Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun
Massive protests have erupted in Iran after the death of a woman held in custody (and probably beaten) by morality police for refusing to comply with the nation’s stringent dress code for women. In Russia, 1,300 people have been arrested during protests against conscription and the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, in Ukraine, coal miners are defying a nationwide ban to go on strike for better wages. To add to the list of nations struggling around repressive laws, citizens of the United Kingdom are being arrested for protesting the monarchy after the death of the queen.
This week in Nonviolence News, people around the world, particularly the Pakistani diaspora, held demonstrations calling for aid to Pakistan, where catastrophic flooding has impacted one third of the nation. Fast food workers blocked the San Francisco airport over low wages. United Kingdom dockworkers shut down the terminals. Peace activists in the United States hit the streets in dozens of cities to call for peace in Ukraine. Palestinian families are protesting Israeli curriculums in their schools.
Good news: Maoris won a landmark apology and compensation over colonial atrocities from the New Zealand government. Charlotte, North Carolina, is investing in nonviolent teams to prevent violence. Starbucks workers and hotel workers won recent strikes. The US Department of the Interior removed a word that is offensive to Native Americans from 650 names of monuments, parks, etc. A formerly-incarcerated man in California has succeeded in passing a law that clears millions of formerly-incarcerated people from barriers to employment after release.
A favorite story? When Chase Bank’s massive, 5,000-person corporate run (i.e. marathon) reached the finish line, climate activists strung a banner over the road and protested the bank’s fossil fuel financing. “Climate destroyers don’t get to have nice public relations events,” the activists pointed out.
This week I’m also in the middle of the Campaign Nonviolence Action Days (Sept 21-Oct 2). Over 4,612+ actions and events are happening to build a culture of peace and active nonviolence, free from war, poverty, racism, and environmental destruction. My small role in this big movement is to help tell the stories, share the photos, and uplift the tens of thousands of people taking action together. It’s inspiring.
In solidarity,
Rivera Sun
Photo Credit: A protester holds a portrait of Mahsa Amini during a demonstration in support of Amini, a young Iranian woman who died after being arrested in Tehran by the Islamic Republic’s morality police, on Istiklal avenue in Istanbul on September 20, 2022. Photo by Ozan Kose.
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Maori Secure Landmark Apology and Compensation Over Colonial Atrocities: It took decades of fighting for reparations but a Māori tribe has finally secured a long-awaited apology and millions of dollars in redress for atrocities committed by the crown, including for its “indiscriminate” killings and “massive” alienation of tribal land. Read more>>
Charlotte City Council Approves $1 Million In Federal Grants To Expand Alternatives To Violence Program: So far the Alternatives to Violence Program (ATV) along the Beatties Ford Road corridor has managed to complete 45 mediations to help deescalate violent crime in the area. “It is a positive indicator that the work is having a positive effect,” Rios said. In 2020, the city council unanimously voted to approve six recommendations identified in the SAFE Charlotte report. Those recommendations included helping nonprofits address violence in the community, expanding the community policing crisis response team, and enhancing recruitment efforts. Read more>>
Unionized Boston Starbucks Workers Celebrate Win After 64-Day Strike: Management conceded to workers’ main demand after they picketed 24 hours a day for two months, workers say. Read more>>
Workers At Big South Florida Hotel Boost Minimum Pay To $20: Weeks after a big strike vote, 450 hotel workers at the Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood, Florida, have reached a tentative agreement on a four-year contract that boosts minimum hourly pay to $20, halts subcontracting, and restores daily housekeeping. “This is an incredible victory for workers in South Florida,” said Wendi Walsh, secretary-treasurer of UNITE HERE Local 355, in a statement. Read more>>
DOI Removes Native American Slur From 650 Locations Across The Country: The Department of the Interior said the Board on Geographic Names (BGN) voted on the replacement names for the geographic features featuring the offensive word. The final vote completed the last step in the historic efforts to remove a term from federal use that has historically been used as an offensive ethnic, racial and sexist slur, particularly for Indigenous women. Read more>>
Formerly-Incarcerated Man Wins Campaign To Free Millions From Employment Barriers: Jay Jordan’s criminal record barred him from every single industry. Ten years later, Jordan, 37, has led a successful campaign to give millions of California residents the opportunity to clear their criminal records and be free from similar barriers. Last month, state lawmakers passed a bill championed by Jordan, now a criminal justice advocate, allowing for automatic sealing of a wide range of arrest and conviction records – the most far-reaching reform of its kind in the US, experts say. Read more>>
