Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun
How can you get the most out of Nonviolence News? In addition to savoring the 30-50 stories over your coffee, you can also use Nonviolence News as a discussion starter with friends, families, and colleagues. It’s common to talk about the news … but we rarely do it through the lens of nonviolence. Most of the articles in Nonviolence News don’t even mention the word – it’s up to us to articulate that everything from protests to debt relief to a SolarPunk bus tour (see this week’s Creative Action section) is part of the powerful, transformative field of practices, tools, and solutions that fall under the umbrella of nonviolence.
Here are 3 ways that you can read our stories and then share about them with friends.
Favorite Stories: Look for stories that stand out to you and explain why they’re so interesting. For example, I grew up on an organic farm in a French-speaking region … so one article that fascinated me was how the city of Paris worked to convert an upstream farming region to organic methods. The farm run-off from conventional practices had been polluting one of the city’s main water sources. As someone who cares about farming and is concerned about the urban-rural divide, this story showed me how a big city and a rural region can cooperate for a big systemic change that was previously unthinkable.
The Takeaways: Share a lesson, strategy tip, or action idea you learned from a story. For example, Myanmar recently held “Flower Strikes” calling for the release of political prisoners. Instead of just another boring protest, the use of a symbolic item – flowers – paired with the potent action of strike made me curious to learn more. In photos, marches, rallies, and shrines, people all over the country took action on the issue. The flowers swiftly fostered a sense of visible connection between the actions. It’s an idea that many of our issues could use.
The Big Picture: Scan the headlines, look for sweeping themes, and share the Big Picture with your friends. Are there a ton of labor strikes happening? Is climate action turning up the heat this week? Is there a worldwide crackdown on protesters? Notice and talk about the broad, thematic trends of what’s going on.
For example, so many good things happened this week! In Kenya, President Ruto capitulated to protesters demands to drop an appalling finance bill. Bolivians thwarted yet another coup attempt. Los Angeles approved medical debt relief for 150,000 residents. A Norwegian fund dropped investments in the US construction giant, Caterpillar, over concerns that it is bulldozing Palestinian homes in the West Bank. After 14 years, Julian Assange is now free. Amazon canceled plans to use natural gas, and instead will recommit to renewable energy sources.
Share these stories … our friends – and our world – need to hear them.
In solidarity,
Rivera Sun
Photo Credit: Locals in Myanmar mark the 79th birthday of jailed civilian leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and stage a protest against the military regime. (Photo: CJ)
One Woman Just Brought The Entire UK Fossil Fuels Industry To Its Knees: Grassroots action working (again). After seven years of protest and direct action, a landmark decision by the Supreme Court (UK) on Thursday 20 June has raised major barriers to all new fossil fuel projects across the UK, including the proposed new coal mine in Cumbria and the Rosebank oil field in the North Sea. Read more>>
Kenya’s President Ruto Says Finance Bill To Be Withdrawn After Deadly Protests: Kenya’s President William Ruto has said he will not sign a finance bill that led protesters to storm Parliament in anger over rising costs, adding that the bill containing tax hikes would “be withdrawn”. Read more>>
Bolivian President Thanks People After Facing Down Failed Coup Attempt: Regional organisations rally behind Bolivian government as troops and armoured vehicles gather in the capital. The country’s largest labour union announced an indefinite strike in defence of Arce’s government. Videos circulating on social media appear to show crowds of people chasing away pro-coup forces. Read more>>
Shasta Indian Nation Gains 2,800 Acres of Land Back: In largest land return in state history, California is making an effort to return more than 2,800 acres of ancestral homeland to the Shasta Indian Nation in the northwestern end of the state, the governor’s office said in a statement on Tuesday. The land transfer is part of the state’s efforts to reconcile with Native communities that have suffered from centuries of discrimination and exploitation. Read more>>
