Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun
One of the powers of nonviolence action is its ability to embody the full range of human emotion. Beyond the expression of justifiable outrage, activists can express worry, fear, compassion, vision, sorrow, hope, and even humor. In South Africa, climate activists mourned the plans to build two new coal mines in an already heavily polluted region. Their somber procession through Johannesburg led to the company’s chief executive coming out to meet with them, and being handed their list of demands sourced from nearby residents.
In Minneapolis, community members held a block party after they successfully shut down a polluting foundry, reminding us that joy and celebration are essential nourishments for groups that often need to rise again to meet other challenges. In India, couples are crossing caste lines and using love as resistance to centuries-old discriminatory social views and practices. In the United Kingdom, an imam met anti-Muslim protesters with food and empathy to try to stop the hate-filled violence of recent weeks.
What depths of emotions could be powerful in the change you’re seeking in the world?
In more Nonviolence News, 10,000 protesters in France formed a Water Village to oppose plastic-lined reservoirs for big agribusiness, pro-Palestinian protests demanded an arms embargo on Israel, 17,000 communications workers went on strike in the Southeast region of the United States, West Papuans are sounding the alarm about deforestation, Indian doctors held a nationwide strike as thousands protested against the rape and murder of a female doctor, and Indonesia’s unions are trying to reclaim their public power utility.
One article that especially caught my interest was an interview on the “Housework of the Movements”, part of a series on the often-unseen and unaccounted for domestic, childcare, spiritual, and healing work that allows activists to engage in direct action, go to protests, or do the time-consuming work of organizing. It’s all part of our movements and deserves to be seen, recognized, and honored.
In solidarity,
Rivera Sun
Photo Credit: South African climate activists mourning and protest two new open-pit coal mines.
Minneapolis Climate Activists Celebrate Shutting Down Major Polluter: The day after the Smith closure, the Shut Down Smith Coalition, a group of local organizations that had joined together to fight to close the foundry, held a block party in the local Cedar Field Park to celebrate the major gains that organizing and struggling in the streets had gained for the community. Read more>>
What Conservation Coalitions Have Learned from an Aspen Tree: A “rag-tag” group of stakeholders garnered protections this year for a vast aspen grove on Colorado’s Kebler Pass. Other groups across the West are using their approach to build alliances across the political spectrum. Read more>>
Elbit Seems To Have Stopped Work In Cambridge: Weekly protests wear on over actions by Israel. The Cambridge office of KMC Systems, a subsidiary of Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems, is virtually empty because “99.9 percent” of employees work from home, police say, and there are other signs that the company is leaving the city. Read more>>
Kenyan Peasants’ Revolution Against the IMF: On June 25, 2024, over 400 Kenyan police officers arrived in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as part of the Multilateral Security Support (MSS) Mission, ostensibly to “restore order” in the country. Ironically, on the same day, a significant protest erupted in Kenya, where outraged youth demonstrators stormed the Kenyan Parliament. Read more>>
Bangladesh Student Protesters Plan New Party To Cement Their Revolution: Student demonstrators who ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have rejected calls from Bangladesh’s two main political parties for quick elections and are considering creating their own party to cement in place reforms, according to interviews with four protest leaders. Read more>>
Nationwide Strike By Indian Doctors Over Kolkata Medic’s Rape, Murder: Hospitals hit by 24-hour shutdown as protests demanding protection for health workers and condemning violence swell. Hundreds of thousands of Indian health workers and their supporters have launched a nationwide strike. Read more>>
University of California Bans Encampments, Imposes Protest Rules: It follows similar restrictions from Cal State in the wake of last spring’s pro-Palestinian demonstrations. New UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons said “the directives are consistent with our existing practices” in a video shared Monday with the campus community, noting that Cal already has rules prohibiting setting up tents, sleeping overnight outside campus buildings, blocking walkways or entrances, or using masks to conceal one’s identity while violating campus policy. Read more>>