Victory! Minor League Baseball Players Are Finally Unionized: Thanks to grassroots organizing, which much of the media is ignoring, minor leaguers will now join the Major League Players Association. Read more>>
Guaranteed Income Pilot Programs Have Changed Young People’s Lives: Some guaranteed income pilot programs are backed by mayors and designed to extend support across a specific city or county. Many are backed by nonprofits, funded through private donations, and targeted towards specific demographic groups like new mothers, single fathers, or formerly incarcerated people. Others are some combination of all of the above. Teen Vogue spoke to a few young participants of guaranteed income pilot programs around the country about their experience receiving consistent no-strings-attached cash payments. Read more>>
Idaho’s Far Right Suffers Election Loss to 18-Year-Old Activist: The national right-wing effort to stifle discussions of race and gender in public schools through misinformation and bullying suffered a reversal in Idaho on Monday, when a high school senior vocally opposed to book bans and smears against LGBTQ+ youth took a seat on the Boise school board. High school senior Shiva Rajbhandari won elected office in Boise, defeating an incumbent school board trustee backed by local extremists. Read more>>
Ukrainian Coal Miners Defy National Protest Ban To Go On Strike: Miners and management at a state-owned coal operation in western Ukraine have called a strike over what they say is an attempt to seize control of the mine. The strike action at Mine No. 9 in the town of Novovolynsk continues the first major workers’ protest in Ukraine since Russia’s 24 February invasion and the Ukrainian government’s announcement of martial law, which forbids all protests. Read more>>
At Least 9 Killed In Mass Protests Against Iranian Government: The demonstrations in Iran began as an emotional outpouring over the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman held by the country’s morality police for allegedly violating its strictly enforced dress code. The protests have grown in the last four days into an open challenge to the government, with women removing and burning their state-mandated headscarves in the streets and Iranians setting trash bins ablaze and calling for the downfall of the Islamic Republic itself. Read more>>
Activist Shareholders For Smith & Wesson Embrace The Long View In Struggle To Curb Gun Violence: Despite failing to pass a human rights resolution, one group of investors will continue the fight to hold the world’s biggest firearms manufacturer accountable. Read more>>
Biden Thinks a Rail Strike has Been Averted. Do Rail Workers? Per the Railway Labor Act, a new tentative agreement means a new cooling-off period, so the midnight deadline was mooted as part of the deal. But a contract rejection is still a very live possibility, based on discussions with members and leaders of various unions involved. So a strike (or lockout) is still on the table. Read more>>
Queen’s Funeral in U.K. Set Off Harsh Crackdowns Against Critics of Monarchy: The queen’s death led the U.K. to shut food banks and jail protesters simply for holding signs critical of the monarchy. Read more>>
The Culture of Peace and Nonviolence: Nonviolence Radio interviews Ambassador Chowdhury, a key player in the movement for The Culture of Peace and Nonviolence at the United Nations to discuss the challenges facing the Culture of Peace and the important role of civil society, and Rivera Sun about Campaign Nonviolence’s Week of Actions. Read more>>
Long COVID-19 Patients Protest Outside White House: A group of protesters with long-term COVID-19 symptoms protested outside of the White House Sept. 19, after President Joe Biden said “the pandemic is over.” Demonstrators demanded research, public education, access to treatments and economic support investments or long COVID-19 patients. Some laid on the sidewalk holding signs. Read more>>
Port City United Tackles High-Risk Areas of Community To ‘Save Lives’: Port City United, Cure Violence Global’s local partner organization in New Hanover County, North Carolina has responded to over 1,000 calls and mediated 38 individuals over the past six months. Read more>>
How To Beat Book Bans: Across the country, parents, students, teachers, librarians and community groups have successfully fought back against attempted bans, defeating well-funded, rightwing attempts to remove books that address issues of race, sexuality and gender. Their experiences provide a model for others who may want to stand up and defend free speech, racial equity and the rights of gay and trans youth. Read more>>
Protests Across Austria Demand Solution To Cost Of Living Crisis: On Saturday, September 17, trade unions and other working class sections hit the streets across Austria protesting the government’s inefficiency in tackling the ongoing cost of living crisis. Read more>>
41 Arrested In San Francisco Airport Fast Food Worker Protest: Forty-one people were arrested Friday at San Francisco International Airport as airport fast food workers protested their wages, according to Unite Here, the union that represents many SFO workers. The protesters sat on the airport road outside Terminal 3, blocking traffic. Read more>>