SXSW Cancels US Army & Defense Contractor Sponsorship Over Gaza: South by Southwest Festival has discontinued its partnership with the US Army and the defense contractor RTX Corporation for its 2025 festival in response to concerns from numerous artists who withdrew from the 2024 event, the festival announced on Wednesday. “After careful consideration, we are revising our sponsorship model,” the festival said in a statement on its website’s FAQ page. “As a result, the US army, and companies who engage in weapons manufacturing, will not be sponsors of SXSW 2025.”Read more>>
Los Angeles County Approves Medical Debt Relief For Thousands: Los Angeles County supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to buy up and forgive millions of dollars in medical debt as part of a comprehensive plan. The $5 million public health investment is estimated to help 150,000 residents and eliminate $500 million in debt. Read more>>
Norwegian Fund Drops Stake In US Construction Giant Over Palestinian Home Demolitions: Norway’s largest private pension fund, Kommunal Landspensjonskasse Gjensidig Forsikringsselska (KLP), has dropped its stake in US construction giant Caterpillar Inc, citing “concerns” the company is contributing to the destruction of Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank. Read more>>
After 14 Years of Persecution, Julian Assange Will Go Free: Julian Assange was released — granted a plea deal with the U.S. Justice Department, according to court documents — in spite of these institutions. He was released because day after day, week after week, year after year, hundreds of thousands of people around the globe mobilized to decry the imprisonment of the most important journalist of our generation. Without this mobilization, Julian would not be free. We must honor the hundreds of thousands of people across the globe who made this happen. Read more>>
Amazon Cancels Plans To Tap Natural Gas Pipeline For Data Center: The company’s decision not to use natural gas for the Oregon data center came as a victory to Emily Johnston, a core organizer with Troublemakers, the group behind the downtown protest. But she called for a broader commitment from Amazon to further distance itself from fossil fuels. Read more>>
Hawaii To Decarbonize Transportation In Youth Climate Change Settlement: On Thursday, Hawaii agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by 13 young people alleging the state had violated their constitutional rights with infrastructure that adds to greenhouse (GHG) emissions, exacerbating climate change. In the settlement, the state agreed to decarbonize its transportation system by 2045. Read more>>
With ‘Flower Strikes,’ Citizens Call For The Release of Political Prisoners In Myanmar: “Flower Strikes,” community protests, and solidarity actions were held on June 19 across Myanmar to push for the release of detained Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and over 20,000 political prisoners. “Flower Strikes” featured individuals donning flowers on their heads or carrying flowers to honor Suu Kyi. Individuals also made banners greeting Suu Kyi on her birthday and promoting the theme of the protest: “Roses That Never Bow Down.” Read more>>
‘Pivotal Moment’ – US Surgeon General Declares Gun Violence a Public Health Crisis: U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a Surgeon General’s Advisory on firearm violence on Tuesday, calling it a “public health crisis.” The advisory marks the first time that the nation’s leading physician has published a warning on gun violence, which now joins the ranks of tobacco, skin cancer, and opioids as the subject of a surgeon general’s publication. Read more>>
Political Violence Is Surging, But There’s a Playbook To Counter It: Hardy Merriman helped prepare Americans for a Trump coup attempt in 2020. In this conversation, he offers insights into overcoming threats to the next election. Read more>>
Kenya’s Gen Z Shows Power of Digital Organizing: This is a powerful moment for digital activism. The protests have seen significant participation from young Kenyans who are using digital media to organize and voice their opposition. A great number of those driving the protests are Generation Z (often referred to as Gen Z) – individuals born roughly between the late 1990s and early 2010s and characterized by digital prowess and social consciousness. They have created this organic, grassroots movement which has used platforms, like social media, to mobilize and coordinate efforts quickly. Read more>>
The Biggest Organizing Wave You Never Heard Of: Nobody would pick the U.S. state of Virginia to be a trade union organizing hotspot. But that’s what increasingly is happening, despite the fact that many of the unions and certainly the national AFL-CIO are oblivious to it. Virginia is seeing a significant and remarkable expansion of its small but wily labor movement. In a labor movement urgently in need of new union organizing experimentation it would certainly be of value to consider the situation in Virginia as one guide to expanded organizing work across the South. Read more>>
