Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun
This week in Nonviolence News, protests in India marked the six month anniversary of their immense, record-breaking farmer protests. The organizer of a vigil commemorating Tiananmen Square has been arrested and gatherings banned. Brazilians in 200 cities marched for Bolsonaro’s impeachment. Colombia continues to rise up despite repression. In Canada, the identification of 215 First Nations children buried at a Residential School has sparked mourning and demands for action. Australians are disrupting a large weapons expo. Ugandans are opposing oil extraction, despite the risks of standing up against the companies.
You’ll notice an interesting theme in the Success Stories: Nonviolence toward the earth. Our imperiled planet needs humanity to treat the living systems with respect and nonviolence. A successful rainforest restoration project shows that efforts like this are not futile – they’re fertile. Humanity is at a crossroads and our choices matter. Look at the contrasting stories of two endangered species: the monarch butterfly and the saiga antelope. The monarch population plummeted from millions to a mere 2,000 in a few short decades. The saiga antelope, on the other hand, has rebounded in population. Conservation efforts have been critically important in bringing the saiga antelope back from the brink. This is what “nonviolence toward the earth” looks like!
In solidarity,
Rivera Sun
Photo Credit: Indians demonstrate at six month anniversary of historic farmer protests.
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The Atlantic Rainforest In Brazil Is A Bright Spot For Restoration: As the largest restoration effort in the last 20 years, the Atlantic Forest project provides a blueprint for the rest of the world. Editor’s Note: This is a good example of how we can practice “nonviolence toward the earth”. Read more>>
Report Shows Stimulus Checks Significantly Reduced Hardship for Families: The checks unanimously slammed by the GOP helped reduce financial instability by 45 percent, a new report finds. Read more>>
Australian Water Activists Win Against Adani Mine: A judge ruled that Adani had not passed it’s “water trigger” permitting test. The company had tried to argue that the clause applied only to water used in physical extraction and not to water pipelines flowing to the mine (yes, to do the extraction). The Adani mine lost the case. The win was a victory for workers and farmers in regional Queensland, who depend on a reliable flow of water in the Suttor River for their livelihood. It was also a win “for people power” since “thousands of people across Australia” had helped to fund the case. Read more>>
G7 Ends Unabated Coal Financing In 2021: The G7 group of rich nations has agreed to start phasing out fossil fuel finance overseas and end support for unabated coal power to keep the 1.5C goal in sight. After initial resistance, Japan agreed to the ministers’ statement, leaving China isolated as the last significant coal funder overseas. Read more>>
Biden Suspends Trump-Era Oil Drilling Leases In Alaska’s Arctic Refuge: Interior department order follows a temporary moratorium on oil and gas lease activities imposed by the president on first day in office. Read more>>
Endangered Antelope Bounces Back: Kazakhstan is achieving a conservation success by boosting numbers of the rare saiga antelope, a new count of the critically endangered species has shown. The saiga population has rocketed by 150 percent in the last two years, thanks to conservation efforts. Read more>>
200 Brazilian Cities March For Bolsonaro’s Impeachment: Tens of thousands of protesters have poured on to the streets of Brazil’s largest cities to demand the impeachment of President Jair Bolsonaro over his catastrophic response to a coronavirus pandemic that has claimed nearly half a million Brazilian lives. Protesters are also decrying his austerity measures and failure to provide economic relief from the pandemic’s impacts. Read more>>
Australia’s “Disrupt Land Forces” Week of Action Begins: Peace and anti-militarization activists disrupted an enormous military convention and weapons expo with banners and blockades of trucks. Read more>>
Winners, Losers, and Human Rights Abusers in Colombia’s National Strike: It is just over a month since Colombia’s National Strike (Paro Nacional) began. The international community is appalled by the endless reports of atrocities and abuses by the ESMAD riot police and Colombian Armed Forces (which combine the military and police under one command), and the right-wing gangs allied with them. As always, we must point out that US funding enables these outrages. At the same time, we are inspired and encouraged by the tenacity and continued momentum of the popular movements and the victories that they have achieved. Read more>>
Urgent Situation Endangers Colombian Social Protests Near Oil Field: Protesters are opposing new drill sites. Police repression has been heavy. At least one protester has been assassinated. Read more>>
Communities In Guerrero, Mexico, Set Up Road Blockades: On May 28, 2021, Indigenous communities belonging to the Popular Indigenous Council of Guerrero-Emiliano Zapata, and to the Regional Coordinator of Community Authorities-Community Police-Founding Pueblos, set up road blockades in the Montaña Baja region of Guerrero, a southern state in so-called Mexico, announcing they will prohibit the June 6 mid-term elections from taking place in their communities. The mobilizations by the 24 communities are a response to the ongoing attacks carried out by the organized crime group, Los Ardillos, and the failure of the Mexican state to do anything about it. Read more>>
Striking Coalminers In Alabama Energize Support Across The South: United Mine Workers of America members are fighting for better wages and benefits and have filed unfair labor practice charges against Warrior Met Coal. Read more>>
