Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun
Argentina’s streets were filled with protests against high prices – the country’s inflation rate is one of the highest in the world. In Haiti and South Africa, people are also protesting high cost-of-living.
Meanwhile, a strike by powerloom workers in Pakistan secured a minimum wage increase and social security. Oakland teachers, port workers and families are still striving to hold onto a “liberated” school slated for closure as charter schools take over. Rohingya refugees coordinated multi-camp protests in Bangladesh, expressing the need for better conditions and their desire to return home to Myanmar. Bosnia and Ireland offer solidarity and insights for US activists struggle to restore reproductive rights. The Russian anti-war movement is beleaguered, but feminists are keeping some efforts going despite heavy repression. Ugandans have been resisting dictatorship, led by women and queer activists.
Several articles this week explore how people are working for intersectional justice in climate change, including making energy efficiency affordable, celebrating BIPOC leaders in the Eco Revolution, and making “going outdoors” accessible for everyone. #ThisYou? revealed the hypocrisy of rightwing politicians in the US by countering their debt relief bashing comments with tweets of the politicians’ loan forgiveness records. On a humorous note, citizens in the United Kingdom have decided to honor Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resignation by naming a sewage outfall after him.
My favorite story? An island in Sweden, facing severe drought and water scarcity, held an “ugly lawn” contest. The winner received a free consultation for how to remodel their yard with low-water plants.
In solidarity,
Rivera Sun
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Victory For Powerloom Workers In Pakistan: After more than two weeks of mass strike action, powerloom workers in Faisalabad were able to successfully secure commitments on minimum wage as well as guarantees for social security. Read more>>
‘Strong and Loving, Relentless and Fierce’ – NY Home Care Workers Win Big: Years of organizing led by home care workers, older adults, disabled people and family caregivers put home care on the map—and won much-needed raises for workers. Read more>>
California Rules That School Should Start Later: This year, California middle and high schoolers can hit snooze a little longer in the mornings thanks to a landmark law that passed in 2019 making school start times later. The law, which states that students at public high schools cannot attend classes before 8:30 a.m. and no earlier than 8 a.m. for middle schoolers, went into effect on July 1. Read more>>
Victory — Finally — Against The Longest Oil Spill In U.S. History: At the time of the 2004 spill, Taylor Energy downplayed the extent of the leak, claiming it was less than 3 gallons of oil per day. The truth was much worse: as much as 29,274 gallons per day were flowing into the ocean. Now, the company must pay to clean up its mess. Read more>>
Biden Student Debt Relief Plan a ‘Big Deal,’ Says Sanders, ‘But We Have Got to Do More’: Sen. Bernie Sanders issued loud praise for President Joe Biden’s new plan to forgive up to $20,000 for some borrowers even as he said much more must be done to deliver higher education without the crushing financial strain of loans. “At a time of massive income and wealth inequality, education, from pre-school through graduate school, must be a fundamental right for all, not a privilege for the wealthy few.” Read more>>
Growing Food Sovereignty In El Salvador: In two communities in western El Salvador, women learn ancestral practices to farm food sustainably and create an economy that benefits all. Read more>>
Activists And Artists In Thailand Commemorate Myanmar’s 8888 Uprising: Thai and Myanmar activists and artists gathered in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on Monday, August 8, to commemorate the 34th anniversary of the 8888 Uprising and protest the Myanmar junta’s violence against the people, while a performance artist staged a solo performance in front of the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok on the same occasion. “They claim our silence to kill others, so I’m just not going to let them use my silence as an excuse to kill other people.” Read more>>
Columbus Teachers Reach Tentative Agreement After Strike: A tentative agreement was reached early Thursday to end a strike by teachers in the largest school district in Ohio, Columbus City Schools, the union announced. Terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed. The walkout by members of the Columbus Education Association began Monday. The new school year started Wednesday. Striking teachers lost healthcare benefits, faced pellet gun attacks, and more. Read more>>
Bangladeshi Tea Workers End Strike: The tea workers have returned to work, accepting the old wages until a virtual meeting with the prime minister will set a new wage going forward. Read more>>