This Summer, US Workers Are Organizing to Beat the Heat: Workers — both union and non-union — are winning AC, safety breaks and, in one groundbreaking case, heat pay. Read more>>
Illinois Amazon Drivers Strike over Unfair Labor Practices: “I work for one of the richest men in the world and I’ve had to skip meals to make sure my child eats and my bills are paid,” said Ebony Echevarria, a striking Amazon driver. “That’s just not right. My co-workers and I are fighting for respect, decent pay, and safe working conditions for us and for all Amazon workers.” Read more>>
In San Diego, Frustration With High Rates And Poor Service Is Sparking Campaigns To Take Over Investor-Owned Utilities: Activists pushing San Diego to take over the city’s investor-owned utility recently submitted petitions bearing more than 30,000 signatures from residents who want the City Council to let voters decide the matter this fall. Advocates say a municipal takeover of San Diego Gas & Electric would deliver cheaper rates and a faster, more affordable, and more equitable transition to clean energy. Still, the measure faces long odds from skeptical council members who have twice rejected similar proposals. Read more>>
Panamanian Workers Are Being Punished For Anti-Mining Protests: Panamanian business groups and large transnational capital are trying to take revenge on the National Union of Workers of Construction and Similar Industries (SUNTRACS), says Saúl Méndez, general secretary of the union. For several months, the state-owned company Caja de Ahorros has frozen 18 bank accounts of the union, one of the largest in the country, which represents more than 25,000 people. Read more>>
Gulf South Solidarity Week Is Off And Running: Yesterday, frontline activists from Texas and Louisiana joined the Summer of Heat at the headquarters of some of the planet’s biggest fossil fuel investors: BlackRock, Bank of America, KKR, MUFG and Mizuho. There were pikachus, a dance number in Times Square, and a lot of banners, chants, songs and energy. Check out the blog post for more updates, photos, and more! Read more>>
Climate Activists Blockade Citigroup’s Doors With Model Pipeline: Tensions were high outside of Citigroup’s global headquarters on Friday morning as climate activists blockaded the doors for an hour and hundreds of employees waited in the plaza to get to work. The demonstration marked the end of the second week of the “Summer of Heat on Wall Street,” a sustained, direct-action campaign targeting financial institutions, with a particular emphasis on Citi for its robust financing of fossil fuel projects, despite stated commitments to a clean energy transition. Read more>>
Outrage Over Kidnapping of East African Pipeline Opponent: Campaigners are calling for an investigation into the kidnapping and beating of Stephen Kwikiriza, a vocal opponent of a controversial drilling and pipeline project in Uganda. Read more>>
An Organic Farming Boom With Parisian Roots: With upstream farms polluting its water source, Paris decided to help those farmers go organic, propelling a boom in chemical-free farming across an entire region. Read more>>
A Living Seed Bank Is Preserving the Amazon’s Incredible Plants: The concept of Camino Verde is to cultivate native species in a “living seed bank” that safeguards their future as well as actively promoting their sustainable use throughout the region and other parts of Peru as a source of livelihoods for communities. One of its key arguments is that the Amazon rainforest can be restored within our lifetimes. Read more>>
On Juneteenth, Harlem Rises For Housing: New York State Sen. Cordell Cleare and other elected officials joined church leaders, students, and community organizations to protest displacement in Manhattanville. See photos>>
The ‘Grandmother of Juneteenth’ Explains The History: Opal Lee is an activist who advocated for Juneteenth to become a federal holiday. Lee later gained the title as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth”. NBC News’ Zinhle Essamuah talks to Lee about her activism and the significance of the holiday. Read more>>
‘Sovereign Flex’: How a Tribe Defied Officials Through Cannabis: The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians says opening a dispensary is an act of sovereignty. But North Carolina officials have sought to restrict sales. Read more>>
An Essential And Timely Guide To Organizing Against Antisemitism: A new book brings much-needed clarity to the debate on antisemitism, and how the fight against it is tied to our collective liberation. Read more>>
