Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun
In some ways, 2022 was a tough year for racial justice. After the staggering protests against the murder of George Floyd in 2020 (the largest in US history), a number of impressive changes occurred in 2021. These included cuts to police budgets, changes to staffing at institution and businesses, increased funding for racial justice programs, and much more. Then came the pushback. In 2022, those who are fine with the status quo of racism overturned many of the gains. They reinstated or expanded police budgets, put cops back in schools and universities, threw a fit over critical race theory, and so on.
We know from watching long-term movements that this kind of pushback often occurs. It can be frustrating and demoralizing, but it’s a phase in the long arc of social change. The challenge to everyone is to avoid demoralization – and demobilization. If we can push through, breakthroughs and long-term success are often right around the corner.
2022 wasn’t a total wash, though. Richmond, Virginia (the confederate monument capital of the US), took down its last city-owned statue. Chicago ended military recruitment programs that targeted Black and Latino/a/x students. Detroit racial justice protesters won reparations from the city for police repression in 2020 protests. All three of Ahmaud Abery’s murderers were sentenced to life in prison. The Mayor of Minneapolis put a moratorium on the no-knock warrants that led to the death of Amir Locke. And Chicago organizers secured the release of several prisoners who had been convicted due to the police department’s torture.
Beyond the Movement for Black Lives, other groups striving for racial justice made significant progress. Indigenous Peoples, worldwide, won some astonishing changes. New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern issued a landmark apology along with reparations to Māori. Nigerian activists pressured European museums into returning stolen colonial art. Indigenous South Africans pushed out the Amazon Corporation. Tribal nations across the United States secured tens of thousands of acres of homelands through lawsuits, sales, and land returns.
Social change rarely progresses in a straight line. It is always “two steps forward, one step back”. Each step forward – no matter how small or how fleeting – deserves to be commended. These celebrations fortify us for the next part of the struggle. The pattern moves us forward, inexorably, toward justice.
In solidarity,
Rivera Sun
Photo Credit: Thousands of protesters march on World Anti-Racism Day on March 19, 2022, in London.
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BLACK LIVES
Black Lives Matter Protesters Are Shaping How People Understand Racial Justice: Considered to be the largest social justice movement since the civil rights era of the 1960s, Black Lives Matter is more than the scores of street protests. Black Lives Matter has changed how people learn about specific issues that involve race, such as police violence, mass incarceration and other systemic problems in Black communities that would be intolerable in other communities. Read more>>
Louisiana Governor Pardons Plessy, 125 Years After ‘Separate But Equal’ Ruling in Plessy v Ferguson: 30-year-old mixed race shoemaker, Homer Plessy, was arrested for sitting on a whites-only train car in 1897. The case paved the way for “separate but equal” segregation laws for nearly half a century. The posthumous pardon ceremony took place on the very street where Plessy was arrested. Read more>>
Food Co-op Counters Systemic Racism: The African Heritage Food Co-op(AHFC) was formed so that Black communities in Western New York State, including Niagara Falls and Buffalo, can take ownership of their food system, create jobs and use resources to improve the health and well-being of residents. For too long, the economic and political structures have failed Black residents creating little or no access to supermarkets, banks and political representation. AHFC is working to change that by overcoming systemic obstacles, empowering inner city neighborhoods and reversing systems of oppression and discrimination. Read more>>
Richmond Removes Its Last City-Owned Confederate Monument: Crews removed the last city-owned Confederate statue in Richmond, Virginia. The monument, located at a busy intersection in the city that once served as the capital of the Confederacy, honored Ambrose P. Hill, a Confederate lieutenant general. Richmond began taking down Confederate statues in the summer of 2020 amid the nationwide racial justice protests sparked by George Floyd’s murder. Read more>>
LA County To Bring High-Speed Internet To Poor, Black, Latino Areas: Los Angeles County is at the forefront among municipalities with a public-private partnership to offer free broadband internet to its poorest residents in Watts, Boyle Heights, Sun Valley and four other communities as soon as year’s end. These are neighborhoods that are heavily Latino and Black. Read more>>
