Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun
This week, US activists are mobilizing actions to stop Cop City, a planned tactical urban warfare training center for police that has already led to one protester’s death. Across the globe, Pashtuns held a massive demonstration in protest of police harassment and militarization. The increasing militarization of police, and high levels of brutality should concern all activists. As we push for change, police forces’ sense of socially (or legally) permissible levels of violence will impact our friends and fellow organizers on the front lines.
These successes and failures of our movements will be critical over the next few years, not only for social justice, but for the future of humanity. The stories in this week’s Nonviolence News show how these actions are “make or break” for our future … and present.
In Sri Lanka, mass strikes defied government bans, shutting down hospitals, schools, and trains in protest of high taxes and utility bills as the government courts an IMF bailout. In Sweden, indigenous Sami are protesting an illegal wind farm, reminding political leaders that while a climate transition is needed, there can be no sacrifice zones – especially not ones that replicate previous harms. In Australia, a tree-sit has brought deforestation to a halt. Extinction Rebellion is tackling law firms that “defend climate criminals” – which is the only way to describe the lying corporations who are profiting from destroying the planet.
Not only is the ecology of our Earth in peril, the need for peace between the dueling so-called “superpowers” is urgently needed. A thousand people marched in Helsinki for peace in Ukraine. In Russia, a solitary protester is being targeted for his anti-war stance and was arrested for “discrediting” the Russian military. In the United States, concerns over US-China tensions led CODEPINK activists to disrupt a congressional hearing on China.
Amidst all this dire news, a single story stood out as particularly uplifting to me: a high school gave spending power to their students, implementing participatory budgeting. Now this form of direct democracy is spreading to other schools. At a time when the future of the youngest generations is being imperiled by the intransigence of the older generations, this small act is a reminder that humanity needs to co-create a chance of survival. And there is no time to waste.
In solidarity,
Rivera Sun
Photo Credit: Sri Lankans defy protest and strike bans to oppose economic injustice.
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Protests Force Norway’s Energy Minister To Cancel UK Trip: Norway’s energy minister has canceled a trip to the U.K. because of a protest against a wind farm they say hinders the rights of the Sami Indigenous people to raise reindeer in Arctic Norway as activists continued to block entrances to Norwegian ministries. Read more>>
This High School Gave Spending Power to Students: Participatory budgeting in Rhode Island began with handing $10,000 to teens. Now this form of direct democracy is spreading across the state. Read more>>
Norfolk Southern Workers Win Paid Sick Days – And Hyundai to Divest from Plant that Used Child Labor: Norfolk Southern, reeling from negative publicity, has agreed to give seven days of paid sick leave to 3,000 railroad workers. Immigrant child labor was widely used in both the Kia and Hyundai supply chains in Alabama. Now, Hyundai says that it will divest from one of its suppliers that used child labor. Read more>>
In A Major Victory For Immigrant Rights, ‘Drivers Licenses For All’ Bill Passes in Minnesota: With Minnesota’s extreme weather and inadequate public transportation, undocumented immigrants are often forced to drive to get to work or take kids to school or doctor’s appointments, risking being stopped by the police and then put at risk for deportation. Now, that common path to deportation will be dramatically reduced. The win is the result of 20 years of struggle. Read more>>
Immigrants Win ‘Unprecedented’ Settlement Over Violent ICE Raid in Tennessee: “Today’s ruling is a testament to the incredible power and resiliency of immigrant workers and their communities,” said one advocate. Read more>>
Thousands Of Pashtuns Gather In Pakistan Demanding An End To Police Harassment And Militarization: Pashtun Tahafuz Movement leaders have warned the authorities against carrying out military operations in tribal areas, saying that the Pashtuns have suffered tremendously and will not tolerate it any longer. Read more>>
Thousands Participate In ‘Day Of Disruption’ Against Overhaul Of Israeli Constitution And Government: Protesters blocked roads, disrupted trains and marched in cities across the country on Wednesday as part of a “national day of disruption” against the government’s judicial overhaul plan. Twenty two people were detained by police at various protests around the central region. Read more>>