Vigil Leader Arrested On Eve of Tiananmen Square Anniversary: Hong Kong police have arrested a prominent barrister for allegedly promoting an unauthorized assembly on the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, as thousands of officers were deployed to enforce a ban on protests and gatherings across the city. Read more>>
Across India, Protestors Mark Six Months Historic Farmers’ Protests: Hundreds of thousands of farmers, workers and members of trade unions, student and women organizations observed a protest at thousands of places across India on Wednesday, May 26. The day marked the completion of six months of the historic farmers’ protest against the three contentious farm laws passed by the government of Narendra Modi. Farmers across India have opposed the laws, saying it will dismantle vital state regulations, reduce the price they get for their produce and lead to greater corporate entry in agriculture. Read more>>
Over 35,000 People Rally For Palestine In DC: Over 35,000 protestors converged in Washington DC this Memorial Day weekend for The National March for Palestine, the largest protest against U.S. foreign policy in the nation’s capital in decades. Read more>>
Activists Aim To Block Israeli Ships From US Ports In Solidarity With Palestinians: The Arab Resource and Organizing Center (Aroc) is leading an effort to keep Israeli ships from docking in US ports. Its “Block the Boat” campaign had successfully prevented a ship operated by Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd from docking in Oakland, California. Read more>>
Tech Giants Face Rising Pressure From Shareholder Activists: Activist shareholders are pushing for the proposals to be adopted during this week’s annual meetings, the first to be held after a year that has included nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, a deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol and challenging working conditions for many on-site workers. Read more>>
Texas Democrats Walk Off House Floor to Block Voter Suppression Bill: The last-ditch move came hours after Texas Republicans rammed the bill through the state Senate in the dead of night. Read more>>
Youth Climate Activists Spotlight Inequality: With much of the world beginning to recover from the pandemic, over 100 youth-led organizations have just gathered in person and online for an intersectional dialogue on one of the most pressing issues facing us all. At Power Shift 2021 — a national youth climate justice conference aimed at building collective youth power to address climate disaster, racial justice, and economic transformation — activists made it loud and clear that the youth movement won’t settle for any climate solutions not grounded in addressing inequality. Read more>>
Andrew Brown Protests Are Nonviolent, Not “Peaceful”: Following the murder of a Black man, Charlotte, VA, residents are holding nightly marches and demonstrations demanding justice. But they don’t call them “peaceful protests”. “You never heard Dr. [Martin Luther] King say, ‘I’m going to have a peaceful demonstration.’ He said, ‘We do direct action with nonviolent methodology. We are committed to nonviolence. But we’re trying to bring about structural change, and that’s usually anything but peaceful.” Read more>>
Residential School Survivors Society Calls For Action Following Discovery Of Children’s Remains: Group says the Candaian federal government and Catholic Church need to move beyond words after remains of 215 First Nation children were found at a “residential school”. These schools forcibly separated First Nation children from their families and frequently abused them, leading to trauma, injuries, and deaths. Read more>>
Sit-In To Mourn 215 Children Buried At Residential School: A small group of people rallied Monday in front of the statue of Egerton Ryerson on the Ryerson University campus to stage a sit-in mourning the 215 children found buried at the Kamloops Indigenous Residential School last week. Read more>>
Argentine Researchers Begin To Challenge The Country’s White European Self-Image: New generation of Black history researchers say Argentina must confront its ‘erasure of blackness’ and the structural racism that exists today. Read more>>
New Toolkit From Organizers Working To Block A Police Training Academy: Activists who tried to stop the city from bringing a police training facility to the West Side have developed a toolkit to pass along wisdom to other groups organizing around the issue of police funding. The organizing toolkit released Monday is an archive of the No Cop Academy campaign from 2017 to 2019, protesting a $95 million police training facility in West Garfield Park. The materials document the tactics activists used to build a powerful coalition demanding that City Hall invest in schools, mental health clinics and social services rather than pouring more money into Chicago Police. Read more>>
“Rural People Against Racism March”: Marchers gathered in downtown Sedro-Woolley, WA, for sign-waving, followed by a march of about 75 people through the business district. Organizer Matt Uyeno explained that he called the demonstration to “start a conversation regarding the history of racism” in the area. Read more>>
How Unhoused Youth Experienced the 2020 Uprisings: The streets where they sleep were filled with tear gas, protesters, and police. Read more>>
The Nitty-Gritty Of Getting Cops Out Of Schools: It’s not an easy path. It’s a necessary one. The first police officer placed in a school was in Flint, MI, in 1950. Now, more than 50,000 cops are posted in schools across the US. Two thirds of US students want them removed. Read more>>
Despite Risks, Climate Activists Lead Fight Against Oil Giant’s Drilling Projects in Uganda: We cannot drink oil. This is why we cannot accept the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.” Read more>>
Stop the Money Pipeline Presents JPMorgan Chase Branches With “2021 Greenwashing Award”: Following the release of JPMorgan Chase’s 2030 climate targets, people around the country will be delivering the “2021 Greenwashing Award” to more than 150 Chase branches this week. The award is presented on an annual basis to a corporation for “outstanding contributions to the field of greenwashing.” Read more>>