Activists Stop Police From Using Killer Robots: After San Francisco lawmakers voted to allow police to use lethally armed robots, outraged community members and organizations spoke out. The protests, widespread media coverage, and public pressure worked. Several lawmakers changed their positions. And in a complete reversal, the Board of Supervisors banned police robots from using deadly force. Read more>>
The City That Kicked Cops Out Of Schools: Des Moines Public Schools replaced armed police with staff trained in restorative practices after student activism and public outcry led the Des Moines police to cancel their in-school contract. Read more>>
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>>
After Months of Advocacy, Brittany Griner Is Released From Russia: After 10 months of uncertainty, WNBA champion Brittney Griner has been released from a Russian prison in a 1-for-1 prisoner swap. According to CBS News, a deal to exchange the basketball star for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout was made on Dec. 1. The swap took place on Thursday in the United Arab Emirates. Read more>>
Following Investigation, Chicago Signals End To Forced Enrollment In Military-Run Classes: Hundreds of Chicago Public Schools students at predominantly Black and Latino high schools were forced to participate in what is supposed to be a “voluntary” military-run training program, according to a new report released Wednesday detailing an investigation by the district’s watchdog. Chicago Public Schools did not dispute the OIG’s findings and said it would enact a number of changes to stop the practice. Read more>>
Detroit Racial Justice Protesters Win Payments: Detroit Will Breathe and individual plaintiffs have accepted a historic offer of judgment extended by the City of Detroit that includes over 1 million dollars — $5,000 awarded directly to the organization, with the remainder divided amongst the plaintiffs. This offer of judgment resolves the case in our favor and means that the federal court will rule that the City of Detroit and the Detroit Police Department violated the constitutional rights of protestors during the George Floyd uprising of 2020. Regardless of what the City might say, this judgment is a victory for the movement. Read more>>
Ivy League University Set To Rebury Skulls of Black People Kept For Centuries: University of Pennsylvania houses human remains at Penn Museum, where they form a collection once used to justify white supremacy. The Morton Collection is acting as a major catalyst of the repatriation movement which eventually involves academic institutions throughout the world. Read more>>
Alabama Town Dissolves Police Department Over Racism: After a 3-person police department shared a racist text, the citizen demanded that they all be fired. Now the police department is dissolving. “I think now the Council, along with the mayor, see that this is totally unacceptable and that the people have said, ‘No more,’” said President of the Shelby county NAACP Reverend Kenneth Dukes. Mayor James Latimer stated that the council has approved a resolution to terminate the police chief and the assistant police chief. Read more>>
Protesters Win Removal of Lynching Display at Las Vegas Mall: As children and families passed the bubble blowers, hermit crabs and miscellaneous toy stands in Sunset Mall, they also grazed their eyes upon a toy train stand featuring the display of a lynching. Protestors gathered outside the mall in Galleria, Las Vegas to express their disgust with the display. As a result, it was taken down just days later. Read more>>
US House of Representatives Passes the CROWN Act: After years of activists fighting against natural hair discrimination, on Friday March 18, the United States House of Representatives passed the CROWN Act. The act, which stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” is legislation that prohibits discrimination based on hair texture and protective hairstyles, like braids, twists, locs, and knots. Read more>>
Congress Passes Emmett Till Bill To Make Lynching Hate Crime: “After more than 200 failed attempts to outlaw lynching, Congress is finally succeeding in taking a long overdue action by passing the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. The bill would make it possible to prosecute a crime as a lynching when a conspiracy to commit a hate crime results in death or serious bodily injury. Read more>>
Indiana’s Anti-Critical Race Theory Bill Defeated: The passage of legislation in Indiana that attempted to ban “Critical Race Theory” and related concepts in K-12 education appeared inevitable. But instead, the bill was killed this week by the Indiana Senate. “For those fighting these bills in other states, take note: public engagement can make a difference.” Read more>>
