Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun
This week’s Nonviolence News contains a wonderful collection of success stories. You’ll find a heartening number of nonviolent solutions being implemented around the world. These practices and programs restore ecosystems, prevent systemic violence (like childhood poverty), and hold society accountable for some of its harmful behaviors. These include: acknowledging sea turtles’ rights to live and flourish in Panama, banning book bans, halting virgin forest logging in Australia, a ‘once dead’ river in Toronto returning to life, and a guaranteed income pilot program becoming permanent.
In other parts of our full round-up, you’ll also read about other interesting ideas – like paying shrimpers to haul ‘ghost nets’ out of the Mississippi Delta on the off season, or how urban wetlands are building climate resiliency by making cities into flood-resistant sponges. I particularly enjoyed a story about how communal food epicenters in Uganda are breaking through the disempowering conventional food aid model. All of these are pieces of what a nonviolent world could look like. Paired with thousands more solutions, it’s a world worth struggling for.
In other Nonviolence News, Indigenous Mexicans are resisting bulldozers and evictions in the newly-proclaimed “yoga capital of the world”. 1500 Dutch activists were arrested for (get this) calling upon the government to arrest climate criminals like fossil fuels companies. Their counterparts in Germany are facing a coordinated crackdown on the Last Generation campaign. India’s top female wrestlers are campaigning against sexism and sexual harassment, even disrupting the inauguration of the new parliament building to make their point heard. They share some common complaints with Chinese women, who have taken to social media in role-playing videos in which they depict the slimy behaviors of “greasy” middle aged men. Iran’s independent journalists are facing beatings and threats for reporting on the continued efforts of the women’s uprising that rocked the country last fall.
In Atlanta, Georgia (USA), police crossed a line (again) by arresting the three organizers of the Stop Cop City bail fund. In Florida, migrants and allies held rallies as work halted in farm fields and other business to protest Florida’ anti-immigrant policies on A Day Without An Immigrant. In San Francisco, graffiti artists spraypainted over a disingenuous billionaire-backed “street art” campaign that wheat pasted anti-homeless messages and law-and-order themes in the city.
Two particularly notable stories remind us that we don’t have to reinvent the wheel – we can use it to go places! In the United Kingdom, 3,000 people borrowed a tactic from the 1500s and occupied the commons for the right to freely camp. The approach echoes centuries-old peasant struggles to protect the commons. In the United States, the hacker-activist group Anonymous borrowed an idea from a more recent effort, dusting off the way K-Pop fans bought up Trump tickets in 2020 and didn’t go to the rally, leaving the former president with a mostly empty stadium. Anonymous is calling upon people to do similar actions to Gov. Desantis’ presidential bid. They’re also asking people to sign up to ‘volunteer’ and then pull a no-show at the event. Readers of Nonviolence News may remember a similar story I mentioned a couple weeks ago in which a French senior citizen planned to do the same thing at the upcoming Olympic Games.
On these borrowed wheels of nonviolent tactics, we’re driving toward a future that works for people, planet, and peace. I can’t wait until we get there.