Civil Society Groups Back FCC Effort to Confront Deceptive Deepfakes: “It’s time for the FCC to protect voters from deepfakes,” said one advocate. A week after the Federal Elections Commission announced it would not take action to regulate artificial intelligence-generated “deepfakes” in political ads, more than 40 civil society groups on Thursday called on the Federal Communications Commission to step in to ensure U.S. voters will be informed about fake content used by campaigns as they prepare to go to the polls. Read more>>
Scenes From a Sacrifice Zone: South Baltimore Residents Fight Back Against Industrial Pollution: At the coal plant building owned and operated by rail giant CSX Transportation, no more than a city block away from residents’ homes and local businesses, a buildup of methane gas inside one of CSX’s coal silo towers led to the thundering explosion. It galvanized many community members to join the efforts to stop toxic pollution. “I want everybody in this community to be able to breathe clean air, and it’s time to say enough’s enough.” Read more>>
Oil Kills Disrupts Germany’s Airports: Four German airports were disrupted on Thursday 15 August after eight people entered the airfields and glued themselves to taxiways as part of Oil Kills – an international uprising to end oil, gas, and coal by 2030. The uprising is calling for governments to commit to signing a Fossil Fuel Treaty. Read more>>
Resisting AI, France’s Water Village & South Africa’s Mourning: Extinction Rebellion’s Global Newsletter shares stories of how South Africans are mourning and protesting a coal mine, how Australians just ended the longest-ever blockade of the world’s biggest coal port, and how Italian climate activists disrupted a technology conference over AI’s impacts on environment, the 10K-person French resistance camp over water and agricultural impacts, and more. Read more>>
All Eyes On Papua Campaign: Indonesian environmentalists are sounding the alarm about how palm oil corporations are threatening the forests in West Papua. Indonesians are taking a page from the ‘All Eyes on Rafah’ viral campaign to raise awareness about the threat to forests in the West Papua region. Watch here>>
Disaster Survivors Call For DOJ Climate Probe Of Oil Industry: People who lived through wildfires, floods and hurricanes want the federal government to file criminal charges against fossil fuel companies. Read more>>
Food Banks Prevented 1.8M Metric Tons of Carbon Emissions Last Year: Food banks play a crucial role in keeping communities fed across the globe. Another vital but lesser-known benefit? They’re helping to fight climate change, with a recent impact report outlining the link between food banks and a reduction in carbon emissions. Read more>>
Weeks 8-10 of Summer of Heat on Wall Street: In the past 3 weeks, there have been another 7 civil disobedience actions targeting the global headquarters of Citibank. 3 weeks ago, faith leaders were arrested at the headquarters for chaining themselves inside the doors. On Friday, hundreds of immigration justice advocates marched to the HQ; 15 were arrested for engaging in civil disobedience. Read more>>
Over 1,000 UAW Members Go On Strike at Cornell University: After months of negotiations, over 1,000 UAW members have walked out on strike at Cornell University, as the university has failed to present a fair package and has not bargained in good faith, stalling and retaliating against protected union activity by the workers. Read more>>
Indonesian Unions Struggle To Reclaim Public Power Utility: For more than a decade, unions in Indonesia have been pursuing a legal strategy to defend the public electricity company PLN (Perusahaan Listrik Negara) from the expansion of predatory power purchase agreements (PPAs) from for-profit coal companies known as independent power producers (IPPs). Pushed by the Asia Development Bank and neoliberal policymakers, this slow-drip privatization has turned out to be a disaster for PLN, piling on debt while, since 2005, doubling the price of electricity. Read more>>
The Debt Collective Takes Over Magazine In Special Issue: Alone, our debts are a burden. Together, they make us powerful. Introducing The Debt Collective’s issue takeover. The issue takeover offers incisive analysis and strategic intervention, presenting an essential framework for organizing against the financialization of everyday life. Alone, our debt is a liability. Together, it’s our leverage. Read more>>
