Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun
These week’s Nonviolence News reveals a world in transformation. North and south, east and west, people are pushing for innumerable changes. In Kenya, a tree museum is preserving endangered species from across Africa. In Rome, thousands of people demonstrated for peace. In France, women and allies in cities across the nation wore purple to protest against gender-based violence. In Sumatra, the ‘Tusk Force’ is working hard to stop human-elephant conflicts. In Oahu, water protectors served a US Navy Command Center with an eviction notice after it leaked toxins into the water. In China, protests in the urban centers are growing over lockdown policies. In Bolivia, thousands are rallying to stop another right-wing coup attempt.
Here are some success stories to celebrate: Chicago organizers got police removed from mental health crisis response teams, Azerbaijans reclaimed the public beach from private developers, Chinese Foxxconn workers gained severance pay, San Francisco will now tax corporate landlords for vacant properties, sharks now have stronger protections, France is going to cover all parking lots in solar panels, western states in the United States are pulling up lawns to conserve water, and museum workers won better wages. That’s just the start of these stories.
Check out the full round-up and read about how Russia’s feminist anti-war groups are organizing, how to take care of yourself while working for social justice, and how the pandemic transformed labor organizing.
In solidarity,
Rivera Sun
Photo Credit: Women and allies hold placards as they march against domestic violence in Paris on Saturday. The placard in the center reads “sick of rape”. Thibault Camus / Associated Press
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Chicago Votes in Favor of Removing Police From Mental Health Crisis Response: In Chicago, the Treatment Not Trauma campaign won overwhelming community support for a non-binding referendum calling for investment in public mental health centers and a non-police crisis response system. Authored by 33rd Ward Alderperson Rossana Rodriguez and envisioned by a coalition of community groups and stakeholders, the ordinance calls for developing a Chicago Crisis Response and Care System within the Chicago Department of Public Health. The response to the referendum was a victory for organizers who have fought to get police out of mental health. Read more>>
Azerbaijani Activists Score Rare Win Against Development: The seashore at Buzovna, once one of Azerbaijan’s iconic landscapes, had been closed to regular people as beachfront property owners fenced it off. Now locals have managed to get some beach back. Read more>>
After Unrest, Foxconn Agrees to Pay Workers Willing to Leave: Tech giant Foxconn said it will give newly recruited employees at the world’s largest iPhone assembly plant in the central city of Zhengzhou an option to return home with severance pay after accusations over contract fraud and poor pandemic control measures led to worker unrest. Read more>>
Unhoused Encampment Halts Evictions Sweep: Around 50 residents of a self-organized encampment known as Camp Resolution, which has been occupied since late September of this year, are now celebrating after the Sacramento City Council was pushed to pass a unanimous vote against a sweep by police, leading to a pause in a scheduled mass eviction. Read more>>
San Francisco Has Voted to Tax Corporate Landlords for Leaving Housing Vacant: The groundbreaking affordable housing victory in San Francisco could serve as a blueprint for other cities to follow. With nearly 60,000 unoccupied units, San Francisco has a significant vacancy problem, in addition to an acute affordable housing shortage. This creates something of an irony: The city simultaneously has too few and too many rooms available. Read more>>
‘Amazing News’ – Historic Shark Protections Approved at Global Wildlife Convention: Up to 90% of sharks targeted by the lucrative fin trade will now be protected, said one advocate. The new rules cover species that are not yet threatened with extinction but which could rapidly become more endangered without strong controls. Read more>>
Every Large Parking Lot in France Will Soon Be Covered in Solar Panels: A mandate to blanket the asphalt in photovoltaics could provide as much energy as 10 nuclear power plants. Read more>>
US Authorities Agree To Rip Up Grass Lawns For Water Conservation: A group of agencies that provide water to millions of customers in the western U.S. has agreed to rip-up grass lawns in public spaces across multiple states as part of an effort to reduce water usage as the Colorado River continues to suffer from a major drought. More than 30 agencies that draw water from the river signed on to the conservation agreement last week. The pledge promises to remove 30% of grass lawns and replace them with “drought- and climate-resilient landscaping while maintaining vital urban landscapes and tree canopies,” that benefit communities and wildlife. Read more>>
Tribes Halt Rosemont Mine In Arizona (Again): Construction of the mine, called Rosemont, would have destroyed the ancient village and burial grounds of the Hohokam people, ancestors of modern Tribes who lived and farmed the deserts of Southwestern Arizona. Read more>>
‘No Contract, No Matisse’ – Museum Workers Win Strike: After a 19-day strike, members of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) union voted overwhelmingly in October to approve their first contract. Daily pickets had cut into the museum’s attendance and impacted preparation for an anticipated exhibit on the works of French painter Henri Matisse. After two years of stalled negotiations, the 180 workers of AFSCME Local 397 forced the museum’s hand and attracted public support that placed the museum’s well-crafted reputation at risk. The agreement includes a 14 percent raise over three years. Read more>>