Teachers and Port Workers Have Taken Over an Oakland School: Resisting the billionaire-ification of their city, workers and their families are offering a community-centered vision at Parker Elementary. And it’s working. Read more>>
Lying Flat Anti-Work Movement Teeshirts Banned From Chinese Online Stores: The Chinese major e-commerce platform Taobao banned products featuring the image from sale for promoting the “lying flat” and “let it rot” ideas used by young people revolting against an oppressive work culture and social expectations. Read more>>
Myanmar Arrests Japanese Journalist: After grabbing power in a coup d’état in February 2021, the Myanmar military restricted news coverage in the country. Scores of journalists have so far been arrested for allegedly supporting pro-democracy forces. Kubota is the fifth foreign journalist arrested by the junta. Read more>>
With CEO Pay Skyrocketing, The Union Surge Is Hardly Surprising: In just a little over six months, the number of Starbucks outlets where workers are represented by a union has spiked from zero to 165. This pro-union wildfire is stunning. But should it be unexpected? Read more>>
How Free Stores Fight Waste, Connect Communities And Foster Resilience: Free stores are exactly what they sound like: Physical places where people can donate items they no longer want and others can shop among these items and take what they want or need without paying cash for them. Read more>>
Argentine Unions Lead Mass Demonstrations for Higher Wages, Lower Prices: Thousands of workers marched from Argentina’s presidential office to its congressional building in Buenos Aires on Wednesday to demand government action to address the ongoing cost of living crisis. For the past few weeks, mass actions organized by Argentine trade unions and leftist political parties have sought to force policymakers to raise wages and improve unemployment benefits as soaring prices and currency devaluation leave working people struggling to make ends meet. “Today in Argentina it’s a privilege just to eat.” Read more>>
Thousands Protest In Haiti Over Insecurity, Rising Costs: Haitian demonstrators demand removal of Prime Minister Ariel Henry as rallies held in several cities across the country. Read more>>
Gunman Shoots Pellets At Picketing Teachers: 4500 teachers are on strike in Columbus, OH. A man with a pellet gun shot at their picket line from the window of his vehicle. No serious injuries occurred. With some parents feeling rage against the teachers’ union for striking, the incident caused some concern. However, the union said that they will not be deterred. Read more>>
South Africa’s COSATU Leads Union Protests Over High Cost Of Living: Hundreds of South Africans protested in Pretoria and Cape Town against inflation that has soared to a 13-year high, in an action led by trade union group COSATU, a long-time ally of the ruling African National Congress. Read more>>
University of Sydney Staff & Students Picket: Staff and students picketed the University of Sydney as part of their fourth strike day this year in support of a fair enterprise agreement. Read more>>
In Minneapolis, Recently Unionized Starbucks Workers Are On Two-Day Strike: Employees of the Cedar Avenue Starbucks had returned to work after a two-day strike in protest of the company’s refusal to bargain with the newly formed union, as well as what the workers say are backhanded attempts to undermine union efforts. Baristas and shift supervisors united to raise grievances against the manager of the location and Starbucks corporate for difficult working conditions and low pay. Read more>>
As #EnoughIsEnough Launches, The Working Class Is Rising Up: Organized workers are on the move. After years of stagnancy, UK trade unions are starting to ramp up activity again. Needless to say, there’s been little help from the Labour Party. But the waves of strikes are unmistakable signs of rising working class militancy. Read more>>
Black, Brown & #Green – Meet The POC Youth Who Are Reclaiming The Eco Revolution: From cycling to gardening to composting and co-living, the Western face of sustainability has long been that of well-to-do white faces. But as the inequitable effects of our climate crisis manifest, the picture is beginning to change. With many modern environmental practices being rooted in BIPOC thought and culture, here are just a few of the artists, activists and community practitioners who are reclaiming their right to be “green” — and bringing the digital masses along in the process. Read more>>
Making Energy Efficiency Accessible: “For some, energy efficiency is the difference between keeping the utilities on or having them shut off. It’s having to make decisions about what they’re feeding their kids that month and wondering if their kids are going to be taken away because their utilities will be disconnected.” – Sharonda Williams-Tack, who leads a campaign that seeks to help struggling households reduce their utility bills through energy efficiency retrofits. Read more>>