Shutting Down the Ports, with Steve Gerrard and Liverpool Dockworkers: British dockworkers talk about ongoing strikes in Liverpool and Felixstowe on Beleaguered Podcast. They will discuss working through the COVID-19 pandemic, the combined port strikes at Felixstowe and Liverpool, the Tory plan to create “freeports” to lower labor standards in port areas, and the ongoing cost of living crisis. Read more>>
Bookstore Workers Take Action: Workers at Readings bookshops in Victoria are also taking industrial action for a living wage, secure jobs and better working conditions. Workers’ main concerns are sexual harassment in the workplace, living wages and job security. Some workers have been pressured to work for free, including writing book reviews in exchange for vouchers rather than pay. Read more>>
More Than 1,000 Teamsters Rally Outside Amazon’s Seattle Headquarters: More than 1,000 members of the Teamsters union and allies turned out Tuesday in downtown Seattle to stand in solidarity with Amazon workers and to denounce the tech titan’s “union-busting tactics and dangerous labor practices.” In a rally coinciding with this week’s Teamsters Women’s Conference in Seattle, demonstrators gathered outside Amazon’s headquarters in the northwestern city holding signs with messages including “Amazon Hurts Workers,” “Organize Amazon,” and “Stop Union-Busting.” Read more>>
Detroiters Join Puerto Rico and United Kingdom In Resisting Energy Rate Hikes: Detroit residents flooded a hearing to oppose energy bills. Puerto Ricans filled the streets trying to wrest back control of their utility. Over 100,000 in the UK have pledged not to pay their energy bills. Read more>>
Philly Families Faced With Eviction Are Rising Up, Refusing to Leave Their Homes: I want you to fight, I want you to organize, I want you to talk to your neighbors, I want you to have a meeting, I want you to get a spreadsheet and just the same way that we can organize a barbecue, we can all figure out what it means to actually take control of some of these housing units,” says organizer Sterling Johnson. Residents of the UC Townhomes face gentrification, organized abandonment and an ongoing struggle in West Philadelphia, where dozens of families are resisting the demolition of a 70-unit housing development. Read more>>
XR’s Global Newsletter: Extinction Rebellion reports on Solidarity With Pakistan actions around the globe and more climate actions in Sweden, Finland, Poland, Peru, UK, Israel, Australia, Spain, Kenya, Uganda, and beyond. Read more>>
Why The Climate Movement Should Target Oil Refineries: By satirizing the dangers of an aging refinery, activists in Wisconsin show how local organizing can deal a blow to the oil industry and empower frontline communities. Read more>>
Frontline Activists Gear Up For Fights Against Climate Bill’s Fossil Fuel Concessions: Black, Indigenous and Appalachian communities are fighting the Mountain Valley Pipeline and other projects spurred as concessions to last month’s landmark climate legislation. Read more>>
Expert Groups Resign in Protest Over ‘Crass Greenwashing’ of EU Climate Panel: Five civil society organizations serving on a European Union advisory panel charged with providing expert guidance on the bloc’s green energy transition have resigned in protest, citing political interference and a refusal by the European Commission to accept their advice on a range of issues, including limitations on gas and nuclear power. Read more>>
Climate Leaders Arrested Outside Senate During Protest Against Manchin’s Dirty Deal: Several leaders of climate justice organizations on Thursday were arrested after peacefully protesting at a Senate building on Capitol Hill, demanding that Congress reject Sen. Joe Manchin’s so-called permitted reform bill, which would make it easier for fossil fuel companies to secure approval for fracking, pipeline, and other extraction projects. “Sens. Manchin and Schumer’s Dirty Deal is sending a clear message that Big Oil is willing to sacrifice entire communities, especially Black and Brown communities, in the pursuit of profits.” Read more>>
Stop The Money Pipeline Protests 5,000-Person Chase Bank PR Race: Protesting Chase Bank’s annual corporate run, climate protesters say that “climate destroyers don’t get to have nice pr events.” Read more>>
Struggle To Save Oak Flats Exposes Ravages Of Colonization, Capitalism: In 2014, Congress used a midnight rider added to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to hand the Indigenous Sacred Land at Oak Flats in Arizona over to a subsidiary of Rio Tinto, Resolution Copper, to mine, which would destroy the land and pollute the local water. Apache Stronghold and its allies are fighting to protect the land and with it, their cultural identity and religious freedom. Read more>>
Caribbean Activists Push For Reparations: Demands for reparations are growing across the Caribbean, following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. The British monarchy have come under heightened demands from several Caribbean countries to undergo the reparatory justice process and issue an apology for their part in the slave trade. Read more>>