Baltimore Sun Publicly Acknowledges Its Racist Past: The Baltimore Sun, which serves a predominately Black audience, recently drew public attention to its past history of racism. Lifting the paywall that usually requires readers to subscribe to read online articles, the Baltimore Sun editorial board released a lengthy apology in article form last week to call out its own legacy rooted in its founder, Arunah S. Abell. Read more>>
Where MLK’s Vision Is Starting to Be Realized: Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of a racially integrated America might still be far off. But some cities are finally atoning for past racial sins and enacting policies to dismantle segregation. Read more>>
All Three of Ahmaud Abery’s Murders Sentenced To Life In Prison: Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael, and William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., the three men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery, were sentenced to life in prison today. The McMichaels were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, while Bryan was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole. In justifying his decision, Georgia Judge Timothy Walmsley called the video of the killing “a chilling, truly disturbing scene” and said that he was particularly shocked by the way the McMichaels turned their backs to Arbery’s body. Read more>>
Mental Health Providers Will Work Alongside Cops in Grand Rapids, MI: The city has won funding for a Grand Rapids Police Department’s pilot program that pairs a crisis intervention team officer with a mental health professional to respond to mental health crisis calls. Another sum will go toward the city’s Cure Violence program based on the national violence reduction and intervention model. That work, overseen by the Urban League of West Michigan, began in fall 2021. Read more>>
Minneapolis Mayor Halts No-Knock Warrants Following Murder Of Amir Locke: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey imposed a moratorium on no-knock warrants following the murder of Amir Locke by police and will work with national experts on how to revise the department policy on no-knock warrants, reported PBS Newshour. The gesture was important but will not undo the actions of the officers involved in Locke’s death. Read more>>
In Chicago, Organizers Force The Release of Chicago Police Torture Survivors: A series of victories was won in the past month by the movement to free the 409 survivors of torture and wrongful conviction at the hands of Chicago Police Department. Clayborn Smith, Marcellous Pittman, Juan Hernandez, Rosendo Hernandez, Arthur Almendarez, John Galvan, Eruby Abrego, Jeremiah Cain, David Gecht and David Colon have all had historic judgments in their cases. Read more>>
INDIGENOUS
Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe and Rayonier Negotiate Historic Deals to Purchase Land Back: The Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe and the Rayonier timber company — which purchased the company from the family of the original colonizers — recently announced plans to sell 18.4 acres of land, the site of a former lumber mill that displaced the tribe from its home near Puget Sound, as a “conservation easement” where development would be restricted. The deal, announced in August 2021, was the latest in a series of land and rights purchases designed to return control of more land to the Port Gamble S’Klallam. Read more>>
After 350 years, the Rappahannock Tribe Gets Land Back: On Friday, the Rappahannock Tribe celebrated a historic win: the reacquisition of 465 acres of their ancestral homeland at Fones Cliffs, a sacred stretch of bluffs on the eastern side of the Rappahannock River in eastern Virginia. Read more>>
In Vancouver, Indigenous Communities Get Prime Land, and Power: After acquiring some of the biggest and most coveted parcels of land in Vancouver, the city’s three First Nations are becoming players in the biggest game in town — real estate. Read more>>
One Thousand Acres Returned to Onondaga Nation: On Wednesday, June 29, 1,000 acres of ancestral homeland in the Tully Valley in Central New York was returned to the Onondaga Nation. The land return–one of the largest transfers from a state to an Indigenous nation—was part of a 2018 Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration settlement. The settlement is an agreement between the Dept. of the Interior’s trustees U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the landowner, Honeywell International Inc., to transfer the land title back to the tribe. Read more>>
Bois Forte Band Gets 28,000 Acres of Land Back in Northern Minnesota: In the largest land-back agreement in Minnesota and one of the largest-ever in Indian Country, the Bois Forte Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe today restored more than 28,000 acres of land within its reservation boundaries back to tribal ownership. The purchase of the 28,089 acres in northern Minnesota from The Conservation Fund will restore lands that were sold by the federal government to non-Natives as “surplus” under the Allotment Act, which attempted to break up tribal reservations. Read more>>
