Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun
This week’s Nonviolence News contains many successes worth celebrating. Oakland teachers have returned to work after voting on a contract that includes living wages, equitable wages, and expanded special education services. In the wake of tragedy, Serbians have handed over an impressive number of guns to try to prevent future shootings. The Brazilian President returned 800 square miles of land to the original Indigenous caretakers. Campaigners trying to stop the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) pressured a major Japanese investor to pull out. France banned short air flights where train service is available, lowering the carbon footprint of regional travel. (And that’s not all, check out the full round-up to hear about the many wins this week.)
As we work for change, it’s important to recognize these victories and celebrate them deeply. When setbacks occur or the climb seems insurmountable, these moments of breakthrough remind us that change is possible.
In other Nonviolence News, Sri Lanka’s tea pickers are on strike, 20,000 members of Belgium unions rallied against bad working conditions, and Puerto Ricans are turning hurricane-abandoned properties into community centers and gardens – even if they have to occupy them illegally.
Climate activists took particularly bold action this week. Nearly 100 activists blockaded an airport and disrupted a private jet show to put the pressure on these major fossil fuels polluters. A smaller group turned the waters of the famous Trevi Fountain in Rome black to signal how fossil fuels are ruining their country’s future. In London, activists disrupted Shell Oil Company’s meetings. In Mexico, a controversial tourist rail line that runs from the coasts to Mayan ruins is raising ire among communities over its ecological impact and the displacement of 3,000 families in the construction corridor.
A favorite story? Trans youth held a prom in front of the White House to affirm their right to exist and express joy and offer a healing reprieve from the challenges they face.
In solidarity,
Rivera Sun
Photo Credit: Protesters gather along a section of the rail line construction in Mexico.
“We Refused to Leave Anyone Behind” – Oakland Teachers Secure Wins in Strike: Teachers’ demands included a living wage, equitable class sizes and expanded special education services. Read more>>
The Serbian Movement Against Violence: In the aftermath of the two mass killings in and around Belgrade, Serbian citizens have handed over a huge number of illegal weapons. That is surely a positive step, but much more must be done. Read more>>
Brazilian President Returns 800 Square Miles of Indigenous Land To Its Original Caretakers: Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva legally recognized nearly 800 square miles of Indigenous lands on Friday in an effort to stop illegal logging, mining and land grabbing, reversing policies enacted by his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right leader who encouraged development in the Amazon. The move bars non-Indigenous from any economic activity in the area and prohibits mining and logging without permission. Read more>>
Dodgers Apologize and Reinvite Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to Pride Night: The Drag Charity Group, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, will be participating at Los Angeles Dodgers’ Pride Night next month after the baseball team received severe backlash from queer organizations for disinviting the organization. The baseball team had disinvited the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence from a Pride event after pressure from Marco Rubio and other conservatives. Read more>>
Minnesota Dems Set Bar for State Legislatures, Passing Nearly Every Item on ‘Transformational’ Agenda: “The work we’ve done over the last five months will make a generational impact on our state—it will lower costs, improve lives, and cut child poverty,” said Gov. Tim Walz. The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party passed nearly every item on its agenda, securing economic justice, reproductive rights, and labor protections for Minnesotans. Read more>>
How This Group Stopped A Gas Utility’s Propaganda From Targeting School Children: Oregon’s largest gas utility can no longer charge its customers to target school children with pro-fossil fuel advertising, according to a recent ruling by state regulators. The decision comes after Earthjustice challenged a proposal by the utility NW Natural to charge its ratepayers for a variety of activities, including the creation of pro-gas propaganda booklets aimed at school children. Read more>>
FDA To End Ban On Gay & Bi Men Donating Blood: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it is taking steps towards allowing gay and bi men to donate blood in the U.S. by switching to risk-based rules for blood donation. The FDA finalized recommendations for determining donor eligibility by using the same questions for everyone who wants to donate, focusing on the number of sexual partners a potential donor has had in the previous three months. Read more>>
Oregon Nonprofit Returns Land To Nez Perce: A nonprofit that preserves wildlands against development and airbnbs recently returned 30 acres to the Nez Perce Tribe. Read more>>