In solidarity,
Rivera Sun
Photo Credit: People carry signs that read in Spanish, “Justice for Immigrants” and “We are humans” as hundreds gather to protest peacefully against Florida Senate bill 1718, which imposes restrictions on undocumented immigrants, in Immokalee, Florida. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
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Victory for Sea Turtles in Panama: A new law in Panama that guarantees sea turtles the legal right to live and have free passage in a healthy environment. The law “will allow any Panamanian citizen to be the voice of sea turtles and defend them legally,” Veelenturf said in a text message as she boarded a plane to Panama City after her group’s work near Armila. “We will be able to hold governments, corporations, and public citizens legally accountable for violations of the rights of sea turtles.” Read more>>
Imagine a Renters’ Utopia … It Might Look Like Vienna: Soaring real estate markets have created a worldwide housing crisis. What can we learn from a city that has largely avoided it? The difference is Vienna prioritizes subsidizing construction, while the U.S. prioritizes subsidizing people with vouchers. Read more>>
Feds Pause Progress of Mine that Tribal Leaders Say Will Destroy Sacred Indigenous Site in Arizona: The federal government has temporarily halted plans to construct a copper mine on sacred Indigenous land in Arizona known as Oak Flat, citing an error in oral arguments made at a March hearing. Read more>>
Banning Book Bans: Illinois is poised to become the first state to ban book bans. The policy has some teeth. In order to be eligible for state funds, a library must “adopt the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights… or, in the alternative, develop a written statement prohibiting the practice of banning books or other materials within the library or library system.” Read more>>
US Cities To Pay Record $80m To People Injured In 2020 Racial Justice Protests: At least 19 cities will pay settlements to protesters who sustained injuries as a result of law enforcement action. They will pay out a total of more than $80m in settlements to protesters injured by police during 2020 racial justice protests – a figure experts believe is unprecedented and will rise further as many lawsuits are still playing out. Read more>>
Australian Province Forced To Halt Virgin Forest Logging: The government had a plan to halt logging in native forests by 2030, but had to move the deadline forward to January 1 next year. Treasurer Tim Pallas blamed this on the successful legal action by activists. The activist groups proved in the Supreme Court of Victoria last November that the government-owned logging company was not doing enough to ensure its operations did not harm native species, specifically the yellow-bellied glider. Read more>>
Bil’in’s Successful Resistance Campaign Against The Israeli Wall: Palestinian villagers in Bil’in have successfully resisted Israeli plans to confiscate land for construction of their so-called ‘security barrier.’ Read more>>
Toronto River – Once Declared ‘Dead’ – Roars Back To Life: Historically, Toronto’s Don River has been treated as a kind of sacrifice zone: a longtime dumping spot for local industry and, at one point, even raw sewage. An environmental organization went so far as to hold a funeral for the waterway in 1969. But today, the river is alive and well — or at least well on its way. Read more>>
Baby Boon – Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Goes Permanent: Since 2021, the Bridge Project has been providing no-strings cash to new mothers in northern Manhattan. This pilot program is now set to become permanent — and to spread elsewhere in New York City and Rochester, New York — making it the first guaranteed income program in the US intended to continue indefinitely. Read more>>
Protecting the Ozone Prevented 1 °C of Warming By 2050: In 1987, the United Nations’ Montreal Protocol banned close to 100 chemicals that were eating away at the Earth’s ozone layer. This was good news, of course — and it turns out its goodness went beyond just the ozone: Because the banned substances contribute to global warming, according to a new report, the Montreal Protocol inadvertently prevented 1 °C of warming by 2050. Read more>>
New Kazakhstan, Old Nethods: No Respite For Beleaguered Opposition: The last few weeks have seen many opposition activists arrested or slapped with heavy fines, usually on arguably spurious grounds. The situation suggests that the country has some way to go before pledges of openness can be deemed anything more than rhetoric. Some analysts see the continued crackdown as a sign of President Tokayev’s lack of confidence in his public standing. Read more>>
