Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun
A picture can capture the impossible odds that nonviolent activists often face. Lützerath was a small German village threatened by a dirty deal that allowed a coal mine to expand, ultimately destroying the whole village. It’s a sobering allegory for the entire climate crisis. At Lützerath, 40,000 people mobilized to stop the mine. Police beat and arrested them, taking over a week to clear the encampment. The machines came. The village is now gone.
Several other campaigns are facing pushback, rollbacks, and setbacks. In El Salvador, four water protectors who won a recent victory against metal mining are now being targeted by the rightwing administration. Police in Peru have killed more protesters. Home care workers in the United States are mobilizing to keep a governor from rolling back recent wins on fair pay. Berlin residents are racing to defend a historic housing law that returned a quarter million apartments to affordable housing.
Persistence is required, along with the strength to rise to the struggle even when we’re in despair. Across the world, people continue to confront impossible odds, refusing to silently comply with destruction, abuse, and injustice. Ugandans are being arrested for disrupting permit meetings for a huge pipeline project. Fishermen and women in South Africa are opposing ocean drilling for oil and gas. Swiss activists once again disrupted private airports and Dutch protesters shut down main roads to demand climate action.
Hundreds of thousands of people marched in Spain to protest the privatization of the health care system. Thousands of people held a Carnival Night Rally to call for the release of Julian Assange. An anti-apartheid boycott of Israeli dates is picking up steam, leading to drops in sales of dates grown in occupied lands. Labor protests erupted in Germany, Georgia, and United Kingdom. France’s largest union turned off electricity to the rich people’s homes and offices in a targeted protest aimed at protecting the pensions of millions. And, in an Alabama town that has denied its residents the right to speak at their city council meetings for 3 years, people are now defying the ban with strong words, in-person, making sure councillors hear them, loud and clear.
A favorite story? Finnish climate activists strapped on x-country skis and took off at sunset, crossing snowy terrain in the dead of night to blockade a state logging operation. You’ve got to admire that kind of fortitude.
There are 58 stories in this week’s Nonviolence News. Each is worthy of a few moments of your time. From the woman who handknit a sculpture to protest slow road construction to drag queens singing Dolly Parton to repressive legislators, people refuse to be silent in the face of injustice. Their stories will probably inspire you just as they inspired me.
In solidarity,
Rivera Sun
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Deforestation Slows in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest After Indigenous Communities Gain Title to Their Territories: Most people know that Brazil’s rainforests are rapidly disappearing, and that the loss accelerates global climate change while harming the communities living under the trees’ canopy. Now, a study published in the scientific journal PNAS Nexus suggests that after Indigenous communities obtain legal title to their territories, the rate of deforestation significantly declines. Read more>>
‘Huge Win’ – Railway Unions Strike Deal on Sick Leave With Industry Giant CSX: After sustained pressure from organized workers and their allies, freight rail giant CSX Transportation agreed Tuesday to provide 5,000 employees in two unions with four days of paid sick leave each year—an industry-first move progressive said should serve as an example for other companies to follow. Read more>>
The Right Way to Repair a Mountain: A locally driven push to restore a Himalayan paradise preserved an economy, a community and an ecosystem all at once. Read more>>
Union Kitchen Workers Win Back Pay in National Labor Relations Board Settlement: Union organizers at Union Kitchen locations in the D.C. region have settled a dispute with the food accelerator and retailer, which officials said had engaged in union-busting tactics outlined in an extensive complaint last fall. The National Labor Relations Board settlement agreement requires the restaurant to pay nearly $25,000 in backpay and frontpay to five workers who were fired or faced discipline, apparently in retaliation for their participation in the union drive. Read more>>
How San Francisco Cracked the Urban Composting Code: As California begins statewide composting, the place that pioneered it in the ’90s shows how dramatically it can benefit a city. Read more>>
US Dept of Energy Corrects Misleading Definition of Anti-Semitism: Jewish students and anti-Zionist organizers know that it is in no way antisemitic to support the fight for Palestinian liberation. False accusations of such should not be used to silence Palestinian solidarity activists. That’s why activists were glad to see the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights ditch a misleading and discredited definition of antisemitism in its recent fact sheet on protecting students from discrimination. Read more>>