Bolivians Will Not Allow Another Coup To Take Place: The indefinite strike called by the conservative opposition sectors in Bolivia’s Santa Cruz department has been ongoing for almost a month. The primary demand of the opposition, regarding the Population and Housing Census, was resolved last weekend, but the conservatives won’t relent and people fear that another coup attempt is next. The strike has been marked by acts of violence, vandalism, racism and discrimination against those who oppose it. Read more>>
Angolan Students Protest Haircut Rules: Angolan schools have been experiencing turmoil after information circulated that reported the ban on certain hairstyles. This situation has been going on for weeks and gave rise to a protest march by students on October 8. The police stopped the protest, and even arrested some students. The organizers of the march felt that the police’s actions were an act of clear violation of their rights. Read more>>
100,000s March In Support Of President Obrador: Hundreds of thousands marched with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Sunday in a massive demonstration through Mexico City to show their support. Lopez Obrador, who enjoys an approval rating of nearly 60 percent, owes much of his popularity to his social welfare programs aimed at helping the elderly and disadvantaged Mexicans. Read more>>
Filipino Movements Criticize US Vice President’s Visit: United States Vice-President Kamala Harris ended her three-day visit to the Philippines on Tuesday, November 22, amid protests by peace advocates and social movements in the country. Read more>>
Swifties Are Joining the Anti-Monopoly Movement: Taylor Swift fans had their time wasted and pockets emptied by Ticketmaster. Now they’re calling to break up the company’s live events monopoly—and joining the movement to crack down on monopolies, period. Read more>>
Training A New Generation of Abolitionists: In Chicago, young leaders ages 15 to 19 took part in a four-week program to strengthen their organizing and advocacy skills. They also worked on local campaigns to stop youth incarceration. Read more>>
Kazakh Plant Workers Go On a Wildcat Strike Over “Sheep” Insult: Hundreds of workers at a chemicals factory in southern Kazakhstan said to be controlled by relatives of an influential politician declared a strike on November 23 and conducted a sit-in on the plant’s grounds. Local media have offered varying causes for the standoff, including poor working conditions and low wages. Others chalk it up to an insult over a Russian manager calling the workers sheep. Read more>>
China Protests Spread In Shanghai: Hundreds of demonstrators and police have clashed in Shanghai as protests over China’s severe COVID-19 restrictions continued into a third day and spread to several other cities. The latest demonstrations — unprecedented in mainland China since President Xi Jinping took power a decade ago — began after 10 people were killed in a fire in Urumqi, the capital of the far-western region of Xinjiang, that many of the protesters blame on protracted COVID-19 lockdowns. Read more>>
Twitter Verges on Collapse as Workers Quit in Revolt Against ‘Notorious Union-Buster’ Elon Musk: Twitter workers reportedly quit by the hundreds Thursday after refusing to agree to billionaire CEO Elon Musk’s demand that they work longer hours as part of his self-described “extremely hardcore” plan to overhaul the social media platform. As a result, the company that Musk purchased for $44 billion just weeks ago is in chaos as the mass exodus of employees and the billionaire’s earlier decision to fire roughly half of Twitter’s workforce are threatening basic, day-to-day operations at the platform used by hundreds of millions of people around the world. Read more>>
In Kazakhstan, Street Political Activism Still an Uphill Climb Despite Promises of Tolerance: On the day of Kazakhstan’s presidential election over the weekend, a small group of demonstrators assembled in a central Almaty square and unfurled a banner. The picketers were calm and small in number, but the police nevertheless quickly swooped in. The banner was snatched away and the handful of protesters bundled into a van. The reaction shows that, despite promises, activism is still a challenge. Read more>>
Because ‘Publishing Is Not a Crime,’ Major Newspapers Push US to Drop Assange Charges: “This indictment sets a dangerous precedent, and threatens to undermine America’s First Amendment and the freedom of the press,” The Guardian, The New York Times, and other media outlets warned. Read more>>
Rent Is Too Damned High – US Tenants Mobilize to Demand Rent Controls: Tenants nationwide are organizing to win affordable housing, limit rental fees and protect their homes and communities. Read more>>
Britain May Be Headed Toward a “De Facto General Strike”: Unions representing British postal, rail, education and communication workers are rediscovering the workplace as a battleground. Read more>>
Why Shelter Workers Can’t Pay Rent: The housing charity helps people find and stay in homes. But the people who work there haven’t had raises in decades – and they’re increasingly at-risk of eviction. Now, they’re mobilizing to go on strike. Read more>>