Mexicans Resist Eviction In The New “Yoga Capitol of the World”: Indigenous people in the tourist hotspot on the Riviera Maya face losing their homes as land is sold for luxury housing. Attempts by police to evict locals have met resistance even as they fired teargas and use bulldozers to attempt to knock down homes. Read more>>
MAAN Workers Association & the Democracy Protests in Israel: The MAAN Workers Association, based in Israel, fights for worker rights and has joined the protest movement for democracy. “Without democracy there are no workers’ rights”. Read more>>
How El Paso Is Countering Book Bans In Texas: From banned books exhibits at city libraries to efforts in school, El Pasoans are working to protect access to books about LGBTQ+ and minority communities. Read more>>
Netherlands Arrests 1,500+ Climate Activists: Climate activists blocked parts of a motorway in The Hague to protest against Dutch fossil fuel subsidies. The environmental group has in recent years garnered media attention through disruption, hitting roads, airports and other public transport networks with direct action protests against climate change. Read more>>
‘Shooting the Messenger’ – German Police Target Climate Group Last Generation in Nationwide Raid: German police raided the climate activist group Letzte Generation, or Last Generation, seized accounts, and shut down its website. Last Generation is an Extinction Rebellion-style group that uses direct-action tactics such as blocking traffic, shutting off oil pipelines, or dousing a Monet in mashed potatoes to call for more ambitious climate policies. The raids were part of an investigation into seven members of the group. “When will they raid the lobby structures and seize the government’s fossil fuel money?” the group wrote in response to the raids. Read more>>
Protest Calls For a New Approach To Fish Farming: Hundreds of people gathered with kayaks and boats at Mickeys Beach, on the south east coast of Tasmania, on May 20 to demand an end to salmon farming in estuaries, river mouths and oceans. Read more>>
Citing ‘Imminent Danger,’ Indigenous Women Demand Biden Shut Down Line 5 Pipeline: “Every single one of us has agency and a responsibility to take action, honor the treaties, and protect Mother Earth,” asserted one Oneida Nation leader. “It is the time to be brave and courageous.” Read more>>
Corporate Amazon Workers Walkout To Protest Company’s Climate Impact And Return-To-Office Mandate: Telling executives to “strive harder,” hundreds of corporate Amazon workers protested what they decried as the company’s lack of progress on climate goals and an inequitable return-to-office mandate during a lunchtime demonstration at its Seattle headquarters Wednesday. Read more>>
Human Chain Protests NAB Loans To Fossil Fuel Industry: More than 100 climate activists formed a human chain outside the National Australia Bank (NAB) in Gadi/Sydney and a similar number in Meanjin/Brisbane on May 31, a day after a new Market Forces report showed it funds more coal than any other bank. Read more>>
How Protests That Double As Trainings Are Growing This Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaign: By melding theory and practice, Philadelphia’s Vanguard S.O.S. are building skills and collective power. Read more>>
Volunteers Watch Over Exxon Valdez Spill’s Long-Term Impact: In 1990, a scientist began visually documenting Prince William Sound’s recovery from the Exxon Valdez oil spill. When funding ran out, volunteers took over. Their photo-documentation is helping researchers understand how to clean up oil spills. Read more>>
Shrimpers Get Paid to Clear ‘Ghost Fishing’ Crab Traps From Mississippi Waters: Collecting left-behind traps leaves wildlife safer while putting money in shrimpers’ pockets. Read more>>
Cities Are Becoming More Like Sponges: Water management that prizes lakes and greenery over concrete makes for less flood-prone cities — and prettier ones, too. Read more>>
Police Arrest Organizers Behind Cop City Protester Bail Fund: Law enforcement officers in Georgia have arrested three top organizers behind a bail fund in Atlanta that has been aiding protesters against Cop City. “There is no first amendment in Atlanta,” wrote activist Micah Herskind. Read more>>
Incarcerated People Use TikTok Videos To Expose Alabama’s Prison Conditions: Last year 270 people in Alabama’s prisons died, the most of any calendar year on record. The deaths included 19 homicides. Those in prison, their family members and prison advocates have used TikTok to highlight the degrading conditions in Alabama’s prisons, even as the Department of Justice is preparing an unprecedented legal action against the state. Read more>>