Going Outside Isn’t A Refuge For Everyone – But That Can Change: If structural barriers formed by economic circumstances or gender identity make it hard to get outside, these stories suggest there can still be a way through. Apart from the physical challenges inherent to a natural landscape, many obstacles to going outside are human made, and there is a weirdly empowering quality to that truth. Human decision making can sometimes usher in better alternatives. Read more>>
Cycling Like The Dutch Would Reduce World’s Carbon Pollution: In the Netherlands, cycling is a way of life and is so common that there are more bikes than people, according to BBC News. As many as 70% of journeys are by bike in cities like The Hague and Amsterdam. Cycling can be a significant way to reduce a person’s carbon footprint, as using a bike instead of a car as little as once per day reduces an average person’s transportation emissions by 67%. Read more>>
Activists Arrested While Protesting ‘Dirty Pipeline Deal’ Outside Schumer’s Office: “Sen. Schumer is sacrificing frontline communities and our clean energy future, all to placate a coal baron,” said one organizer, referring to the majority leader’s side agreement with Sen. Joe Manchin. Read more>>
Short Films Educate On Perils of Feedback Loops: The Earth is warming the Earth. In this series of five short films, learn why natural warming loops have scientists alarmed—and why we have less time than we think. Read more>>
New Documentary ‘The Territory’ Chronicles The Struggle Of Indigenous Land Defenders In The Amazon: Using footage shot by the Uru-ea-wau-wau people, ‘The Territory’ is an up close look at the struggle to defend the Amazon from illegal settlers and loggers. Read more>>
The Real Reasons Some Communities Have More Violence – Lack Of Resources & Systemic Racism: A guiding principle of many activists is that making change doesn’t require starting from scratch. Instead, we can look to the people who are already doing the work and build from there. That was the idea behind the Chicago Transformation Collab, a three-day event in June that brought together Black and brown organizers, artists, public defenders, and other stakeholders working to rethink approaches to crime and policing in the city. Read more>>
How Black Churches Can Change the World: Reverend Edwin Robinson explains how organizers are using a generational shift to transform Black churches into powerful social justice congregations. Read more>>
Maryland Launches Emmett Till Alerts: Maryland created a new alert system to track down racist incidents and other hate crimes, according to CBS News. The “Emmett Till Alert” will be modeled after the Amber Alert and notify Black leaders in the state of any racially motivated crimes. The initiative comes after a string of attacks on Black churches in Maryland. Read more>>
Myanmar Rohingya, Five Years On, Desperate To Leave Bangladesh Camps And Go Home: Myanmar Rohingya Muslims protested across refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh on Thursday, the fifth anniversary of clashes between Rohingya insurgents and Myanmar security forces that drove hundreds of thousands of Rohingya from their homes. Read more>>
Immigrant Rights Groups Are Suing LexisNexis for Helping ICE Target Communities: The data broker has collected personal information on millions of people and sold it to government entities like ICE. Cinthya Rodriguez, organizer with the immigrant justice group Mijente, explains how “one of the biggest data brokers in the world” is “getting rich off of the backs of community members,” particularly among immigrant communities of color and activists. Read more>>
Ireland’s Struggle For Abortion Rights Should Be An Inspiration For The US: Irish pro-choice activists had to overcome a rigid constitutional ban on abortion that was in place for more than 30 years. They succeeded by putting mass mobilization and a confident assertion of the right to choose at the heart of their campaign. Read more>>
Hundreds Protest In India Against Release of 11 Gang Rapists: The 11 men were convicted in 2008 of rape, murder and unlawful assembly. The victim was was brutally gang raped in communal violence in 2002 in Gujarat, which saw more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, killed in some of the worst religious riots India has experienced since its independence from Britain in 1947. Their recent release triggered protests across India. Read more>>
A Bosnian Perspective On The US Fight For Reproductive Rights: Bosnia and Herzegovina’s recent history of forced pregnancy in the context of genocidal rape has set this Balkan nation on a track to protect the right to choose one’s own reproductive destiny. Read more>>
Prague Pride Parade Is Back After a Two-Year Pandemic Hiatus: Considered one of the largest in Central Europe, Prague Pride’s parade returned to the streets on August 13 after a two-year hiatus, drawing an estimated 60,000 people. Read more>>