California Races To Save Monarch Butterflies: Monarch populations plummeted from 30,000 to 2,000 in three years. Now, conservationists and biologists are racing to plant milkweed and save the butterflies. Read more>>
Want More Nonviolence? There’s An App For That. The Metta Center For Nonviolence has created an app that sends you a short inspiration for your practice of nonviolence via text message or Whatsapp on a regular basis. They say it helps to have small reminders of support or insights into the world of nonviolence in small doses on a regular basis to keep us motivated in our efforts. Read more>>
The Power of the Cultural Boycott Against Israel: This spring as the fight to save Sheikh Jarrah, Gaza, and all of Palestine from Israeli settler-colonialism slowly became a mainstay in mainstream public discourse, thousands of artists, musicians, and other culture makers have spoken out in support of Palestine. These statements are not only important political bellwethers, but also essential catalysts for social change. Read more>>
For Climate Justice, Don’t Just Share Statistics – Tell Stories: “We as young people are using our voices in creative ways to talk about climate change and demand action. We know that creativity and culture can get us closer to the truth about what our future might look like and help bring the world along with us.” Read more>>
Black-Owned Rideshare, Go Girl Ride, Is Making Transportation Safer For Women: The phone-in service that will eventually transform into a digital application is going to be an essential platform for the many women, sex workers, and LGBTQ+ individuals who are harassed or feel endangered during their rideshare route. “I was a driver for Uber for a few years. Women, femmes, and non-binary folks, but women in particular, really inspired me because most would come to my car and say ‘thank the Lord that you are a woman!,’” says founder Trenelle Doyle. Read more>>
Prisons As A Training Ground for Nonviolent Resistance In Protracted Conflicts: A new report examines how prisoners in Northern Ireland, Israel-Palestine, and South Africa turned incarceration into an opportunity for training the movement in nonviolent resistance. In each case, governments used arrests as a form of social control, but the movements turned the repression on its head by using jails and prisons as training grounds. Read more>>
Why US Healthcare Needs A Civil Rights-Style Movement: What will it take to produce genuine reform in our system? We need a similar movement in healthcare. We need bold leaders who will admit that our current system is an embarrassment. We need clinicians who understand that a little more common sense can heal people. We need employers to stand up and say they’re no longer willing to fork health benefits into the furnace of lackluster outcomes. We need insurers to focus their efforts on covering low-income Americans and communities of color, and to go to bat for their members by demanding quality care at a fair cost. Read more>>
What Brazil Taught The World About Healing the Web of Solidarity: By integrating Solidarity Care, a model of emotional collectivity based in emotional literacy and mutual support, created in one of the most socioeconomically deprived regions of the world, we may find a new way to heal what ails us. Read more>>
How People With Disabilities Are Sticking Together During COVID-19: When the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world, many support networks for people with disabilities stopped meeting in person and moved online. These virtual communities found ways to overcome the limitations of social distancing and become critical sources of care and support over the past year. Read more>>
Community-County Collaboration for Neighborhood Preparedness: Port Townsend’s unique county-community neighborhood preparedness project, NPREP, grew from a big-hearted sister-city project that took volunteers from a coastal town in Washington State to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. When they returned, the volunteers brought back the knowledge that their own community needs to be ready for anything. Read more>>
National Poor People’s Assembly: The hybrid online/in-person National Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly will raise a chorus of voices demanding a moral revolution that puts the suffering of the 140 million+ and low-income people in the U.S. at the center of every policy debate. (June 21) Learn more>>
MK Gandhi Institute’s Nonviolence Retreat: Join us from near and far (virtually) to explore the wonders of the world of Nonviolence within, between, and among ourselves. Participants will spend part of each morning learning about and discussing different aspects of Nonviolence. We will continue in the afternoon to include several practice and debrief sessions/ (Aug 9-13) Learn more>>
Embodying Nonviolent Communication For Youth: For many folks, effective communication has never felt harder or more important. Given the challenges our communities have been facing, it can be easy and almost irresistible to disengage from others, rather than talking about what’s really going on and to share a vision of where to go from here. Learning Nonviolent Communication offers one avenue for engaging deeply with ourselves and one another so we’re better equipped to keep doing the work of building a future that works for all. (June 8-22) Learn more>>
Host A Food Feast On World Localization Day: The localization movement is made up of initiatives on every continent working to rebuild community fabric, reduce ecological impact and increase human wellbeing by bringing the economy back to the local level. Think farmers’ markets, permaculture, community gardens, small-business alliances, micro-grids, alternative education projects, and much more. Here’s how you can join their campaign by hosting a food feast, tuning into online events, and more. (June 15-20) Learn more>>
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