Love, Marriage and Rebellion: Exploring Feminist Themes In India’s Angika Folk Songs: Cultural heritage like folk songs, tales, oral history, and sayings encapsulates the unique lifestyle, preferences, struggles, and values of its practitioners. Among women in India, songs and tales are used as a medium to express discontent with the status quo and to assert their individuality. Read more>>
LGBTQ+ In Peru Prepare To Resist Anti-Trans Policies: In Peru, Trans people have been officially categorized as ‘mentally ill’. In response, LGBTQ+ rights organizations called upon people to march on June 29, 2024, as part of Pride Month. This will enable their “visibility to grow stronger and demonstrate to the State that we require a country with greater justice and equality.” Read more>>
Breaking Barriers: The Political Empowerment of Bolivia’s Indigenous Women: The political inclusion of one of Latin America’s most marginalized groups reflects an unprecedented change, but many challenges remain. Read more>>
Queer Activists Are Making BDS a Key Question of Pride This Year: LGBTQ people are pushing Pride events to reject pinkwashing, endorse BDS and show solidarity with Palestine. Read more>>
It’s Time to Get Plastic Out of Periods: Most menstrual products contain plastic, and more ecological options are pricey. But the “sustainable menstruation” movement is finally gaining traction. Read more>>
Australian LGBTIQ Organizations Push To Ensure Equality For Trans People: LGBTIQ organizations across New South Wales have welcomed the findings of a parliamentary inquiry that recommended MPs pass an equality bill which would strengthen and add protections for LGBTIQ people. Read more>>
Detroit Wayne State U Faculty/Staff For Justice In Palestine Formed: On June 4, hundreds of students, faculty, alumni and community members rallied on the campus of Wayne State University located in the Midtown District of Detroit. The purpose of the gathering was to send a clear message to the recently appointed President Kimberly Andrews Espy who ordered a Palestine solidarity encampment raided and destroyed by campus police on May 30. Metropolitan Detroit embodies the largest population of people of Arab and Middle Eastern descent in the United States. Read more>>
The “Uncommitted” Vote Campaign Pressured Democrats on Gaza. What’s Next? Organizers offer an inside look at the hard-fought “Uncommitted” campaign to pressure Biden on Gaza. Read more>>
How Democratizing Universities Would Supercharge The Pro-Palestine Divestment Movement: If university boards were controlled by the communities they impact, we could redirect billions of dollars away from war and corporations that harm people and the planet. Read more>>
Australians Hold 37th Consecutive Week Of Protest For Palestine: Isolate apartheid Israel, protesters say on 37th continuous week of protest for Palestine. For the 37th consecutive week protesters took to the streets around the country (Australia) on June 22–23 to protest Labor’s complicity in Israel being able to continue its genocide in Gaza for nine months. Read more>>
Two US Military Airmen Seek To Become Conscientious Objectors Over Gaza War: Months after US airman Aaron Bushnell set himself on fire to protest against the war, two others are protesting. Read more>>
Youth Demand Block Central London – After Warning the Government: Hundreds of Youth Demand supporters blocked Oxford Circus, London to demand a two-way arms embargo on Israel and for the incoming UK government to halt all new oil and gas licences granted since 2021. Read more>>
Egypt’s Protests For Palestine Have Their President Nervous: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi oppresses pro-Palestine protests due to his fears that speaking out about the Palestinian issue during protests might motivate the public to rally against him. Read more>>
Peace Work Is Needed To Stop The Disaster Unfolding In Argentina: In this interview, IPRA secretary-general Maria Teresa Muñoz, an Argentine professor, judge and peace educator discusses the impacts of Argentina’s recent election. Read more>>
The Behavioral Scientists Working Toward a More Peaceful World: In the last 10 years, the number of people who have been forcibly displaced due to war, conflict, and human rights violations has more than doubled. And as of May 2023, the number of refugees worldwide is the highest ever recorded. Conflict-related civilian deaths are on the rise, and 2021 saw the highest number of homicides in the previous 20 years. Behavioral scientists are among the many working to reverse these trends. Read more>>