Design Firm Wants to Build “Feminist” Jails and Prisons. Abolitionists Say “No”: A coalition of formerly incarcerated people and advocates held a banner and passed out flyers to conference attendees while demanding that HDR withdraw its plans to design new carceral facilities and build life-affirming community infrastructure instead. The rally emphasized HDR’s projects that would confine women and gender-expansive people, the fastest-growing segment of the carceral apparatus in the U.S. Read more>>
Google Workers Push Tech Giant to Stop Funding Lawmakers Destroying Abortion Rights: Hundreds of Google employees have signed a petition sent this week to the CEO of parent company Alphabet asking the tech titan to stop supporting right-wing politicians and groups destroying reproductive freedom, and to protect and expand workers’ rights in the post-Roe v. Wade era. Read more>>
Abortion Ban Stalls In West Virginia After Protesters Pack Public Hearings And The Capital: West Virginians are showing the fight for reproductive justice and bodily autonomy can still be won in the South. The West Virginia Republican Party failed to pass an abortion ban during a July special session called by Gov. Jim Justice, in part because of activist efforts in the state legislature. Reproductive justice activists made themselves heard by testifying during a public hearing and protesting at the capital for over 11 hours. Read more>>
Graduate Students Across The US Are Organizing For Abortion Rights: This week, graduate students from more than fifty colleges and universities across the United States launched the Graduate Student Action Network (GSAN), a coalition centered around fighting for abortion rights and other forms of reproductive justice. GSAN’s first action is to coordinate a National Student Day of Action for abortion rights, to be held on October 6, the anniversary of the day a federal judge first blocked the draconian anti-abortion law in Texas. The network includes graduate student unions, graduate student governments, and student advocacy organizations. Read more>>
Meet the Bosnian Youth Trying To Hold Their Country Together: Postwar Bosnia remains deeply divided. These young people are trying to change that. Youth for Peace is an association created in 2013 by young people for young people, whose main mission is to rethink the peace process in the Balkans. Read more>>
Anti-War Activity Is Not Over In Russia, Says Russian Researcher: Due to the lack of press freedom, it is difficult to know what is happening. There are decentralized activities that pop up here and there, inside and outside of Russia. Sometimes they are connected to each other, but most often they are not. There is not much attempt to centralize these actions, because it is impossible to centralize. Leaders are either in jail or in exile, all the pre-war movements were destroyed by the state right after the invasion. Read more>>
Montreal Activists Disrupt Business-As-Usual: On August 3, 2022, two Montreal activists, Dimitri Lascaris and Laurel Thompson, disrupted a public-relations presentation by Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly. The event was hosted by the Montreal Chamber of Commerce. Lascaris decried the manipulations around sending natural gas to Russia. Laurel Thompson got the blasé audience members to look up from their cell phones as she entered the room and raised a “NO NATO” placard. Read more>>
German Court Orders U.S. Peace Activist to Jail for Protests Against U.S. Nuclear Weapons Stationed in Germany: A U.S. peace activist from Luck, Wisconsin has been ordered by a German court to serve 50 days in jail there after he refused to pay 600 Euros in fines for two trespass convictions stemming from protests against the U.S. nuclear weapons stationed at Germany’s Büchel Air Base, 80 miles southeast of Cologne. Read more>>
UK Pushes Mountain Destruction On Montegnegro: For years now, the people of Montenegro have sought to protect the Sinjajevina mountain plateau from the destruction to be brought by creating a military training ground vastly larger than the entire military of Montenegro could ever use. Read more>>
Language Activist Uses Technology To Make Learning Ekpeye Fun: Umasoye is a digital language activist from Nigeria that is using media tools to make the preservation and teaching of the Ekpeye language fun and engaging for younger generations. Language activism – preserving and learning an Indigenous language – is a growing movement for Indigenous Peoples around the world. Read more>>
The Café That’s Upending Capitalism: Inside this brick storefront, something much more radical is brewing: a business model that could upend the traditional capitalistic business structure. Read more>>
Boris Johnson Sewage: Rather than erect a statue to commemorate Boris Johnson’s illustrious premiership, a sewage outfall at Bexhill beach has been named after the politician. A spokesman said “this conduit of effluent will become his lasting memorial.” Read more>>