Racist Bots & Trolls Review-Bomb Little Mermaid; Sites Change Measurement Systems to Fight Back: Several review sites have been hit with ‘unusual voting activity’ driven by bots and an online smear campaign for casting Halle Bailey as Ariel. The Little Mermaid is becoming the target of a mass of racist online vitriol. Review aggregating sites like IMDb are now trying to dampen the impact of 1-star user reviews by weighting those grades. Read more>>
10th Annual Sacred Ponca Corn Planting: The 10th Annual Sacred Ponca Corn Planting was held recently on Ponca Nation land and the Tanderup Farm in the pathway of the defunct Keystone XL pipeline. A tree was planted in honor of the late Joye Braun who fought against KXL pipeline. Photos and videos here>>
Uganda’s Communal Food ‘Epicenters’ Aim to End Hunger Forever: Pushing past the conventional food aid model, a regenerative farming system offers a recipe for success — and self-reliance. Read more>>
The Peasants Are Seizing the Commons (Again). Protesters stormed a U.K. national park, demanding the freedom to camp anywhere on public land. More than 3,000 locals invoked Old Crockern’s spirit in one of the United Kingdom’s largest-ever countryside access protests. To beating drums and cheers, they hoisted a massive puppet of the ghostly rider as they marched across the estate of a wealthy landowner, protesting a court decision that would further shrink access to England’s already endangered commons. Read more>>
Some Shareholders At Amazon Are Using Their Power To Advance The Interests Of Labor: A push coming from Amazon shareholders has revealed how important shareholders can sometimes be as allies to the labour movement. The working class holds their power in their labour and the ability to withhold that labour. As well, shareholder allies to the labour movement can also use their financial influence to up the pressure on corporations. Read more>>
Graffiti Writers Paint Over a Pro-Police ‘Street Art’ Campaign: A “street art” campaign backed by Welsh tech billionaire and venture capitalist Michael Moritz is being targeted by graffiti artists in San Francisco, California. The campaign features posters and even wheat-pastes which call for a “law and order” approach to homelessness and fentanyl related deaths in San Francisco. Read more>>
Student Debt Provision in Biden-GOP Deal Could Be ‘Catastrophic,’ Campaigners Warn: “What if payments begin and millions—literally millions—of people default on their debt?” the Debt Collective asked. “What if seniors get their Social Security checks garnished en masse?” Read more>>
Work Stoppages, Rallies, Strikes Oppose Florida’s Anti-Immigrant Laws: Farmworkers didn’t show up to work, plant nursery owners closed for the day and many businesses didn’t open to the public in a show of solidarity. A national boycott dubbed “Un Día Sin Inmigrantes,” or “A day without immigrants,” took place Thursday as a protest against a Florida immigration law scheduled to take effect in July. Read more>>
Migrant Truckers Strike In EU Shows Resistance Is An Option: Close to Frankfurt, Germany 62 truck drivers from Georgia and Uzbekistan had been on strike for weeks, because they had not been paid according to their contract. It was a difficult fight, but the strikers won. This victory is not only relevant for the 62 truckers themselves, but for other migrant workers as well – and even for the whole working class of Germany. Read more>>
How Much Do You Know About The Global Refugee Crisis: How many people are displaced around the world? What percent of displaced people are children? What are the most common reasons a person flees their home country? As an advocate, it’s important to know the facts. Take this quiz to test your knowledge. Then share the quiz with your networks to raise awareness of the challenges displaced people and families are facing—and the ways communities are organizing to make a difference. Check it out here>>
300 People March For LGBTQ Youth At Louisiana Capitol: Protests like this are sweeping the nation as states move to pass anti-LGBTQ legislation. Many of the attendees and speakers were students and young people, who these reactionary bills directly attack. Read more>>
India’s Top Women Wrestlers Demand Gender Justice From Patriarchal Government: In a significant act of resistance, India’s top women wrestlers have broken the silence on sexual misconduct faced by Indian sportswomen and the culture of impunity in Indian sports. They protested during the inauguration of the new parliament building. Modi arrested them. Read more>>