17,000 AT&T Workers Strike Over Unfair Labor Practices Across Southeast: CWA has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board against AT&T for not bargaining in good faith, engaging in surface bargaining, and not sending representatives to the bargaining table with the authority to make decisions. Read more>>
‘Trump’s a Scab’ Chants Ring Out at DNC as Shawn Fain Rips Republican Nominee: The United Auto Workers president called Donald Trump and his running mate “two lap dogs for the billionaire class who only serve themselves.” Read more>>
Teamsters Deliver Strike Notice; Canada Rail Delivers Lockout Notice: The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference today (Aug. 18) served a 72-hour strike notice to Canadian Pacific Kansas City, saying the union will walk out at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 22, barring a last-minute labor agreement. Canadian National Railway, meanwhile, announced it had delivered a formal 72-hour lockout notice. Read more>>
Nurses Strike At UI Health, a Near West Side Hospital Close To The DNC: About 1,000 nurses at one of Chicago’s busiest hospitals are striking for better pay. The hospital is about a mile from the DNC. “One of the reasons we’re striking is the security here is awful,” Emma Stone, a nurse in the intensive care unit at the Near West Side hospital, said Monday in a field with dozens of other unionized nurses, as their colleagues picketed around the hospital across the street. “It’s very scary as a nurse to think like I could get shot or stabbed.” Read more>>
Meet the Couples Upending India’s Caste-Based Marriages: In stark contrast to the billionaire Ambanis’ wedding, some Indians are subverting patriarchy, caste, and class in their ceremonies. Read more>>
Racial Justice Defunded: A flurry of funding that went to Black nonprofits after George Floyd’s 2020 murder is being pulled back amid a right-wing backlash. In 2024, Black nonprofits say funders and foundations are in retreat. They are either reducing racial equity granting or watering down the language of Blackness and anti-racism or both. Earlier this year, at the behest of the Black Equity Collective, over 100 Black-led organizations signed an open letter to the philanthropic community, calling on it to not just stand firm in the face of the conservative onslaught, but to keep going. Read more>>
Imam Reaches For Common Humanity Amidst UK’s Social Unrest: Earlier this month the UK experienced a wave of violent riots, primarily driven by far-right groups after the stabbing of three young girls at a dance class. This tragic event was quickly followed by false claims spread on social media, that the attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker, fueling anti-immigration sentiment. As tensions rose, protesters targeted the Abdullah Quilliam Society mosque in Liverpool. However, instead of responding with fear or anger, Imam Adam Kelwick chose a different path. With remarkable courage and empathy, he and his community members crossed the police line to meet the protesters—bringing not anger, but home-cooked food and a willingness to listen. Read more>>
Rewriting Fantasy Tropes on Race and Economy: Fantasy writer Jordan Ifueko speaks about how her new book upends racial stereotypes and subverts tropes about essential and domestic workers. Read more>>
In India, Thousands Protest Rape & Murder Of Local Doctor: Thousands took to the streets of Kolkata in India early Thursday to condemn the rape and murder of a local doctor. Protests have swelled as people demand justice for the victim, and an end to violence against women more broadly. Read more>>
DNC Protests Begin: ‘Reproductive Justice Means Free Palestine!’ These activists won’t let the Democrats claim to be champions of women’s rights while women are killed in the US-backed genocide in Gaza. On Sunday, Aug. 18, one day before the beginning of the Democratic National Convention, protestors rallied in downtown Chicago at a march organized by Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws: Coalition for Reproductive Justice & LGBTQ+ Liberation. Read more>>
Capital Pride’s Pro-Palestinian Statement Of Solidarity Sparks Controversy: Group issued 4 ‘commitments’ in the run-up to this year’s Pride festival. The group behind Ottawa’s annual Pride festival is being both celebrated and condemned for making four pro-Palestinian “commitments” in a statement in the run-up to this year’s festivities. Read more>>
Arizona Puts Proposition 139 On Abortion Rights To November Vote: Arizona’s abortion rights showdown as record-breaking support puts Proposition 139 on November ballot. As Arizona’s abortion rights amendment heads to a vote this November, the state’s largest-ever petition drive signals a pivotal moment in the battle for reproductive freedom. Read more>>