Iranian Protest Anthem Wins Grammy: Shervin Hajipour’s “Baraye,”—a song that has become the unofficial anthem for women-led protests in Iran—won the Grammy for “Best Song for Social Change,” a new category introduced at this year’s award ceremony. “This song became the anthem of Mahsa Amini protests, a powerful and poetic call for women’s rights,” said US First Lady Jill Biden, who made the announcement. Read more>>
Sacred Objects Returned To Haudenosaunee Confederacy: After almost 200 years sitting in Switzerland museums, two sacred objects belonging to the Haudenosaunee Confederacy have returned home from overseas. A delegation from the Haudenosaunee External Relations Committee travelled to Geneva, Switzerland, last week to retrieve a medicine mask and turtle rattle from the Musée d’ethnographie de Genève (MEG). “It was like the mask was sleeping for 200 years and the mask is now coming back awake,” said Kenneth Deer, who is Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) from Kahnawà:ke, south of Montreal, and was a part of the delegation. Read more>>
Treasure Totem Pole Returned To First Nation: A 19th-century totem pole is making its way back home to the Nuxalk Nation in British Columbia after being removed from the Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria. The First Nation spent years trying to get the totem pole back and even filed a lawsuit against the museum. Read more>>
Peruvian Police Repress Protests, Leave Over 20 Injured In Juliaca: On Thursday, February 9, tens of thousands of Peruvians took to the streets across the country in another national strike, demanding the resignation of de-facto President Dina Boluarte, closure of the right-wing dominated Congress, new general elections this year, and a referendum on a constituent assembly to draft a new constitution. Police agents once again violently repressed them with tear gas and metal pellets, leaving at least 23 injured. Read more>>
Hundreds of Thousands March In Madrid To ‘Defend the Health Service’ From Privatization: The funneling of healthcare dollars to the private sector by Madrid’s right-wing government has left the public health system “in danger of extinction,” said one worker. Read more>>
Can Oakland’s New Leaders Save Its Schools and Port? Candidates who pledged to make Oakland work for everyone swept the November elections. They face two huge hurdles to making that real: proposals to close more schools, and to build a stadium plus luxury housing at the Port of Oakland. Read more>>
As a Teacher Who Dreams of Liberatory Education, This Is What Gives Me Hope: School closures and for-profit charters plague Oakland, but grassroots educational spaces are rising from the ashes. Read more>>
Berlin’s Pledge To Socialize a Quarter Million Apartments In Danger of Being Nullified: The protracted battle to enact the housing socialization policy Berlin residents voted on in 2021 has also been an object lesson to the world on how fiercely these large landlords, property companies, and real estate investors will fight to keep their power. The Berlin Senate has not yet passed a law to enact the referendum’s stated goals, but Berliners will soon have a chance to recall many of the very officials who have prevented the passage of an expropriation law, giving hope to many tenants that they will be able to speed up the process of socialization. Read more>>
Thousands Hold Night of Carnival To Free Assange: Campaigners staged a ‘night carnival’ in London on Saturday to call for the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, attended by two thousand people and prominent supporters such as Jeremy Corbyn and the son of the late Dame Vivienne Westwood. Read more>>
US Citizens Protest For Their Right To Speak (At All) In City Council Meetings: In Chickasaw, Alabama, a 2020 law excluded citizens from speaking to city council members at meeting. Three years later, it’s still in place and the citizenry are defying it to make themselves heard. Read more>>
NYC Tenants Launch Eviction Resistance Campaign: Bronx tenants and Community Action for Safe Apartments (CASA), New Settlement’s membership-driven tenant organizing project, are expected to launch a new campaign this week aimed to keep renters in their homes following the end of the statewide eviction moratorium. Read more>>
Home Care Workers and Clients Rally for Fair Pay: People showed up to fight, again, for fair pay for home care. Last year, this movement succeeded in securing a home care worker wage increase in the statewide budget. But less than a year later, the newly elected governor wants to turn back the clock. Read more>>
German Workers Across Sectors Protest Fall In Real Wages: German public service workers from sectors, including health care, day-care, city administration, public transport, water distribution, universities, and municipal waste management, went on a warning strike protesting low wages and poor working conditions. Read more>>
New Wave Of Labor Protests Hits Georgia: War-related economic shocks combined with post-pandemic malaise have left Georgian companies facing labor shortages while the unemployed struggle to find decently paid work. Read more>>
UK Postal Workers Strike Against Handling Of Cost Of Living Crisis: Massive mobilizations and strikes have been witnessed in the UK over the last couple of months against the Tory government for failing to tackle the ongoing cost of living crisis. Postal workers, railway workers, public service workers, barristers, dockers, garbage collectors, Amazon workers etc. have walked out and gone on strike to demand better pay and better working conditions. Read more>>