Significant Land In Washington State Returned to Colville Tribe: The 9,243-acre Figlenski Ranch in Okanogan County was returned to its original stewards, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. Read more>>
Snoqualmie Tribe Acquires 12,000 Acres Of Ancestral Forestland: The Snoqualmie Indian Tribe, a federally recognized Tribe headquartered in King County, has acquired roughly 12,000 acres of its ancestral forestlands in the Tolt River Watershed. The forest has significant cultural, historic, environmental, and economic value to the Tribe. Read more>>
How An Interfaith Model Helped A Local Coalition End Columbus Day: In Rochester, NY, the city council unanimously approved a resolution to end its celebration of Columbus Day and replace it with a commemoration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day each October. Indigenous and Italian community members, including faith activists, rejoiced upon the legislation’s passage, touting it as an initial step on the path of healing from centuries of historical wrongs. The measure didn’t simply come together overnight. Instead, an urban community deeply rooted in the pursuit of social justice work spent four years striving to attain it. Learn more>>
Over 660 Places on Federal Lands to Be Renamed: The Department of the Interior is seeking public comment on proposed name changes for the more than 660 geographic places on federal lands that use a Native American slur, the Department announced on Tuesday. Read more>>
How A Reservation School Graduates 100% Of Students: Kids in the hallway smile more than they have in the past. Laughs are a little louder than they once were, teachers say. Student pride – and the graduation rate – are on the upswing at Santee’s public school. School leaders trace that success to a new effort to teach the tribe’s culture – the very thing that the education system, generations ago, banned Santee Dakota students from learning. Now, a new cultural program immerses students in the tribe’s language, history and customs for as long as an hour each school day. Read more>>
Dual Language Road Signs Go Up On Oneida Nation: The Oneida Nation, in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), unveiled their first dual-language highway signs September 30. “Oneida has been waiting for this day for a very long time,” Councilwoman Cornelius said. “The Oneida language is the core of our traditions, culture, and ceremonies. It’s good to see (these signs) in a place where people are welcomed to our reservation every day.” Read more>>
Motion Picture Academy Apologizes To Sacheen Littlefeather Nearly 50 Years After Oscars Abuse: “I never thought I’d live to see the day,” the Native American actor and activist said of the apology. Nearly 50 years after suffering harassment and discrimination for protesting Native American mistreatment, the activist will be the guest of honor at an evening of healing and Indigenous celebration hosted by the Academy Museum on Sept. 17. Read more>>
New ‘Oregon Trail’ Game Revisits Westward Expansion From Native Perspective: The iconic video game “The Oregon Trail” is back with a new version—and a more nuanced approach to the story of white settlers traveling across the American West in 1848. Developers hired three Indigenous historians to help revamp the iconic educational computer game. Read more>>
Anthropology Association Apologizes To Native Americans: For decades anthropologists exploited Indigenous Peoples in the name of science. Now they are reckoning with that history. In November 2021 the American Anthropological Association (AAA) apologized for the field’s legacy of harm. Read more>>
New Marvel Comic Character “Princess Matoaka” Causes Ire on Social Media; Writer Apologizes: After the debut of a female character named Princess Matoaka in King Conan #3, a newly released Marvel comic book, that caused ire among Native Americans, writer Jason Aaron says he will change the character’s name. Read more>>
Indigenous Ogiek Win Landmark Reparations Ruling From African Court: The Republic of Kenya must pay the Indigenous Ogiek people reparations for decades of illegal evictions from their ancestral land in the Mau Forest. That’s according to a ruling from the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The decision, which is the first time the court has called for reparations for an Indigenous community, said that the Kenyan government must pay the Ogiek for both material and moral damages. The case may set the tone for other Indigenous rights cases in Africa. Read more>>