On Eve of DNC, ‘Not Another Bomb’ Rallies Demand US Arms Embargo on Israel: “Palestinians in Gaza cannot wait until after the U.S. election while bombs are dropping and burning their loved ones alive,” said one campaigner. Read more>>
As Gaza Death Toll Tops 40,000, Congress Urged to Block New Weapons to Israel: “U.S. arms transfers to Israel have fueled unimaginable suffering in Gaza, including staggering levels of civilian harm,” said one embargo advocate. Read more>>
Chicago DNC Met With Thousands of Pro-Palestine Protesters: Tens of thousands of protesters — as part of the “March on the DNC 2024” coalition — are rallying and marching through the city to demand the U.S. ends aid to Israel. The more than 200 groups making up the coalition say they’re also fighting “for the rights and liberation of oppressed people and against the exploitation of workers.” Read more>>
‘History Is Watching’: Gaza Doctors Urge Harris To Back Israel Arms Embargo at Democratic Convention: “We are here to deliver a policy that saves and improves lives,” Uncommitted National Movement co-founder Abbas Alawieh said in opening remarks at a press conference on the sidelines of the DNC. Read more>>
Uncommitted Delegates Launch Sit-In After DNC Rejects Request for a Palestinian Speaker at Convention: Delegates from the Uncommitted National Movement and their allies launched a sit-in protest Wednesday night outside the convention hall in Chicago after the DNC refused to honor their request to let a Palestinian American speak onstage, despite allowing family members of an Israeli American hostage to address the convention. Read more>>
Amnesty International Condemns “Unthinkable” US Approval of $20bn in New Weapons To Israel: In light of this latest action by the Biden administration, Amnesty International urges the U.S. Congress to take urgent action to uphold U.S. and international law by blocking the sales, including through the introduction of a joint resolution of disapproval. Read more>>
Huge Palestine March at DNC: As the Democratic National Convention began, thousands held a large march for Palestine. Watch here>>
Civil Groups Rally Against Joint Military Exercise With US: The protesters from the civil groups Solidarity for Peace and Reunification of Korea (SPARK) gathered near the presidential office in central Seoul, where the defense ministry is also headquartered, to call for peace on the peninsula. Read more>>
‘Students For Justice In Palestine’ Coalition Unites Arizona Campuses In Face Of Legislative Repression: In response to attacks on pro-Palestinian activism from the Arizona State Legislature and Board of Regents, Students for Justice in Palestine chapters across the state have formed a united front to challenge our universities’ complicity in genocide. Read more>>
‘Summer School’ Activists Plan Pro-Palestinian Protests At US Colleges: Coordination and strategy are being ramped up despite academic suspensions, doxing attempts and arrests. Student activists are planning a fresh wave of pro-Palestine protests at US colleges this fall, boosted by a “summer school” led by organizers over the break, ramping up coordination and strategy in the wake of police crackdowns on campuses this past spring. Read more>>
Residents Demand City of Fremantle Sticks To Its Nuclear Free Policy: Supporters of Stop AUKUS WA and Nuclear Free WA gathered outside Fremantle Town Hall on August 14 to present a 400-strong petition to the Mayor and Council. The four-part petition requests the City of Fremantle “Call on the Commonwealth Government to ban the berthing of nuclear-powered or -armed submarines at Stirling Naval Base given its proximity to a large urban population”. Read more>>
Football (Soccer) Fans Are Organizing Against the Far Right: ‘You can’t turn up to anti-fascist demonstrations then just walk away.’ “Football isn’t the first thing you’d think could bring different communities together,” says Chadwick, speaking to Novara Media. “But it opens a lot of doors.” Read more>>
Unsilencing the Desert: How communities around the world are preserving their endangered music and balancing the downsides of cultural tourism. The key is community decision-making and consent. Efforts to protect community rights should precede efforts to protect only the music itself. Read more>>
Holy Sh*t This Ad Is Powerful’: UAW Says It Knows How to Defeat Trump and the Billionaire Class: “This is brilliant,” said author Naomi Klein in response to new United Auto Workers ad. “It’s also the message we need to be sending non-stop.” Read more>>