Mexican Americans and Immigrants Are Fighting to Change San Diego’s Zoning Laws: The Barrio Logan neighborhood is a sought-after location, but behind its newfound appeal among gentrifiers and land developers is a long history of environmental injustice and racism that residents have been forced to endure. Barrio Logan’s struggle against pollutants and other environmental contamination is part of a revolutionary legacy of resistance and self-determination that has physically shaped the composition of the neighborhood itself. Read more>>
Over 1,300 Arrests Reported As Russians Protest Military Mobilization: Russian authorities made more than 1,300 protest-related arrests on Wednesday as thousands demonstrated against President Vladimir Putin’s move to call up military reservists into the country’s armed forces, according to the independent Russian human rights group OVD-Info. Read more>>
Peace Activists Hit The Streets From DC To SF Urging Ceasefire In Ukraine: The specter of nuclear Armageddon drove US anti-war activists to the streets days before in a September Week of Action organized by the Peace in Ukraine Coalition. Demanding a “Ceasefire now!” activists hosted anti-war events in DC, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Milwaukee, Madison, Boston, Rockville, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, San Pedro, Santa Barbara, and beyond. Read more>>
Month of Action Against AFRICOM: Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) is organizing an International Month of Action Against AFRICOM in October. This is an effort to raise the public’s awareness about how the presence of U.S. military forces exacerbates violence and instability throughout the continent. Read more>>
Kazakhstan’s Congress Of Faith-Based Reconciliation Bumps Up Against Harsh Reality: As faith leaders from around the world, including Pope Francis, convened in Kazakhstan to talk conciliation, echoes of war laid bare their inability, and even unwillingness, to sway politicians intent on violence. Read more>>
How to Respond to Common Misconceptions in the U.S. About Ukraine: As the war in Ukraine drags on, advocates for negotiation, not escalation are often met with resistance from those who repeat claims spun by military pundits, media outlets, Congress and the White House. Here are rebuttals to common assertions that, if not refuted, risk leading us down the path to nuclear war, further climate degradation, global famine and economic ruin. Read more>>
Protests Against Imposing Israeli Curriculum At Palestinian Schools: Families of Palestinian students at Al Iman schools in occupied Jerusalem organized a protest on Sunday against Israel’s imposition of its curriculum on Palestinian schools. The families said during the protest that the Israeli occupation distorts Palestinian textbooks. “It erases the Palestinian identity from the Palestinian curriculum,” the families said. At the same time, they raised placards during the protest which was organized in front of Israeli municipality of Beit Hanina, reading: “We reject Israeli textbooks.” Read more>>
Israeli Youth Who Refuse To Serve Apartheid, Genocide, and Colonization: There’s a growing group of Israelis who refuse to sign up for the Israeli Occupation Forces as a protest against their government’s genocidal policies. Military service is mandatory in Israel so the young people who refuse to take part in the military occupation of Palestinian land face months of jail time. The risk they take is a small but important part of a global movement standing for the rights of the Palestinian people. Read more>>
Assange Supporters Call For ‘Truth Not War’ On UN Peace Day: Calls of ‘Truth not War’ can be heard around the globe this week as supporters of the world’s most famous political prisoner, Australian journalist Julian Assange, rally for his immediate release by the 21st anniversary of the United Nations International Day of Peace (21 Sept 2022). Read more>>
Women’s Work – Painting the Invisible Economy: Presented at a large, almost life-size scale, Caroline Walker’s paintings of women at work have a sociological quality: here are the workers at a nail salon, here are the workers at a tailor shop. Walker wants to immortalize invisible labor, to splash it across the white walls of the gallery—but unlike Diego Rivera and other New Deal–era artists, she does not paint triumphant visions of the working class. Nor are her subjects clearly posing, like the anonymous models in the Dutch masters’ domestic scenes. Instead, her relationship to the women she paints is more ambiguous, a reflection of modern labor conditions and an increasingly service-based economy. Read more>>
Philadelphia Museum of Art Workers Hold 1-Day Strike for Better Wages, Benefits: Unionized workers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art began a one-day “unfair practices” strike Friday morning amid ongoing negotiations with museum leadership on their first collective bargaining agreement. Read more>>
Hugging Soldiers Yard Signs & Billboards: Talented artist in Melbourne, Australia, has been in the news for painting a mural of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers hugging — and then for taking it down because people were offended. The artist, Peter ‘CTO’ Seaton, is raising funds for our organization, World BEYOND War, including by selling these NFTs. Read more>>
Strike, Strike, Strike: Mounting inequality is fueling protests around the globe. The global ruling class is determined to prevent these protests from employing the weapon that can bring them down—strikes. Read more>>