The Ingenious ‘Network Tree’ Defying Gaza’s Connectivity Blockade: When the combination of big tech and politics failed the Palestinian people by overlooking the internet disruptions affecting Gaza, grassroots technology known as the “network tree” came to the rescue. Utilizing the humblest of elements such as buckets, smartphones, and e-SIMs, this ingeniously simple technology provided much-needed connectivity to a community fragmented by war, in the face of severely damaged infrastructure. Read more>>
Clowns, Reverse Boycotts and Involuntary Walkathons – How Communities Make Political Violence Backfire: In communities across the United States, ordinary people are already organizing and mobilizing to nonviolently confront a broad spectrum of political violence that ranges from incidents of police brutality, to attacks on election officials and school board members, to attempts by white nationalist groups to disrupt events celebrating diversity and social inclusion. Read more>>
How Indigenous Peoples Are Using Summer Solstice Traditions To Resist: Both the words “solstice” and “resist” derive from the Latin verb sistere, which means “to stop” or “to stand still.” Interestingly, some acts of resistance by Indigenous peoples to preserve their traditional ways of life revolve around the solstice. Read more>>
URBÁNIKA’S SolarPunk Bus Tour And Video Course On the Commons: The SolarPunk Bus will tour Latin America as a mobile school for learning about and organizing commons. Read more>>
Finding Joy In Resistance And Prison: As she begins a 229-day prison sentence in Germany, Catholic Worker Susan Crane talks about why she has devoted her life to resisting nuclear weapons. Read more>>
Starhawk Reflects On Principles For a Welcoming Movement: If we’re honest, we’ll have to admit that the movement at present is often not a welcoming place. How do we build a truly welcoming movement, based on ‘calling in’ rather than calling out? A movement that’s not just challenging injustice, but proposing an alternative that’s more fair, more equitable, more life-affirming and better for all? How do we create a movement that can be regenerative, bringing in more life, more vibrancy, more diversity, more health, more pleasure? Read more>>
Here’s Why the News Didn’t Tell You What Protesters Really Wanted: A “protest paradigm” identified by news researchers four decades ago helps explain why protest coverage often fails to inform the public and limits the impact of the protests…numerous studies examining coverage of social protests—including both left-wing and right-wing protests, as well as a wide range of issue protests—have isolated common characteristics of relevant news stories, [including] focusing on protest events rather than protest issues, positioning protests as contests between protesters and the police rather than their intended targets, and privileging officialdom’s views of the protests rather than a more diverse array of informed perspectives. Read more>>
Rev. James Lawson: Gandhi & Nonviolence: This month, we lost a giant in the field of nonviolence and one of the architects of the US civil rights movement. To honor the Rev. James Lawson, we recommend watching these short remarks he delivered in 2009: “I’ve come to the conclusion… that life itself is powerful and that the gift of life is a gift of power. And the big issue is, do we help shape our children, our babies, to use that power destructively or to use that life power that they have from day one in ways that enlarges them, that gives them a sense of freedom, enables them to make good choices….Philosophically, I like to say that nonviolence is the power of creation that is planted in us human beings uniquely.” Watch here>>
Disruptive Movements with Frances Fox Pivens: Listen to all eleven episodes of the podcast series that accompanies the book, Practical Radicals: Seven Strategies to Change the World. Horizons would highlight this episode, that explores the strategy of disruption with one of its leading theorists and practitioners, the scholar and activist Frances Fox Piven. The conversation starts by distinguishing protest from disruption, two types of action that are often confused. They consider famous instances of disruption, like the mass actions on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation that blocked the Dakota Access Pipeline, and lesser-known ones, like the 1975 “Women’s Day Off” that helped win equal rights for women in Iceland. The conversation covers the potential for using disruptive power today, the ways that too much organization can stifle movements, and the essential role of exuberance in movement politics. Listen here>>
Building Solidarity in an Era of Silos: “Fractures are widening. In an age of increasing polarization and division, how can we build bridges across lines of difference and strengthen solidarity? What strategies do we need to sustain connections across the growing chasms of ideology, experience, power, and privilege?” Listen here>>