Stop EACOP Gets Major Pipeline Backer To Pull Out: Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. said it isn’t financing an oil pipeline in East Africa, joining a growing list of financial firms distancing themselves from the project. The pipeline is planned to carry oil 900 miles from the fields of western Uganda to the coast of Tanzania. Activists have been campaigning globally to stop it. Read more>>
France Bans Short Air Flights Where Trains Provide Alternative: Today, France officially banned short domestic flights on routes where the journey could be made by train –– the culmination of a deal Peter Yeung wrote about in 2021. Read more>>
North Hollywood Strippers Unionize in LA First: In Los Angeles, strippers at North Hollywood’s Star Garden have unionized with Actor’s Equity in a first for Los Angeles. The victory comes after management withdrew its legal challenge to a nearly-year-long legal battle by the strippers for the right to unionize there. Read more>>
Occupation As Resistance To Displacement In Puerto Rico: “Only the people save the people.” Puerto Ricans are occupying land to create mutual aid centers, community farms, comedores after Hurricane Maria. Since 2017, groups across PR have rescued vacant lots — many held by US investors — and transformed them into spaces for community development and resiliency. These Boricuas are taking back their land to resist extractive development and displacement, and fighting for a Puerto Rico free from imperialism. Read more>>
Iran Continues To Execute Protesters: Iran executed three men it said were implicated in the deaths of three members of its security forces during last year’s anti-government demonstrations, drawing protests at home and abroad. The confessions of the men were tainted by implications of torture. Read more>>
Nigerians In Italy Protest Murder While Police Bury Empty Casket: Nigerians in Mortara City of Italy have revolted against the Italian police’s alleged attempt to bury an empty casket in place of a Nigerian student stabbed to death by an Italian citizen. Read more>>
Christian Leaders Warn Once Again About the Ongoing ReAwaken America Tour: National and state Christian leaders spoke out against the white supremacist ideology espoused during two recent Christian nationalist rallies in South Florida. Read more>>
Sri Lankan Tea Pickers On Strike: ‘We give our blood so they live comfortably.” Sri Lanka’s tea pickers say they go hungry and live in squalor. Top tea firms investigate as plantation workers say they have to pick 18kg a day but still skip meals and make their children work. Tea pickers have been struggling since the country was plunged into an economic crisis after a disastrous ban on chemical fertilizers in 2021, which decimated tea yields and caused production to fall to a 26-year low last year. Read more>>
‘Pay Your Writers’: Boston University Crowd Disrupts CEO’s Graduation Speech Amid Strike: Writers Guild of America members and local allies picketed outside while the crowd in the stadium booed David Zaslav and made clear to the industry executive that “we don’t want you here.” Read more>>
Belgian Unions Demonstrate In Brussels To Demand Better Worker Protection: Almost 20,000 Belgian trade union members mounted a demonstration to protest what they see as increasingly bad working conditions and the erosion of their right to strike. Read more>>
In Michigan, You Could Get An ‘A’ Because Your Instructor’s On Strike: The University of Michigan graduate workers’ strike caused grading issues. Some department chairs have said they plan to give out A’s. Read more>>
Climate Activists Disrupt Europe’s Biggest Private Jet Fair: Dozens of climate activists have disrupted Europe’s largest private jet trade fair by chaining themselves to aircraft to protest against the sector’s carbon emissions. The demonstrators on behalf of Greenpeace, Stay Grounded, Extinction Rebellion and Scientist Rebellion also attached themselves to the entrance gates of the event at Geneva airport in the hope of preventing prospective buyers from entering the annual show. Read more>>
Rome Climate Activists Turn Trevi Fountain Black: Seven activists protesting against climate change climbed into the Trevi fountain in Rome and poured diluted charcoal into the water to turn it black. The protesters from the Ultima Generazione (Last Generation) group held up banners saying “We won’t pay for fossil [fuels]” and shouted “Our country is dying.” Read more>>
‘A Megaproject Of Death’: Fury As Maya Train Nears Completion In Mexico: Hailed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador as a beacon of prosperity, the environmental cost of the railway has bitterly divided communities along its route. Read more>>
Indigenous Shipibo-Konibo-Xetebo People Defend Forest From Illegal Destruction In Peru: The Shipibo-Konibo-Xetebo people of the Peruvian Amazon are organizing themselves to protect their ancestral forests and waters from illegal fishing, logging, and coca growing. The Indigenous Guard does not threaten or seek to harm fishers, loggers, or drug traffickers. Instead, they attempt to speak with them and explain that the land belongs to the Shipibo-Konibo-Xetebo people. If fishers return for a second time, the guard may destroy their equipment. Read more>>