Aboriginal Activists Win Abalone Harvesting Rights: The government ultimately granted a three-year lease for 40 quota units of abalone (9 tons a year) to the Land and Sea Aboriginal Corporation of Tasmania. The agreement is the first of its kind, giving commercial fishing rights to the Aboriginal community, who up until then only had rights to fishing for sustenance and practicing their customary traditions. Their success is changing the perception of Aboriginal communities from “fish thieves” to leaders in regional development. Read more>>
Indigenous Australians Win Legal Fight Against Gas Project: A group of Indigenous Australians hailed a “historic decision” by the country’s Federal Court on Friday to delay plans for a massive gas project in the Timor Sea. Dennis Tipakalippa, a Munupi clan elder from the remote Tiwi Islands, has been fighting a legal battle against oil and gas producer, Santos, who has been drilling for gas off northern Australia. Read more>>
Barbados Plans To Make Tory MP Pay Reparations For Family’s Participation In Slavery: The government of Barbados is considering plans to make a wealthy Conservative MP the first individual to pay reparations for his ancestor’s pivotal role in slavery. The Observer understands that Richard Drax, MP for South Dorset, recently travelled to the Caribbean island for a private meeting with the country’s prime minister, Mia Mottley. Read more>>
How Indigenous Land Rights Halted Amazon’s South Africa HQ: The proposed offices would have occupied the confluence of two rivers, near grazing lands that host traditional spiritual ceremonies and where Indigenous Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin people fought the first European invaders over 200 years ago. Read more>>
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>>
A German Museum Has Agreed To Return A Collection Of Namibian Antiquities On An Indefinite Loan: The Berlin Ethnological Museum will return 23 ancient items of jewelry and other artifacts that were taken between 1884 and 1915, when Namibia was part of German South West Africa, a colony of the German Empire. The decision is part of reparations for a period of colonial rule during which Germany committed a genocide against the Namibian people. Read more>>
Germany Returns Goddess Statue To Cameroon: Germany will return a goddess statue that was stolen from Cameroon 120 years ago, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation said on Monday, part of a growing trend to give back artefacts taken during the colonial era. The female figure, known as Ngonnso’, will be returned to the kingdom of Nso’ in northwestern Cameroon. It was taken by colonial officer Kurt von Pavel and donated to Berlin’s Ethnological Museum in 1903. Read more>>
MIGRANT JUSTICE & MORE
Tohono O’odham Woman Found Not Guilty In Border Wall Protest: A judge ruled that a Tohono O’odham woman is not guilty of criminal action in protesting border wall construction on her ancestral land, saying the prosecution imposed a substantial burden on the exercise of her religion. Read more>>
Facing Activist Pressure, Pillsbury Pulling Out of Israeli-Occupied West Bank: Following years of grassroots pressure, multinational food giant General Mills announced Tuesday that after a 20-year partnership, it will sell its majority share of an Israeli company operating a plant where Pillsbury products are made on stolen Palestinian land. Read more>>
Public Protest & Outrage Lead To Resignation of Racist LA City Council President: Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez has resigned after getting caught calling her fellow council member’s Black child a monkey, according to ABC 7 News. The remarks were caught on tape in a conversation between Martinez and two other council members. Martinez submitted a statement following the backlash announcing her resignation. Read more>>
Diversity Training Comes To Sesame Place: Big Bird is about to take a few classes to learn how to properly deal with Black folks. At least the guy who wears the Big Bird costume and waves to guests at the Sesame Place Philadelphia theme park will have to do so. The park, which is owned by Sea World Parks and Entertainment, says it is mandating that every employee go through bias training and that it will conduct a company review, after it was sued last month by the father of a Black girl who was allegedly ignored by the park’s characters that had seconds before engaged with white children. Read more>>
Site Of Japanese Internment Camp To Become a US National Park: The area of the former Grenada Relocation Center — called Camp Amache by the thousands of Japanese Americans who were taken there against their will at the height of World War II — to become Amache National Historic Site and part of the national park system as a historic designation. Read more>>
Abusive Migrant Detention Center To Be Shut Down: The closure is big news for all the advocacy groups that have fought the battle against the county and federal officials, as well as for all asylum seekers who no longer have to fear being held in that facility. Read more>>
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