French Union Cuts Power to Pressure Macron on Pensions: To fight President Emmanuel Macron’s pension overhaul, France’s most militant labor union is pursuing a radical strategy: cutting electricity to his political supporters and the wealthy while handing out discounted power and gas to the public. Read more>>
X-Country Ski-ing Forest Movement, Ugandans Arrested Over Pipeline Protest & More: Extinction Rebellion’s Global Newsletter features many climate action stories. Finland’s Forest Movement x-country ski-ed through the snowy wilderness and set up camp to protect the woods. German villagers are trying to stop a massive coal mine from swallowing their homes. Dutch rebels blocked the roads. In the United Kingdom, they did a banner drop over a bridge to raise awareness of an upcoming mass action. In Switzerland, activists disrupted a private jet airport. Ugandans are trying to stop a huge pipeline. Rwandans are trying to block natural gas extraction. Read more>>
Activist Investors Are Suing Shell Board For Failing On Fossil Fuel Transition: A group of activist investors sued Shell’s board of directors on Wednesday for failing to “deliver the reduction in emissions that is needed to keep global climate goals within reach.” Read more>>
El Salvador Criminalizes Water Protectors: Six community leaders who beat back metal mining in the country have been accused of a decades-old murder by its rightwing administration. Read more>>
“Total Madness” – Fishers Protest Against Ocean Drilling: About 30 activists and fishers in South Africa, led by the Eastern Cape Environmental Network and Earthlife Africa, protested outside TotalEnergies service station in KwaDwesi, Gqeberha on Wednesday. They do not want the government to grant the company a license for the production of oil and gas between Mossel Bay and Cape St Francis. Read more>>
How Activists Used Cape Town’s Water Crisis To Secure Environmental Victories: A recent water crisis in Cape Town, South Africa, focused attention and action on how water – and natural resources more generally – are used, especially in the context of climate change. During this time, an activist campaign was able to pair its criticism of industrial agriculture with the need to save water. By hosting public education events on water systems, the campaign aimed to educate the broader public and highlight the importance of agroecological agriculture. Read more>>
The Fight to End Fossil Finance Has Changed: The climate movement’s strategy to end fossil financing needs to evolve—and it already is. In response to an organized and strategic opposition, activists need to refocus our strategy in several key ways. The most pressing of which is right around the corner: shareholder season. Read more>>
Italian Village Resists MegaPipeline: The digging equipment snuck in during the night, but dozens of people rushed to block it. The struggle to stop a major gas pipeline from destroying their village continues. Read more>>
Mutual Aid And Police Accountability With Tha Hood Squad: From a chicken coop providing omelet breakfasts in underserved communities to a network of farms stretching from Oakland to East Palo Alto, to a night watch program aimed at keeping the police accountable and protecting marginalized communities from police violence, to providing grassroots disaster relief during the most recent storms in the Bay Area — Tha Hood Squad seems to do it all. Read more>>
Tyre Nichols’ Family Appeals To the United Nations: The letter to the UN lists 11 demands, including disclosing the identity of the seventh mysterious officer involved, mandating the use of body cameras for Memphis police and forcing immediate release of video/audio evidence of police killings. The letter also calls to end qualified immunity which protects U.S. police officers from civil liability if a family decides to file a lawsuit. Read more>>
California Reparations Task Force Pushes for More Systemic Reforms: Black Californians say a one-time payout is only a start: They must have equal access to resources like health care. Read more>>
Planting a Palestinian Flag At Israel’s Anti-Government Protests: A speaker asked if he could carry the Palestinian flag on stage. Denied, he resigned and protested among the crowd. Read more>>
Three Theories of How We Can Stop Cop City: Thwarting subcontractors, dropping funders, and dividing politicians are three ways to stop the tactical urban warfare center in Atlanta, Georgia. Read more>>
Apartheid Date Boycott Picks Up Steam: Since the launch of our 2023 date boycott campaign two weeks ago, tens of thousands have viewed our materials, and a record number of Americans have signed our online pledge to not buy Israeli dates grown in occupied land. U.S. imports of Israeli dates have dropped to 16.5% for the market year 2020/2021 compared to 25% in 2015. Read more>>
How Did Black History Month Start? Origins, Who Founded It, and How to Celebrate: The story of Black History Month goes all the way back to 1915. Read more>>
Black Alliance For Peace Holds Actions Against AFRICOM: In their latest newsletter, Black Alliance For Peace shares links and photos from recent actions, including against AFRICOM, imperialism, militarized policing, and more. Read more>>