Climate Activists Take Over Shell’s Annual General Meeting in London: About 100 climate campaigners on Tuesday demanded the attention of executives and shareholders at Shell’s annual general meeting, refusing to be silenced as they spent several hours disrupting the profits-focused gathering to condemn the oil company for its continued planet-heating fossil fuel extraction. Shell also faces internal backlash from investors who feel it isn’t doing enough to transition to a low-carbon economy. Read more>>
Australian Minister Accosted By Anti-Fracking Protesters While Competing In Race Event: Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles was chased by anti-fracking protesters while she was competing in the West Macs Monster race event. During the final 5 kilometres of the 25km race, a group ran next to her with anti-fracking signs as she reached the finish line. Read more>>
Tampa 5 Face 10+ Years In Jail: USF protesters plead not guilty to charges of battery against police. The five were arrested during a protest over a law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that prohibits spending on diversity and inclusion programs. Charges were increased after protestors would not apologize to the police. Read more>>
The Movement To Stop Dollar Stores From Suffocating Black Communities: An ongoing fight in Toledo represents one of many small-scale efforts nationwide to restrict Dollar General and Dollar Tree, which owns Family Dollar, the fastest-growing food retailers in the U.S. Some Black residents and elected officials argue the stores stifle economic growth and job creation, and exacerbate food insecurity. The stores are also disproportionately in areas that are low-income, rural, and Black, which experts say is racist. Read more>>
Howard Students Protest President Biden: ‘When there is no justice, there should be no peace.’ Howard University students protested when President Joe Biden gave the commencement address May 13, 2023. “While we are excited to finish our last endeavor at Howard University, we are infinitely angered and exhausted by the many forms of ongoing white-supremacist violence in the United States of America and internationally.” Here is their written statement. Read more>>
NAACP Issues Travel Advisory to Florida Over Anti-Black History Education Laws: Over the weekend, the NAACP Board of Directors voted to issue a formal travel advisory warning people of color and LGBTQ people about “hostile” conditions in the state of Florida. The advisory implores current residents to “defeat the regressive policies of this Governor and this state legislature.” Read more>>
Texas & Florida Laws Have Latinos Rethinking Where They Live: In Florida, videos of empty workplaces began to go viral after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill that ratchets up sanctions for employing undocumented workers. League of United Latin American Citizens, the largest and oldest Hispanic membership organization in the United States is issuing a “travel advisory” against Florida, a move the group has only taken once before. Read more>>
Chinese Immigrants Sue Florida Over DeSantis’s Discriminatory Law Banning Home Purchases: Accusing Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis of enacting an unconstitutional law that would not have been out of place at the turn of the last century, a group of Chinese American immigrants filed a lawsuit against the state over S.B. 264, which restricts most Chinese citizens from purchasing homes in Florida. “All Asian Americans will feel the stigma and the chilling effect created by this Florida law, just like the discriminatory laws did to our ancestors more than a hundred years ago.” Read more>>
Trans Youth Held a Prom Outside the US Capitol. It Sparkled With Joy & Healing: The day of laughter and hope offered youth a reprieve from having to always defend themselves from anti-trans attacks. Read more>>
Wisconsin Teacher To Be Fired After Complaining About “Rainbowland” Song Ban: A Wisconsin schoolteacher is being punished for trying to have her students sing a popular song by Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus. Read more>>
Small Towns Near State Lines Have Become Abortion Access Battlegrounds: Anti-abortion outsiders are descending on rural communities in proximity to states where laws preserve abortion access. Read more>>
Largest US Gay Rights Group Issues Florida Travel Advisory For Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws: The Human Rights Campaign joined the NAACP, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the Florida Immigrant Coalition and Equality Florida in issuing travel or relocation warnings for the Sunshine State, one of the most popular states for tourists to visit in the U.S. Read more>>
Mermaids Protest Sewage: Surfers and mermaids took part in a mass protest, organized by Ocean Charity Surfers, to demonstrate against the continued dumping of untreated sewage by water companies off the coast of Brighton, Britain. Read more>>
Striking WGA Late-Night Comedy Writers Launch YouTube Show Lampooning The Studios: Late-night comedy shows were shut down on the very first day of the ongoing Writers Guild’s strike, but many of their now out-of-work writers are banding together to put on a weekly YouTube Channel show alternately titled “Picket Tonight” or “The Jokes You Love from the Picket Signs but We’re Saying Them Out Loud.” Read more>>