Sudanese Protester Killed During 17th Month Of Protests Against Military Rule: A Sudanese protester was killed on Tuesday after being shot in the chest during a demonstration against military rule. The protester, who was killed in the Sharg al-Nil area near Sudan’s capital, became the 125th protester killed in weekly protests set off by a coup in October 2021. Read more>>
Florida Students Walk Out To Protest DeSantis Race Education Policies: Hundreds of students across Florida walked out Thursday in protest against Gov. Ron DeSantis and his policies concerning higher education. Read more>>
TikTok Bans On US Campuses Worry Youth & Student Influencers: in recent weeks, public schools across the country have banned TikTok from on-campus Wi-Fi networks. The bans, which come amid potential national security concerns over the Chinese-owned app, leave student influencers in limbo. Read more>>
Refugees ‘Will Pay the Real Price,’ Says Charity After Italy Detains Rescue Ship: “This is simply the wrong way to address this humanitarian crisis,” said the U.N. human rights chief of a new law that imposes new regulations on migrant rescue ships in the Mediterranean. Read more>>
Students’ Protest Leads To Meeting With Boston Public Schools Superintendent: About 50 high school students from Dorchester’s Henderson Upper School walked out Friday morning, protesting what they said was poor usage of funding, unfair student suspensions and lackluster communication between students and teachers. Their protest gained an immediate meeting with the superintendent. Read more>>
Israeli Rights Group Condemns Settler ‘Pogrom’ Against Palestinians in West Bank: “This isn’t ‘loss of control,'” said B’Tselem. “This is exactly what Israeli control looks like. The settlers carry out the attack, the military secures it, the politicians back it.” Read more>>
School Police Officer Kneels On Student’s Neck During Anti-Racism Protest: California school security officer kneels on a black student’s neck, kids get pepper-sprayed and a teacher grapples with a child after an anti-racism protest during Black History Month escalates. Students were holding a ‘peaceful walk-out’ at the high school over calls to remove ‘racist staff and educators.” Read more>>
New York To Pay Millions To Protesters Mistreated In 2020 George Floyd Protests: New York City has agreed to pay millions of dollars to hundreds of protesters who were arrested, detained and subjected to excessive force during a protest over the murder of George Floyd in 2020. An estimated 320 protesters were subjected to “kettling”, a controversial police tactic in which officers encircle protesters. Once the protesters were “kettled”, the lawsuits states, police zip-tied them, hit several with batons and used pepper spray. Read more>>
Hundreds Rally Outside Supreme Court Amid ‘Baseless’ Attack on Student Debt Relief: “You should not have to face financial ruin because you want a damn education!” said Sen. Bernie Sanders. “Education, from child care to graduate school, is a human right. It should be free to all.” Read more>>
Sri Lanka Workers Defy Strike Ban To Protest Economic Rescue Plan: Sri Lankan workers went on strike Wednesday in defiance of a government ban to protest an economic rescue plan for the bankrupt island nation, forcing the closure of hospitals, banks and ports. Read more>>
Portland, OR, Supports Postal Workers: Dozens of Portland postal union members, union and community leaders rallied Feb. 20 in support of postal workers, demanding “good service, good jobs and a good contract.” Read more>>
Farmworkers Finally Won Overtime Pay. Now the Industry Wants to Repeal It. As Washington and Oregon move to implement historic overtime laws, ag industry leaders are pushing for exemptions that are leaving them at odds with farmworkers and their advocates. Read more>>
YouTube Music Workers Strike in Austin Over ‘Anti-Union’ Return-to-Office Mandate: Remote employees say that working in the office is “completely unfeasible” and a union-busting move. Rather than allow the workers to unionize, Cognizant is demanding they return to the office, and, presumably, will fire the workers who can’t. Read more>>
Indigenous Youth Occupy Norwegian Energy Office To Protest Illegal Wind Farm: Indigenous Sámi youth and dozens of environmental activists in Oslo, Norway shut down the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy on Monday, with many chaining themselves to the building. The action is part of a human rights campaign that demands the Norwegian government close an onshore wind energy complex that the country’s supreme court says was built illegally in Sámi territory. “We cannot be sacrificed in the name of the green transition.” Read more>>
Ballengarra Tree-Sit Stops Logging: Logging crews arrived before dawn on February 27 to Ballengarra State Forest, south of Kempsey, to find their machines captured by the ropes of a tree platform. About a dozen people held signs and banners calling for the forest to be protected. Read more>>
Extinction Rebellion Protesters Target Law Firm for ‘Defending Climate Criminals’: “We are taking this action against injunctions put in place by law firms like Eversheds which prevent peaceful protest,” said a 70-year-old who joined the protest in London. Read more>>