New School Adjuncts Strike: More than 1,300 adjunct faculty at The New School in New York City went on strike. They were joined in solidarity by hundreds of students, full-time faculty, and community supporters. The strike comes after five months of negotiations between the administration and part-time adjunct workers represented by the UAW whose demands include a meaningful increase in wages, no cuts to healthcare, and third-party mediation for harassment and discrimination in the workplace. Read more>>
Strike by U.C. Academic Workers Continues: The walkout involves bargaining units representing nearly 48,000 teaching assistants, researchers and other employees across the University of California’s 10 campuses. Read more>>
The Culture Workers Go On Strike: This season culture workers are organizing against their own exploitation. Professors of art, workers at museums, and assistants at a publishing house have all gone on strike or staged public protests during contract negotiations. Call this a black-turtleneck-worker uprising rather than a white-collar one. “Wages are stagnant and we earn far lower salaries than our peers elsewhere.” Read more>>
Amazon Workers Walk Off the Job on the Biggest Shopping Day of the Year: Amazon warehouse workers have walked off the job on Black Friday which is one of the busiest shopping days of the year to demand higher wages and better working conditions from the online retail giant. Read more>>
Water Protectors Serve ‘Eviction Notice’ To US Navy Command: On the anniversary of the 19,000 gallon fuel spill that led to the poisoning of Oʻahu’s sole source aquifer and thousands of families, water protectors from across the island presented an “eviction notice” to Navy leaders for numerous Navy and Department of Defense actions that have continually threatened and harmed the lands, waters, and people of of Hawaiʻi – including the Navy’s ongoing refusal to properly address the existential threat posed by the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. Read more>>
Blame Wall Street Puts Street Heat On Big Money: Over the past few months, activists around the country and the world have laid the blame for climate disasters at Wall Street’s feet. In a wave of escalated actions under the name “Blame Wall Street,” dozens of groups have called out the financial industry for their financing of fossil fuels and complicity in the climate crisis. Read more>>
Australian Residents Demand Cancellation of Fracked Gas Terminal: The crowd was angry that, after more than two years of campaigning, Victoria’s Labor government had still not decided whether it will agree to the floating liquified natural gas terminal. Speakers from three parties as well as activists addressed the protest before taking off on a spirited march around the bay. Read more>>
A Decade On, Sumatra’s ‘Tusk Force’ Keeps the Peace In Famed National Park: Over the past decade, the ERU has deployed response teams in the park and led village education campaigns to mitigate human-elephant conflicts (HECs) fueled by the conversion of lowland forests to farmland, which pitted farmers against elephants in search of food in their former habitats. Now, along with its ongoing HEC-prevention activities, the ERU is tackling other threats to the region’s biodiversity — from illegal hunting and poaching of wildlife to over-harvesting of non-timber forest products and uncontrolled forest fires. Read more>>
Stop War, Save Climate Actions: In cities across the United States, peace activists took action to pressure banks to divest from weapons and fossil fuels. Read more>>
Extinction Rebellion Takes Action At Offices Of Fossil Fuel Enablers: Extinction Rebellion and other aligned groups took nonviolent action at thirteen sites across central London, targeting the offices of companies and organizations which have links to the fossil fuel industry. The groups sent a universal message that it’s time to ‘cut the ties’ with fossil fuels. Read more>>
National Day of Mourning: For the past 52 years, United American Indians of New England (UAINE) and supporters have gathered on so-called Thanksgiving Day in Plymouth, Massachusetts, to ask these questions, confront settler mythologies and commemorate a National Day of Mourning for the Indigenous people murdered by settler colonialism and imperialism worldwide. Read more>>
Black Lives Matter Shifts Strategy: Against the temptation to conclude BLM campaigns have returned to square one, we might ask how their field of operations has changed following that summer’s earthquake. A careful look at Houston, George Floyd’s hometown, and Pleasantville may show us how 2020 has carried on in grassroots struggles and what new possibilities there might be for their growth. Read more>>
Wearing Purple, France Protests Against Gender-Based Violence: Protesters highlighted gender-based violence, calling for women’s lives to “no longer be filed away and forgotten about.” The protesters wore purple. Purple coats, purple scarves, purple sequins, purple eyeliner … all were donned at demonstrations held in cities across France on Saturday, November 19, organized by feminist anti-violence collective All of Us Against Gender and Sexual Violence. Read more>>
Amid Wave of Right-Wing Terror, Trans Communities Are Keeping Each Other Safe: This is a truly terrifying time for most trans people in the United States. And yet, as has always been the case, trans people continue to take care of each other, affirm each other and create loving communities. Read more>>
Peace In Rome: On 5 November, a protest march organized by trade unions, left movements, Catholic groups, and other civil society actors took place in Rome. The giant demonstration for peace with more than a hundred thousand people is an event of enormous importance. Read more>>