Anti-Imperialists Protest Docking Of US Warship At Greek Port: Anti-imperialist groups in Greece protested the docking of nuclear-powered American aircraft supercarrier USS George HW Bush (CVN-77) at the port of Piraeus in Athens. Read more>>
Recognizing the Russian Anti-War Resistance: Beginning on the evening of February 24, 2022, the date of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many thousands of Russians, defying threats from the authorities, staged nonviolent antiwar demonstrations across their nation. Here’s an inside look at how they’ve taken action since. Read more>>
A Growing Movement for Peace Across the Border: We need the leaders of North America to understand how policy failures on gun violence, climate disasters, and immigration in the U.S. and Mexico are affecting the lives of real people from diverse backgrounds across our borders. Read more>>
From Palestine to US Prisons, Radical Love Can Guide Our Fight for Liberation: What were your Valentine’s Day conversations like? Did they replicate the possessive politics of modern heteronormative love — summed up by phrases like “be mine” — or will it communicate the idea that love is always political, and that the greatest act of love is to work toward collective liberation? The Palestinian Feminist Collective is working to decolonize Valentine’s Day this year. Here’s how. Read more>>
US Sanctions Preventing Vital Earthquake Aid To Syrians Must Be Suspended: FOR-USA is calling for the immediate suspension of broad U.S. sanctions on Syria so that desperately-needed earthquake aid can reach Syrian people in need. Read more>>
Where Have All the Peace Songs Gone? Our lyrics tell us a lot about our culture. And if peace gets a mention at all, it’s only about finding inner peace. Read more>>
War & Peace In The Land of Stories: In a children’s book by Chris Colfer called The Land of Stories: A Grimm Warning, a Napoleonic French army of soldiers, guns, swords, and cannons arrives in the fairy tale land where Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, and all sorts of similar people and fairies dwell. The girl in charge of the place immediately begins organizing armies to fight the invaders. What choice does she have? Well, there are a number of reasons, somewhat unique to the story, that this is not the unquestionably smart move that no doubt the author and almost all of his readers assume. Read more>>
Anti-War Voices Accuse Super Bowl of ‘Hijacking the Pat Tillman Story’: Advocates of peace, truth, and basic human decency on Sunday excoriated the National Football League’s “whitewashing” of former Arizona Cardinal and Army Ranger Pat Tillman’s death in Afghanistan by so-called “friendly fire” and the military’s subsequent cover-up—critical details omitted from a glowingly patriotic Super Bowl salute. Read more>>
Beloved Local Knitter Makes Protest Mailbox Topper To Speed Up Road Construction: UK resident Linda Catling is well-known for her handmade creative postbox hats, usually creating a new design each month. This week she has made a “Mr Mole and Mr Vole Construction” themed topper to help encourage construction in the area to speed up. Read more>>
The Artist Painting Icons of Earth’s Endangered Species: Angela Manno applies her knowledge of Byzantine iconography to memorialize the fauna and flora whose days are threatened or already past. Read more>>
Drag Queens Sing Dolly Parton As Tennessee Eyes Repressive Laws: As Tennessee lawmakers mull Senate Bill 3 — legislation that could prohibit drag performances in public and any location where someone under 18 could be — more than 200 people rallied at Legislative Plaza on Tuesday to ask Gov. Bill Lee to take a stand against the measure. Read more>>
Queering The Internet: The threat of persecution, violence, or judgement is why many queer people turn to anonymous online spaces to build community and relationships, seek support, and share their experiences. Sometimes when the communities around us are hostile and harsh, the internet can become a place of refuge and comfort — this is particularly true for LGBTQ+ people in rural communities or societies that see queer people unfavorably. Read more>>
New Book The Art of Protest Explores The Artwork Of Activism: A timely new publication explores the last century of activist imagery, exploring the role artists and designers have played in protest movements of all kinds. Read more>>
Andrea Chung Interprets a Utopian Black Atlantis in New Work: The large-scale installation in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, explores motherhood, the legacy and trauma of slavery, and Black temporality. Chung’s project interprets Drexciya, an underwater Afrofuturist utopia conceived by the enigmatic Detroit electronic music duo of the same name. This mythical Black Atlantis is populated by the descendants of pregnant African women who were thrown or jumped overboard during the Middle Passage on their journey into slavery. Rather than succumb to death, the women gave birth to babies who did not need air to breathe, forming a peaceful civilization in the vast abyss of the Atlantic Ocean. Read more>>
How A Pipeline Company Paid Minnesota Millions To Police Protests: During the Line 3 Pipeline protests, Enbridge hired the police to repress citizens. The police and emergency workers’ takeout, motel rooms, riot gear, gas, wages, and trainings were paid for by one side of the dispute — the fossil fuel company building the pipeline, which spent more than $79,000 on policing that day alone. Read more>>