New College Students Hold An Alternative Commencement ‘On Our Terms’: Graduates of New College of Florida held an alternative commencement at the Sarasota Art Museum on Thursday. Hundreds of family and friends joined them in celebrating. The student-organized ceremony was held in protest of the Trump administration’s COVID advisor, Dr. Scott Atlas, who is the keynote speaker at the official graduation Friday. Read more>>
How Can We Resist Book Bans? This Banned Author Has Ideas. We must foster critical thinking and direct action to combat book bans, sociologist Joe Feagin says. These bans are an attack on the type of critical questioning that is a crucial form of resistance against oppressive state power. Read more>>
The 16 Year Old Behind Brown Vs. Board of Education: One 16-year-old had enough of being separate and unequal, and her name was Barbara Rose Johns. Johns decided to organize a strike. She assembled a strike committee, including some of the more popular students, knowing that she needed more social capital to make a strike happen. They decided it would occur around April to disrupt final exams and graduation, which would ensure the school board realized they were serious. Here’s what happened. Read more>>
What Does Restorative Justice Actually Mean?: Artists, survivors of violence, entrepreneurs and business leaders, public defenders, policy experts, restorative justice practitioners, and system-impacted people sat down for a series of conversations while exploring Remaking the Exceptional, a groundbreaking exhibition on torture and incarceration. Read more>>
How A Small Activist Sailing Ship Successfully Challenged The Nuclear Arms Race: The 1958 voyage of the Golden Rule offers important strategic lessons on how to confront an overwhelming evil and win. Read more>>
Palestinian Organizers – We Honor Our Grief by Practicing Hope: “The poison pill of any movement is despair,” says Palestinian activist Lea Kayali in an interview about the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, resistance in the face of Israeli aggression and how hope sustains their work. Read more>>
Kshama Sawant Takes Successful Worker-Led Struggle Nationwide: Roughly ten years ago, Kshama Sawant won a seat on the Seattle City Council as an open socialist. Sawant eschewed politics as usual and led by example, taking only the average worker’s salary from her paycheck and putting the remainder into worker-led movements. Read more>>
The IRA Is an Invitation to Organizers: The Inflation Reduction Act presupposes a private sector–led transition. But battles over its implementation could build the political constituencies and expertise needed to take on the fossil fuel industry. Read more>>
To Resist Right-Wing Push For Parents Rights, Focus On Youth Liberation: zara raven, a Caribbean queer mama and community organizer who works to promote collective responsibility for the safety and well-being of whole communities. zara raven coordinates Queenie’s Crew, a program at Project NIA engaging children in learning to build communities of care without prisons or policing. In this interview, zara raven shares a vision of parenting and caregiving that challenges hierarchies of all kinds, and prioritizes listening to youth themselves. Read more>>
Tell Nationwide Insurance To Stop Cop City: Have you about the environmental destruction and state-sponsored police oppression surrounding the project known as Cop City. Preparation for the construction of Cop City in Atlanta, Georgia continues to move forward — and you can help stop it. Can you make a phone call today to insurers of Cop City and ask them to do the morally right thing and reject this project? Learn more>>
Never Vanguard Pledge: Vanguard is touted as having good programs for socially responsible investment. So why are they one of the biggest investors in fossil fuels? Take the Never Vanguard Pledge to send a clear message that this needs to stop. Learn more>>
Call For Solidarity From the #Ekoniaci Movement: Blockade At KM 16! Call for solidarity with Indigenous anti-logging blockade. In order to enforce the moratorium on logging on their territory, Nitaskinan, members of the Atikamekw of Manawan are currently setting up a new blockade. Learn more>>
Music As Medicine: These times can feel overwhelming and isolating, and understandably so. We are excited to create space for filling your well with community singing and Joanna Macy’s Work That Reconnects. (June 5) Learn more>>
End The Era of Fossil Fuels – Week of Action: Starting this June, People vs. Fossil Fuels is mobilizing to turn up the heat and make President Biden take real climate action – by ending the era of fossil fuels. Join them for a national week of action June 8th – 11th 2023 to demand Biden use his executive powers to end the era of fossil fuels and declare a climate emergency! (June 8-11) Learn more>>
The Power of Listening Circles For Racial Healing: Listening Circles play a vital role in racial reconciliation. Listening Circles offer allies and directly impacted communities the opportunity to openly share their experiences and perspectives without judgment. Our session will begin with the exploration of the historical background of talk/listening circles and drumming circles and why Indigenous and African cultures created them. (June 24) Learn more>>