‘You Will Be Killed’: Iran’s Female Journalists Speak Out On Brutal Crackdown: Ahead of a trial of journalists who covered the death of Mahsa Jina Amini, reporters describe beatings and threats as government agents try to wipe out independent media. Read more>>
To Flip the Script on Harassment in China, Grease is the New Word: In a new viral online challenge, women are imitating the personas of “greasy middle-aged men” to provoke introspection on the prevalence of sexual harassment. Read more>>
Trans & Queer Activists Push Marriott To Cancel Hosting “Moms For Liberty”: Trans- and queer-led groups are protesting the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown for agreeing to host the Moms for Liberty (M4L) national conference. Members of ACT UP Philadelphia, Galaei Philly, Stop Moms for Liberty and other activists rallied outside the hotel May 12, calling on the Marriott to refuse to host the racist and transphobic group. Organizers are urging people to call the Marriott and demand that it “stop hosting hate.” Read more>>
Trans Activists Disrupt Kathleen Stock Speech At Oxford Union: Gender-critical feminist’s speech temporarily stopped after protester glues themself to floor. Read more>>
How to Stop Neo-Nazis From Crashing Pride Month: The far right is mobilizing against LGBTQ events. But activists are getting ready as well. Read more>>
In China, AI-Generated Fashion Models Are Hugely Popular — and Sexist: China’s fashion models are rapidly being replaced by doe-eyed, big-breasted, AI-generated bots. Women are horrified. Read more>>
These Israeli Youth Are Burning Their Draft Orders — And No Longer Feeling Alone: Left-wing high schoolers describe how the anti-government protests have provided a window for the mainstreaming of views long deemed illegitimate. Young people are more willing to hear about the occupation, army refusal is growing more widespread. Read more>>
This Memorial Day, Veterans For Peace Is Reminding The Public That The Human Cost Of War Is More Than Human Soldiers: “This Memorial Day we remember all who have died in war and understand that no one wins in war. Many of us have been personally touched by war. But we must also extend that mourning. We remember the civilian victims, and their families.” Read more>>
When Will US Join Global Call to End The Ukraine War? Must our leaders take us to the brink of World War III, with all our lives on the line in an all-out nuclear war, before they will permit a ceasefire and a negotiated peace? Read more>>
Students March To Prevent Signing Of US-Papua New Guinea Defense Agreement: Students of Mt Hagen Technical College (HATECO) in Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea staged a protest march to stop the signing of Defense Cooperation Agreement between Papua New Guinea and the United States. Read more>>
Sydney Rallies Against AUKUS, After Quad Meeting Rescheduled: In Australia, Labor Party members joined leftists and peace activists to speak out against militarism, AUKUS (a military pact between Australia, US, and UK) and the Quad at a protest organized by Sydney Anti-AUKUS Coalition on May 24. Read more>>
The Power of Humor In Indigenous Activism: Humor in Native culture has never been simply about entertainment. Comedy is also used to fight cultural invisibility and structural oppression. Read more>>
Anonymous Calls For People To Sign Up & Ghost At DeSantis Rallies: The activist group Anonymous is calling upon people of conscience to use a resistance tactic popularized by K-Pop activists during the 2020 Trump campaign – sign up to attend rallies and then ghost them. This empties the stadium while denying supporters space to come. The group is also working on a similar tactic around volunteer slots for each event. The strategy is working; the events are “selling out”! #Anonymous already sold out one rally, but wanted to let the rest of the internet have fun. Read more>>
Star Trek Themed Picket Line Boldly Goes To Protest During Writers Strike: A group of WGA writers were able to pull off an incredible act of solidarity across generations. In front of Paramount offices, a Star Trek-themed picket convened, spread by word of mouth and utilizing invitation only channels. Over the course of the four-hour picket block, actors, crew members, and of course, writers, and plenty of Star Trek fans came out in a show of solidarity. Read more>>
A Different Kind of Bicycle Tour: This year, the U.S. Senate is voting on the Cesar Chavez and Farm Worker National Park, which could establish a Historical Park in California along the route of the 1966 Farm Workers March. For six days in June, two activists will follow their journey by bicycle, riding 500-plus miles from Bakersfield to Sacramento and then out to the Pacific Ocean. Along the way, we will report on the legacy of the march, interact with leaders working for change today, and experience the landscape that shapes the shared future of our planet. Read more>>
