>


World Beyond War Activists Block Rail Route for General Dynamics Armored Vehicles Bound for Saudi Arabia, Demand Canada Stop Fueling War in Yemen: Members of anti-war organizations World BEYOND War, Labour Against the Arms Trade, and People for Peace London are blocking railway tracks near General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada, a London-area company manufacturing light armoured vehicles (LAVs) for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The activists are calling on General Dynamics to end its complicity in the brutal Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen and calling on the Canadian government to end arms exports to Saudi Arabia and expand humanitarian assistance for the people of Yemen. Read more>>
War Tax Resistance Resources for Tax Season 2021: Tax Day is a holiday of sorts for war tax resisters. Local war tax resistance groups often take to the streets on Tax Day to promote their displeasure with about 50% of the federal budget dedicated to past, present, and future military expenses. The National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee (NWTRCC) is providing more online resources as part of a Tax Season 2021. Read more>>
Selective Service Registration Deserves a Full Hearing in Congress: The choice is not between continuing male-only draft registration (which is likely to be found unconstitutional) and expanding registration to women. The real choice is whether to expand registration to women or to end it entirely. Read more>>
Existing Peace Systems Demonstrate Peaceful Intergroup and International Relationships Are Possible: The existence of peace systems, defined as “clusters of neighboring societies that do not make war with each other,” demonstrates that peaceful intergroup and international relationships are possible. Read more>>
200+ Cities Pass Resolution In Support of Nuclear Ban: On March 24th, the City Council of Walla Walla, Washington, voted to pass a resolution in support of the treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons. Over 200 cities have passed similar resolutions. Read more>>
When Violence Escalates — Tips For Bystander Intervention from the Meta Peace Team: Mary Hanna from Meta Peace Team joins Nonviolence Radio to discuss the remarkable power of becoming active witnesses when someone we see is threatened. Read more>>


Sculptor Creates Balanced Stone Sculptures To Honor Shooting Victims: After the recent mass shooting, this artist went to the creek that runs through Boulder, CO, and stacked ten sculptures of balanced stones to honor those who lost heir lives. As people stopped by that day, he opened space for healing. Read more>>
Cultivating Food Security With Mini-Gardens: Cooperation Humboldt, a Transition Initiative in Humboldt County, California, is empowering their community to grow their own food through a free mini-garden installation project. Read more>>
Living Maps: Mapmaker Richard Mosse is using creative and evocative maps to capture and make visible environmental damage in the Amazon. Read more>>


Why We Need To Shift From Protest Power To People Power: Nonviolent movements must go beyond marching in the streets in order to build truly transformative change for a post-pandemic future. Read more>>
How the German Far Right Appropriates Ideals of Nonviolent Resistance: The far Right’s claims to be ‘peaceful Europeans’ are absurd, especially in the light of increasingly violent anti-lockdown protests. Read more>>
Myanmar’s Protesters Have Achieved Significant Victories — Now Is The Time To Double Down On Nonviolent Resistance: The military’s brutal attack on peaceful protesters has understandably sparked calls for armed insurgency. But such a move could set the movement back. Read more>>
20 Years of Marriage Equality – How the Dutch Inspired the World: Two decades after fighting for marriage equality, veteran gay rights activist Henk Krol reflects on that struggle, and shares his own wedding news. Read more>>
Italy’s Amazon Strike Shows How Workers Across the Supply Chain Can Unite: Yesterday, Amazon workers in Italy held the first nationwide strike in the company’s history. Jeff Bezos’s firm has long used subcontracting, temporary hiring, and a maze of contracts to divide its workforce — but unionizing warehouse staff have made common cause with outsourced delivery drivers. Read more>>

Nonviolence News Happy Hour: Join the conversation! Once a month, readers gather online to have a fun and informal conversation about the stories we’ve been reading in Nonviolence News. Everyone is welcome at this free event. (April 30) RSVP here>>
Support Community-Ownership of the Crenshaw Mall: Sign their petition to support Black self-determination through community purchase of the mall. Learn more>>
Narrative Power, Cultural Strategy and New Civic Vision: Join Arts & Democracy and Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts NY for a peer learning exchange about how stories, narrative and cultural power can help create a just and liberatory vision for the future. Join us and connect with your peers from across the country and share your experiences! (April 12) Learn more>>
How Can Civil Resistance Win Well? Breakthroughs and Breakdowns on the Road to Democracy: Join this webinar and special report launch presented by the International Center On Nonviolent Conflict. (April 14) Learn more>>
Engaging Nonviolence Online Community Course: This six-week course is a basic introduction to principled and strategic nonviolence using Pace e Bene’s Engaging Nonviolence Manual. It is intended to provide an opportunity to build community while studying nonviolence. Using small and large groups, facilitators Veronica Pelicaric and Rivera Sun will guide the participants through explorations into the personal, interpersonal, and social justice aspects of nonviolence. This Community Course is designed to be accessible, fun, friendly, and fearless. (Starts April 15) Learn more>>
The Rising Majority Presents: American Revolutionary Film Screening: The Rising Majority invites you to an intimate movie screening of American Revolutionary, the documentary film on the life of Grace Lee Boggs and panel discussion afterward with Grace Lee the film creator, adrienne maree brown, and Holly Yu, a youth organizer with Asian Youth Promoting Advocacy and Leadership. (April 16) Learn more>>
The Historic Vietnam Veterans Protest in Washington & Lessons for Today: Many veterans came home from Vietnam with a mission: to tell the truth about the wartime atrocities being committed and demand an immediate end to the killing. Now, 50 years later, what lessons can we learn from this historic protest? (Apr 23) Learn more>>
Bringing Fierce Vulnerability To the Struggle For Racial and Climate Justice: Two day webinar on the Yet-To-Be-Named Network. This training offers an overview of the network, from principles to practices, from organizational structures to what it means to be a member, and more! (April 24 & 25) Learn more>>
Campaign Nonviolence Skillbuilding Webinar – Get Creative! Join Pace e Bene trainer Rivera Sun for a skillbuilding webinar on creative actions to build a culture of peace and active nonviolence. Shake up your go-to protests, unpack the tactical toolbox, explore new action ideas, dig into how creative actions enthuse and energize people for making change. (April 27) Learn more>>
Liberated Communities Podcast: What is possible in liberated communities? How have similar movements throughout time been created and governed? We’ll take a look at the hxstory of liberated zones and re-matriated land in the Bay and what is necessary to sustain these places, how to contest for power in right relationship with Indigenous communities and how this all connects to transformative justice. Learn more>>
Housing Solution Summit 2021: These 80+ sessions and panel discussions are the powerful training that can help your community address the housing crisis. Participants will learn how communities can bring many partners together to implement high-value, economical, and practical strategies for housing that is “naturally” affordable without requiring large, on-going subsidies to make it affordable. (May 12-13) Learn more>>
World BEYOND War’s #NoWar2021 Conference Goes Virtual! Save the date for June 4-6, 2021. #NoWar2021 is a unique event that brings together a global grassroots coalition of individuals and organizations around the topic of stopping the global arms trade and ending all war. Get your tickets! Learn more>>
Buddhist Peace Fellowship Announces Block, Build, Be 2021 Retreats: Block Build Be (BBB) is a gathering for activists, organizers, healers, and seekers who desire spiritual tools and community support to keep engaging in change work from a resourced place. Learn more>>
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