Why Is There a Teacher Shortage in the US? Here’s What’s Causing it and What it Means for Students. If the stresses of teaching during COVID were not enough, teachers have also had to deal with right-wing extremists and conservative school boards punishing them for progressive views, banning books on topics such as LGBTQ+ identity and history, and creating laws that deter them from teaching the history of race and racism and its modern implications. Many teachers have also been forced to work in overheated classrooms, without mask mandates during COVID waves, and in other unsafe conditions. They say they are chronically overworked, underpaid, and many feel deeply disrespected. Read more>>
How Labor Movements Could Tap Into International Solidarity Beyond Symbolism: For the last few decades, even as other social justice movements have become more oriented toward transnationalism and global politics, international labor solidarity has often been practiced only symbolically, reflecting the paradox of a global economy in which products and services flow seamlessly over borders that divide and ensnare workers. Read more>>
Transforming a Moment of Intense Fear with Nonviolence: A story from Amandine Roche about a time when she was face to face with a suicide bomber in an election polling location in Afghanistan. Read more>>
What We Can Learn From Quaker Abolitionist John Woolman: Woolman was willing to take actions that were uncomfortable, including visiting people at their homes, when that was what he felt Spirit calling him to do. Read more>>
How To Rise Above Partisan Politics To Uphold Our Democracy: Recent polls have revealed that “threats to democracy” are a top priority for many of us living in the United States. As we celebrate the International Day of Democracy, here are seven ways to mobilize citizens across differences as partisans for democracy. Read more>>
Put Up #BlameWallStreet Art: When activists paste these posters onto banks, community billboards and around their town, it helps to expose Wall Street’s role in the climate crisis. Can you help expose Wall Street’s greenwashing by getting our Blame Wall Street art up in your community? Learn more>>
Film Screening – A Bold Peace: World BEYOND War Canada and partners invite you to a screening of “A Bold Peace: Costa Rica’s Path to Demilitarization” followed by a panel discussion with the film-maker and other special guests. (Sept 25) 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>>
Nonviolence Summit: Metta Center will be co-convening a Nonviolence Summit from September 26-October 7. It includes a free daily panel on different angles of the transformative power of nonviolence and will feature scientists, activists, scholars, practitioners of nonviolent solutions, and storytellers. (Sept 26-Oct 7) Learn more>>
What Do Safety & Security Mean to You? Nonviolent Approaches to Security: If not military intervention (or militarized policing) when civilians are being threatened by violence, then what? You are invited to learn how communities are answering this question around the world, featuring Sunday Stephen, National Protection Officer with Nonviolent Peaceforce in Juba, South Sudan; Ryan Nakade, Mediator, facilitator, and consultant for the Cure-PDX project in the Pacific Northwest, U.S. and facilitated by Marna Anderson, Director of Nonviolent Peaceforce U.S. (Sept 29) Learn more>>
4-Day Kingian Nonviolence Workshop w/ Dr. Bernard Lafayette: This interactive and inspirational training introduces how Nonviolence is a courageous way of life and a powerful strategy for inner peace and uplifting our community. Emphasis is given to the six principles and six steps of Nonviolence according to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Oct 10-18) Learn more>>
War Abolition 201 Course: War Abolition 201 is a six week-online course providing participants an opportunity to learn from, dialogue with, and strategize for change with World BEYOND War experts, peer activists, and changemakers from around the world. (Oct 10-20) Learn more>>
Gun Violence Campaign Organizing Meet Up – On Earth Peace: The goal of this campaign is to move into direct action to reduce gun violence in the United States. If you have been active, we want to hear your stories so others can learn from your experience; if you are recently fired up we want to offer community and place to connect. For all of us, we want to build capacity and commitment and see the way forward. (Oct 14) Learn more>>
Say No To US Wars: Stop endless wars: Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Palestine, everywhere. Join us in protest during the week of Oct 15 – 22. Organize an action in your local area or join one. (Oct 15-23) Learn more>>
Indigenous Peoples’ Day Curriculum Teach-In: The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) and Teaching for Change will host an online teach-in on Indigenous History, pipeline protests, Native heritage and identity in the Caribbean and Central America, and more. (Sat, Oct 1) 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: Teach Central America Week was launched to encourage and support teaching about Central America during Latinx Heritage Month. Teaching For Change has collected lessons, booklists, biographies of noted historical figures, and readings for free use by classroom teachers. (Oct 3-9) Learn 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>>