The Threat of Dangerous Ideas – And Why We Need Them: On Clearing the FOG Radio, Lee Camp discusses the challenges of living in a country that is afraid or unable to face reality and why he still has hope for humanity. Listen here>>
The London Transition Gathering: 4 Days of Transition Movement Delights: The recent Transition Together ‘Transform Our Future’ regional gathering in London was a delightful affirmation of the power of community activism. The movement works to shift communities off fossil fuels and consumerism. Read more>>
How To Discuss Movies in Ways That Encourage Critical Thinking About War & Violence: Our friends and families love to watch movies. With the increasing amounts of violence and war being depicted, we can use pop culture as a chance to encourage critical thinking about the stories we’re telling about war and violence . . . versus peace and nonviolence. An activist group has gathered up some questions you can use on any movie to foster these kinds of meaningful – and critical – conversations. Read more>>
Amazon, Starbucks, And What it Means to Act Like A Union: The current wave of worker-led union organizing brings to mind lessons a young organizer learned supporting fast-food workers in 1980’s Detroit, as well as his experiences organizing over the next four decades with homecare and childcare workers in the public and private sector. Both of these efforts cemented the importance of centering workers in union organizing and made clear that our work as organizers is to help them as they learn what it means to build power by acting like a union. Read more>>
Can Co-Ops Revolutionize Your Community? Jeremy Corbyn Finds Out: Former UK Prime Minister Jeremy Corbyn speaks with those in Islington, UK, who have come together to solve the problems they face with precarious work, the cost of living and supporting each other. Watch here>>
Billionaires Contribute to Climate Change the Most — and Determine Climate Policy: It literally costs the Earth to live like a billionaire. Private jets, yachts, and those seemingly obligatory space missions all add up to an unsustainable carbon footprint that far exceeds that of the average citizen. The status of billionaires as beneficiaries of an unjust economic system places them among the top polluters on the planet. Any serious conversation about climate justice needs to target the superrich. Read more>>
Why We Need Nonviolent Journalism: Writers from Pressenza have released a new book Nonviolent Journalism, that reflects the first twelve years of collective effort of a non-profit organization run by volunteers from the fields of journalism and communication: Pressenza, an international press agency with a nonviolent approach. Twelve years of successes and failures, of experiments, alliances, and learning through dialogue with and the know-how of communicators, activists, and friends from academia serve as the basis for the principles, the tools and suggestions that could shape a nonviolent approach to communication and journalism at the service of those who may find it useful. Read more>>
Tell Dollar General To Keep Workers Safe: Write to Dollar General’s CEO now and demand immediate implementation of worker safety practices to reduce the overall number of armed robberies with a three-year goal of zero violent incidents against workers. Learn more>>
Ban AI Use In Weapons – Now & Forever: AI could make a mistake that could mean the end of the world. The integration of AI technology into weapons systems, like nuclear weapons, poses an unacceptable risk for one basic reason: AI will never be fool-proof. It can make mistakes and make decisions that are both morally and ethically questionable — and without any human oversight or intervention, those mistakes could mean global disaster. Tell US Congress to take a clear stand. Sign here>>
Finish This Sentence: #IAct4MentalHealth Because … Mental Health Awareness Month may be over, but our work as mental health advocates continues. Stories power the advocacy of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), so how would you complete this sentence? I #Act4MentalHealth because… Learn more>>
Tell Nationwide Insurance To Stop Cop City: Have you heard 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>>
Close Guantánamo! Join activists at the Next Monthly Coordinated Global Vigils for the Closure of Guantánamo, a notorious torture prison. (June 7) 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>>