Harnessing The Enormous Untapped Power Of Celebrity To Help Social Movements: Building on the long legacy of activist entertainers, here are five ways movements for justice and famous supporters can partner to promote change. Read more>>
How Movements Achieve Relevance & Sympathy – A Closer Look At Cultural Competence: In today’s world cultures, campaigns are perhaps more than ever tied to their messaging, but let us never forget that actions will always speak louder than words. Make the words resonate with your fellow citizens and make them solidly authentic by your consistent actions. Read more>>
Beyond Valentines – Five Ways to Write Letters That Can Change the World: You can write letters in support of clemency, letters to the editor, letters to people in prison, and more. Read more>>
How Worker Ownership Builds Community Wealth And a More Just Society: Community wealth building initiatives are taking hold in cities across the world, strengthening worker pay, local economies and democracy. Read more>>
Book Review – ‘Dancing with History’: Even among those unfamiliar with his name, countless people involved in movements for peace, racial justice, environmental justice, LGBTQ+ rights, trade unions, and other important causes have been impacted by George Lakey’s more than six decades of activism. Lakey’s memoir Dancing with History: A Life for Peace and Justice tells his personal story—from his working class origins in a small rural Pennsylvania coal town, to an Ivy League graduate program, to his key role in the founding of such groups as Movement for a New Society, Training for Change, Earth Quaker Action Team, and Jobs with Justice, which have had a lasting legacy in today’s popular struggles. Read more>>
Property Damage & Films Portrayals: The issue of property damage as a tactic for nonviolent action is complex but important. This article explores these dynamics in three different films. Read more>>
Support Turkey Earthquaker Relief Through On the Ground Groups: Diyarbakir Barosu is directly connected with the crisis management team and getting much needed supplies (food, medicine, blankets, etc.) distributed in Adiyaman as well as Diyarbakir in collaboration with NGOs. Bi TAS CORBA has been in Hatay serving soup and getting much needed supplies to this earthquake-struck area. Human Appeal is on the ground right now working in close coordination with the local authorities and UN coordination to deliver urgently needed aid. Current efforts include providing hot meals, hygiene kits, winter kits and vital medical care to affected families, who are in urgent need. Learn more>>
Stop War & Violence In Southern Ethiopia: World BEYOND War is working with the Oromo Legacy Leadership and Advocacy Association to address the crisis in Southern Ethiopia. They need your help. Learn more>>
Next Steps To Stop Cop City: On the ground help, nationwide mobilization, and more actions you can take to stop Atlanta’s Cop City. Learn more>>
HipHop Caucus Calls For Gun Reform: Ending permitless carry is the gun reform our communities deserve, and we can’t let oppressors continue to put their profits from the gun lobby above our lives. Sign the petition and call for an end to the permitless carry of concealed weapons! Learn more>>
Making Reparations: Seeding a Just Future: Join the Schumacher Center to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the book Small is Beautiful. This event will invite panelists to reflect on themes such as production for local markets, cooperative structures, and the role of land in economic justice. These reflections are intended to open up a broader conversation on the topic of Seeding a Just Future. Moderated by Kali Akuno (Cooperation Jackson) (February 16) Read more>>
National Day of Action Against Police Terror: Several organizations are coming together for a national day of action against Cop City. This action to #StopCopCity will include a rally, march, civil disobedience, direct action, a banner drop, and a teach-in. (March 9) Read more>>
Labor Spring: Nationwide Worker Justice Teach-Ins, Events, and Actions: Join Georgetown University Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor for a series of teach-ins and events centered around ongoing current campaigns, pivotal historical moments for workers, racial and gender equity in the worker justice movement, and the crucial importance of this moment in labor’s history. (March 20 – April 21) Read more>>
Still Zoomin’ – Tech for Online Gatherings: If you hold online gatherings or presentations in any capacity – as a staff member or a volunteer – you’ve probably noticed that everything goes better when there’s someone handling the tech. Still Zoomin’ is our hands-on tech and online accessibility workshop that prepares you to provide tech support to your facilitators and audiences. Read more>>
Cultural Organizing 101: How can we use art and culture to transform our communities and uproot cultures of supremacy? If you’re an artist, cultural worker, or organizer who works with artists, this is a foundational two-part workshop designed for you. Participants will not only learn about cultural organizing campaigns, but will also work on drafting their own cultural organizing campaigns specific to their own communities! Read more>>
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