#ThisYou? Social Media Campaign Reveals Right Wing Hypocrisy: Conservative US politicians have been scathing and derisive to people campaigning for debt forgiveness. #ThisYou? is pulling up their financial records to reveal how many of them have had their debts cancelled. Read more>>
5 Unsung Labor Movies: Hollywood studios and independent producers have long depicted the collective efforts of working people to improve their lives and gain a voice in their workplaces and the larger society. Here are 5 little-known examples. Read more>>
A Summer Reading List For Climate Survival And Hope: With stories of anti-racist farmers, queer vegans, collective struggle and overlooked histories, these four books help inspire climate action. Read more>>
Sweden Holds Ugliest Lawn Contest To Reduce Watering In Drought: Residents of Sweden’s largest island have been competing to determine which of them has the ugliest lawn. The competition is an effort by the municipality of Gotland to promote water conservation. The winning lawn this year was Marcus Norström’s, which the jury playfully described as “a really lousy lawn that lives up to all our expectations of Gotland’s ugliest lawn and has good conditions for a more sustainable improvement”. Norström’s reward for his lack of effort is a visit from the gardener and judge Sara Gistedt, who will offer personalized advice on what plants to grow in his garden. Read more>>
“Our Journey, Our Truth, Our Challenges” – African Feminism and Defying Dictatorship in Uganda: It’s a story of fearless resistance to dictatorship. It’s a decolonized story – one told about Ugandans, by Ugandans, not by a former colonial power. The story aspires to give back the power to Africans, and to African women and queers, in particular. Read more>>
In 1968, These 43 Black Soldiers Held A Sit-In Against Cracking Down On Riots: Late in the evening of Friday, August 23, five dozen African American troops staged an orderly, nonviolent sit-in at the intersection of 65th Street and Central Avenue at Fort Hood. They were protesting the deployment to Chicago for riot-control duty at the Democratic National Convention, which was planned for the following morning. The majority of these soldiers had sincere, serious reservations about being put in situation where they might be asked to engage other African American as “hostiles.” Several demonstrators mentioned that they had grown up in poor, Black neighborhoods and said they knew why people were rioting. Read more>>
Initiative Campaigns Bridge Partisan Divides: Voters on opposite sides of the partisan divide agree on policy far more than we realize. Initiative campaigns can inform a strategy to win changes we need and build a base for people-centered power. Read more>>
Scenes From A Summer Of Strikes In A South Carolina Starbucks: Since the Starbucks Workers United campaign launched last fall, workers have won union authorization elections at 220 stores, and struck at least 60. The company has retaliated harshly—closing some stores, firing dozens of union leaders, claiming interference by the National Labor Relations Board, and calling for a moratorium on mail-in elections. Here is how a summer of intense organizing has gone. Read more>>
Greater Peril, Greater Rewards? As democracy erodes at an increasing pace, slipping our species toward the normalization of authoritarianism, protesters are understandably exploring how they can stay safe. But reducing the risks of our nonviolent actions can also come at a cost—the cost of our power. It is often believed to be safer to get off the streets and onto social media, but not only has this logic been proven false, social media impact is also questionable. Regardless, even though it is usually safe to lobby our leaders, many of them won’t budge an inch until they face a powerful popular movement with clear demands. Read more>>
Union Raises $60,000 on GoFundMe to Support Striking Teachers: The Columbus Education Association has organized a GoFundMe to help provide for medical and other expenses. So far, the fund has raised $60,000. You can donate to their strike fund here. Learn more>>
Tell Liberty Mutual To Drop The TMX Pipeline: We’re ramping up pressure on Liberty Mutual by flooding social media with photo messages urging Liberty executives to drop TMX. Can you take action in solidarity with the fight to stop Trans Mountain by joining the social media action? Learn more>>
Tell PayPal To Stop Discriminating Against Palestinians: PayPal, one of most popular money transfer services in the world, is shamelessly discriminating against Palestinians living in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem – for being Palestinian. PayPal allows Israelis living in illegal settlements in the West Bank – settlements that are blatant violations of international human rights law – to access its full range of services, while Palestinians living just a few miles away in neighboring villages and cities have absolutely no access to PayPal services. Add your name to the petition demanding PayPal stop discriminating against Palestinians. Learn more>>