Global Coalition Urges OECD to End ‘Reprehensible’ Oil and Gas Export Financing: Such public funding, according to more than 175 civil society groups, is “helping prop up fossil fuel projects and infrastructure which would otherwise be too risky for the private sector to finance alone.” Read more>>
US and EU Groups Call for ‘Ceasefire’ on Trade Challenges to Climate Policies: “This is simple,” said one campaigner. “Climate action has to take precedence over trade rules.” A coalition of more than three dozen progressive advocacy groups based in the United States and the European Union on Monday implored E.U. policymakers to stop pursuing challenges to the Inflation Reduction Act and urged governments on both sides of the Atlantic to start prioritizing decarbonization over corporate-friendly trade rules. Read more>>
The Christian Case For Fighting Climate Change Is Being Tested In Eastern Oregon: Science and religion are often depicted as opposing forces in the debate over climate change, but this minister in eastern Oregon isn’t afraid to make an explicitly Christian argument for environmentalism that he believes can capture hearts and minds. Read more>>
Australian Group Protests Plan To Demolish Public Housing: Action for Public Housing organized a free sausage sizzle on January 29 as part of it work to build a big pre-election rally to demand housing justice in New South Wales. The group is campaigning to pressure the Coalition government end its plans to demolish Waterloo public housing and evict the community. It says any changes to Waterloo should be focused on repairing and maintaining existing homes and keeping the community together. Read more>>
Posters & Protest Art Decry Housing Crisis: Protest art has been praised for its satirical take on the housing crisis in Phibsbrough. The “unknown activists” stuck posters on a vacant retail unit which made it look like a real estate shop. The masquerading shop was called “Fibs Estate” and featured the Government’s Housing For All plan, which was dubbed ‘Housing? FCUK All’. Read more>>
New College of Florida Students and Faculty Protest DeSantis’ Right-Wing Assault on Education: In January, DeSantis replaced six of the 13 members on the college’s board of trustees with conservative allies. Members of campus have expressed fears that recently appointed right-wing leaders will stamp out academic freedom and further marginalize students of color and LGBTQ+ students. “The long arc of history will grind you into dust,” one critic told the school’s board of trustees, “and you will be remembered for the sycophants that you are.” Read more>>
Forum Highlights Ongoing LGBTIQ+ Struggles At World Pride: A forum hosted by Green Left in the Sydney Resistance Centre on February 28 highlighted ongoing struggles by LGBTIQ+ radical activists in a highly corporatized World Pride. Read more>>
Iranian Creatives Champion Change for Women Despite Dangerous Consequences: Iran is now experiencing its biggest wave of demonstrations in decades, with acts of protest by female demonstrators including publicly removing their hijab or cutting their hair. Iranian actors have voiced their support for the movement, despite the dangerous consequences. Many have been arrested and detained for their actions. Read more>>
China is Not Our Enemy. Code Pink Protesters Interrupt First House China Committee Hearing: Two Code Pink protesters interrupted the early moments of the first primetime Congressional hearing on the dangers of the Chinese Communist Party Tuesday night. Read more>>
1,000 March In Helsinki To Demand Peace In Ukraine: Events marking the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine continued in Helsinki on Saturday. Following a candlelight vigil on the steps of Helsinki Cathedral on Friday, there was a procession through the capital on Saturday afternoon calling for an end to the war and supporting those suffering due to it. Read more>>
Protesters Gather Outside Major American Airbase In European Union: Demonstrators descended on the Ramstein military installation in Germany, calling for an end to arms deliveries to Ukraine. Read more>>
Russian Activist Arrested, Charged With “Discrediting” The Army After a One-Man Anti-War Protest: Activist and entrepreneur Dmitry Skurikhin, from the village of Russko-Vysotskoye in the Leningrad region, has been charged with “discrediting” the Russian army for a second time. According to human rights defense group OVD-Info, the basis of the latest case against the activist was a one-man anti-war picket that he held on February 24, 2023, the one-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At his solo action, he held a sign that read “I’m sorry, Ukraine.” Read more>>
Yo-Yo Ma Plays Peace Protest Song: The celebrated cellist capped a concert with the New York Philharmonic with a work that Pablo Casals often played to protest war and oppression. Read more>>