We Were Born In a Situation of Hellish Urgency: How the Russian Feminist Anti-War Resistance Movement Works: This grassroots, spontaneous movement has become the largest network in Russia for anti-war propaganda and assistance to refugees deported and persecuted by the authorities. The Feminist Anti-War Resistance is organized into “cells” working autonomously, so the activists within each one set tasks independently. Read more>>
“No, You Won’t Use Our Campuses For Military Recruitment”: Last month saw a wave of protests in UK universities against the presence of arms traders and army recruiters. Cash-strapped educational institutions are becoming ever more dependent on the military for funds — subverting the very purpose of education. Read more>>
Armistice Day Actions Recap from Veterans For Peace: Veterans For Peace Chapters and Members across the U.S. and abroad once again took the lead to #ReclaimArmisticeDay as a “day dedicated to the cause of world peace,” as it was celebrated at the end of World War I when the world came together to recognize the need for lasting peace. Read more>>
Purdue Students & Faculty Plan To Protest Bush, Jr.: Plans are underway for Daniels and Bush to be greeted that night by Purdue students, faculty and community members there for a different reason: to protest Bush and Daniels’s roles in the murderous U.S. war against the people of Iraq in the name of the “war on terror.” Read more>>
Advertisements for Peace Going Up in Washington DC Metro: Between November 28 and December 25, 2022, all the digital ad screens in the Metro Center metro station in Washington, D.C., will simultaneously, for 10 of every 180 seconds, display the message “PEACE ON EARTH” with the logo and website address for World BEYOND War. Read more>>
The Holidays Are About Peace on Earth . . . Let’s Make Our Gifts Reflect That: Violence is not a gift, war is not a toy. During this holiday season, choose gifts that uplift peace. Read more>>
Christmas Truces Past and Future: Wars need truces ASAP and permanently, but if Christmas (or the Olympics or Armistice/Remembrance Day or any other occasion) can shake people into a willingness to give peace on Earth a bit of a try, let’s use it! One way to get inspired about the idea of a future Christmas truce is to learn a bit about some past ones. Read more>>
While Africa’s Indigenous Trees Go Extinct, a Kenyan Organization Grew a Tree Museum: Trees are becoming a rare sight, particularly in urban and peri-urban areas. Owing to a fast-growing population whose demands on the land for agriculture and development have been growing exponentially, the quest for more fast-growing and commercially viable trees has seen a drastic increase in exotic trees at the expense of the native species. A tree museum that will preserve seedlings for some of Africa’s rare Indigenous trees that could soon become extinct. Read more>>
Iran’s Creative Resistance – From Hugs and Kisses To Tossing Turbans: Iranians vent their rage against the government in creative ways. They defy discriminatory regulations, like the headscarf requirement, as well as government symbols like pro-state banners and cleric turbans. They also oppose the regime whenever they have the chance, even while they are mourning loved ones who were murdered during protests, by chanting anti-government slogans, performing songs, or taking off their headscarves. “Free embracing” is another way they express their love for one another. Read more>>
Immigration Comes Up Over Family Dinner. How Will You Respond? Use these tips to help keep your cool and open the door for much-needed dialogue this holiday season. The guide was prepared by Coloradans for Immigrant Rights, a project of AFSC that organizes allies in support of immigrant rights. Read more>>
We Can’t Fight Injustice Without Taking Care of Ourselves: Trauma isn’t reserved for the people who are directly impacted by the system. As witnesses to profound disruption and harm, practitioners like me often experience secondary trauma. It is no surprise that those of us who engage in public interest work — teachers, social workers, therapists, medical professionals, and public defenders — seem to be particularly susceptible to secondary trauma. Our jobs demand that we show up consistently, make an impact, manage our own stress, and cope with the trauma of others — plus our own — on a daily basis. Read more>>
Movements Have a Long History of Playing the Inside-Outside Game Effectively: Strategies that challenge or wield state power may be in tension, but many movements use both simultaneously to transform society. Read more>>
How The Pandemic Changed The Landscape Of US Labor Organizing: By banding together to demand justice on the job, essential workers paved the way for a resurgence of labor unrest—and showed how to create a crisis for capitalism. Read more>>
Take Action To End The Death Penalty: Death sentences do not deter crime. They are also disproportionately handed to people of color. Yet in 2022 alone, there have been at least 16 executions by five states, and more are scheduled by year end. Tell elected officials: It’s time to abolish the death penalty once and for all. Learn more>>
Save Sinjajevina! Here’s how to join the campaign to protect a beautiful inhabited mountain in Montenegro from being turned into a military base for NATO. Learn more>>
George Lakey – Meeting Our Challenges Tour: From his first arrest in the Civil Rights era to his most recent one during a climate justice march at 83, George Lakey sustains the mission of building a better world through movements for justice. In this tour he’ll tell the “how.” (Dec 14) Learn more>>