Submit a Public Comment To Stop New Oil Drilling In The Arctic! Join the fight to protect the Arctic from oil drilling! In solidarity with the Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic (SILA), submit public comments to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to stop the Willow Master Development Plan (Willow MDP). Since this is a federal review process, President Biden has the authority to stop the project. Regardless of where you live, your voice matters! (Submit by August 29) Learn more>>
Understanding Restorative Justice: Restorative justice is based on the philosophy that we are all interconnected, that we live in relationship with one another, and that our actions impact each other. This September, AFSC is offering a three-session webinar series on restorative justice as part of our Community Safety Beyond Policing trainings. Participants will develop an understanding of restorative justice and its practices—and how to strengthen our communities through accountability. (Sept. 6, 13, 20, at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT) Learn more>>
Art & Social Activism: Noam Chomsky and others will explore the role of art and social activism in contemporary change efforts. Among the topics that will be addressed are global inequality, the incompatibility of capitalism, neoliberalism and democracy, energy democracy as a human right, climate justice, participatory democracy, the intersection between art and activism, and many more. (Sept 6) Learn more>>
Migrant Justice Webinar: Join On Earth Peace on September 7 for a panel and discussion on migrant justice. We will use this panel discussion and online conversation to fuse our efforts in helping those who risk their lives for a safe place to work and call home here in the U.S. This is an opportunity to connect with other advocates and activists to share local, regional, and national ideas. (Sept 7) Learn more>>
The Singing Revolution Screening & Discussion: Most people don’t think about singing when they think about revolution. But song was the weapon of choice when Estonians sought to free themselves from decades of Soviet occupation. The Singing Revolution is an inspiring account of one nation’s dramatic rebirth. It is the story of humankind’s irrepressible drive for freedom and self-determination. (Sept 10) Learn more>>
Campaign Nonviolence Action Days, Sept 21-Oct 2: From Sept 21 to Oct 2, 2022, (Int’l Day of Peace to Int’l Day of Nonviolence) join tens of thousands of people in calling for a culture rooted in nonviolence. From renewable energy to housing for all, we’re connecting the dots between the issues and proposing a bold vision for nonviolent solutions to our pressing crises. Learn more>>
Turning Point Summit: Youth ages 16-32 can apply for an international summit on nonviolence, including youth assembly, training sessions, and co-created sessions. (Oct 2-9) Learn more>>
Teach Central America Week: More than four million Central Americans reside in the United States and migration from the region is headline news. However, most schools teach very little about Central America, including the long history of U.S. involvement in the region. In 2019, Teaching for Change launched Teach Central America Week to encourage and support teaching about Central America during Latinx Heritage Month. We have collected lessons, booklists, biographies of noted historical figures, and readings for free use by classroom teachers. (Oct 3-9) Read more>>
Voluntary Simplicity: From Gandhi to Thoreau to Thich Nhat Hanh to Wally and Juanita Nelson, voluntary simplicity runs through the heart of nonviolence. In this 6-week course, we will examine how—and why—simplifying our lives supports nonviolence as a way of life. We will also address how voluntary simplicity is an act of resistance to the many violences inherent in our economy, society and culture, and the war industry. We will draw from examples of nonviolence practitioners from around the world and find inspiration from many spiritual traditions. (Oct 12-Nov 16) Learn more>>
Writing Nonviolence: In this 6-week course with award-winning author Rivera Sun, you will explore how to write about all things nonviolence. We’ll look at op-eds and editorials, articles and blogs, and even social posts. We’ll also get creative, exploring story and poetry, looking at novels and fictional portrayals of nonviolence. This course is for everyone, whether you think of yourself as a “writer” or not. If you love fiction, join us. If you gravitate toward journalism, join us. If you’re not sure, join us. We will have a lot of fun in this welcoming, encouraging, and empowering online community. (Oct 13-Nov 17) Learn more>>
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