Threatened by Sports Stadium, Chinatown Residents Dress Up In Bulldozer Costumes And Make Parody Music Video: Chinatown community members and others against the proposed 76ers arena in the neighborhood got creative for their cause. They filmed a parody music video that sends a clear message: no wrecking balls in Chinatown. Read more>>
Appalachian Music Duo Offers Folk Music Healing For Coal Miners: Dying to make a living. For generations coal miners have risked their health and safety to be able to provide for their families. Through their music, the Appalachian duo, The Local Honeys, shines a light on how the long held traditions of folk music and activism combine to provide hope and healing. Read more>>
There’s a Big Pot of Climate Money Waiting To Be Seized — Activists Can’t Miss The Opportunity: As long-time organizers and climate justice activists, we see organizing opportunities in the roughly $390 billion in climate funding available. As an analysis from Just Solutions points out, the bill was not written for climate justice. But there’s a ton of money that suddenly we can access for poor and disenfranchised communities — and it would be a wasted opportunity to leave that money on the table. Read more>>
In 1996, There Was Union Summer. This Year, There’s ‘Labor Spring’: Students, campus staff and faculty, together with unions and community allies, are coming together on or adjacent to more than 50 campuses nationwide — including ours — to engage in a remarkable national teach-in on worker rights and organizing called Labor Spring. “Labor Spring” brings back a national teach-in on organizing to campuses across the country. Read more>>
International Women’s Day 2023 Campaign Theme #EmbraceEquity: The aim of the IWD 2023 #EmbraceEquity campaign theme is to get the world talking about Why equal opportunities aren’t enough. People start from different places, so true inclusion and belonging require equitable action. (March 8) Learn more>>
Don’t Let Rio Tinto Mine ReBoot: Local communities stopped Rio Tinto’s plans to mine a pristine valley in Serbia. But now the company is exploiting legal loopholes to get work restarted. Together with activists, we’ll confront their shareholders to show that hundreds of thousands of people want to stop the mine. Learn more>>
Tell State Pensions To Kick Fossil Fuels: Pension funds are some of the biggest and longest-term investors, so their votes make a real difference. Sign now and show your State Treasurer and financial officers that we’re watching – and we expect them to vote for climate justice this spring. Learn more>>
National March – Peace In Ukraine, Stop NATO: Coinciding with the 20th anniversary weekend of the U.S.-invasion of Iraq, antiwar organizations and coalitions are initiating a major set of actions including a major demonstration at the White House in Washington, D.C. on Saturday March 18 demanding “Peace in Ukraine – Say NO to Endless U.S. Wars” and “Fund People’s Needs, Not the War Machine.” This action is being organized by a coalition of groups that are dedicated to resisting US imperialism and racism and that oppose the wars being waged at home and abroad. (March 18-19) Learn more>>
Defunding Environmental Racism In the Gulf: We’re standing in solidarity with frontline communities in the Gulf South. Fossil fuel expansion is not abstract – it means putting toxic, polluting infrastructure right into people’s communities. To learn more about what’s going on with toxic fossil fuel buildout in the Gulf, and hear directly from frontline leaders, join the Defunding Environmental Racism in the Gulf Webinar. (March 15) Learn more>>
Third Act’s National Day of Climate Action: On March 21, we have an opportunity to launch shareholder season with a bang – Third Act is organizing a National Day of Action to stop dirty banks! There are already over 75 actions in 24 states calling on banks to stop the flow of money to fossil fuels. Join or organize an action near you! (March 21) Learn more>>
Do We Have The Right To Boycott? Is there a right to boycott? Film screening and discussion with Boycott filmmaker Julia Bacha on March 21st: The present-day debate over this historic model of justice activism is described in an acclaimed new documentary, Boycott. This month, FOR-USA will host a live virtual screening of the 73-minute film followed by a “Gathering Voices” talk-back with the film’s director, Julia Bacha. (March 21) Learn more>>
Art vs. The Dirty Banks: On Earth Day, we’re using art to call out dirty banks across the country. Sign up here to be mailed art that you can use in taking action: with a pop-up art show, pasting art up around your community (especially near bank targets!), or for signs at a protest. All you have to do to receive art is commit to using it – and send us a picture! (April 23) Learn more>>
Movement Ecology Series: The Movement Ecology Series focuses on recognizing and understanding our differences as the key to harnessing the power of collaboration and synthesis between the different theories of change. It is only by recognizing our relative strengths and weaknesses that we can build movements that can hold the complexity that is required to win big. Learn more>>