‘Walking Therapy’ Groups Are Stepping Toward Better Mental Health: Research shows walking and talking with intention relieves stress, loneliness and burnout. Now, therapist-guided group walks in London are getting their steps in. Editor’s Note: We usually focus on nonviolent action, but this is a wonderful example of how to practice nonviolence toward yourself, too. Mental health, healing work, and wellness are all part of the field of nonviolence. Read more>>
From Malta To Gaza, A Freedom Flotilla Report: The Freedom Flotilla is headed to Gaza to break the siege. Here is an interview with peace sailors on the Malta boat the Handela, including speakers Ann Wright, Yesamin Acar, Tania Safi, and Thiago Avila. The video includes a 16 year history of the 33 boats who have attempted to break the siege of Gaza. These sailors are incredibly brave as they risk death as they attempt to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza. Read more>>
Housework of the Movement Series Pulls Back The Curtains On Movement Care: The “Housework of the Movement” series examines the behind-the-scenes work on which social movements rely. It seeks to show who does this work and why we don’t always see it. This episode speaks with Adrienne Williams, an Amazon organizer. Read more>>
The Hiroshima Peace Declaration On 79th Anniversary Of Atomic Bombing: If, after the war, Japan had abandoned our Peace Constitution and focused on rebuilding our military, the city of peace Hiroshima is today would not exist. Standing here, we can all feel our predecessors’ determination to eliminate the scourge of war, trusting in the justice and faith of peace-loving people around the world.” Read more>>
What Other Countries Can Show USA About It Gun Violence Crisis: With under 5% of the world’s population, the U.S. has 40% of the world’s civilian-owned guns, as well as a comparatively higher number of gun deaths per 100,000 people than peer countries. Read more>>
New Guide! Harnessing Our Power To End Political Violence: Political violence is not new, but it’s been on the rise. Political violence is an assault on democratic values and the rights and freedoms of people across the country, and it’s increasing. But we can stop it. Ordinary people have always made it clear: political violence ends here. For generations people have worked together nonviolently to protect each other, and to increase support for their causes. Learn more>>
Ban Ammo Vending Machines: A Texas-based company has begun installing AI-powered vending machines that sell ammunition in grocery stores across Alabama, Oklahoma, and Texas. They’re already planning to expand to California, Florida, Hawaii, and beyond, potentially bringing this dangerous technology to a store near you. Add your name to join tens of thousands of other voices in urging Congress to ban the installation and use of ammunition vending machines in grocery stores nationwide. Learn more>>
Feminists Fight Fossil Fuels March and Action: Today, million of people die each year from fires, extreme heat, floods, famine and air pollution. The cause is the same: corporate greed and a callous disregard for life, this time by the fossil fuel industry and its Wall Street bankrollers. Join feminists as they march to end this. (Aug 25) Learn more>>
Teach Labor History: Young people should learn that progress towards greater justice has occurred only when people have organized together and fought for it. Find lessons for teaching about labor organizing at the Zinn Education Project. Learn more>>
Teach Truth Pop-Up Displays During Banned Books Week: In this election year, the Zinn Education Project developed an interactive Teach Truth pop-up display to raise awareness about the threat of anti-history education laws and book bans. While supplies remain, you are welcome to request a pop-up display box for events such as Banned Books Week (September 22–28). We ask that table hosts describe their plans for using it and commit to sharing photos and stories about the response to the display. Learn more>>
#NoWar 2024 Conference – Resisting US Militarism: Ending all wars means closing all military bases. The United States of America, unlike any other nation, maintains a massive network of foreign military bases around the world, over 900 bases in more than 90 countries and territories. Join World BEYOND War in this global conference on resistance to US militarism. Learn more>>
Global Week of Action for Peace and Climate Justice: The first annual Week of Action for Peace and Climate Justice will address the links between war, militarism and climate injustice, promoting grassroots action and policy making for peace and climate justice. This year’s theme is divest from war – invest in climate justice!(Sep 21-28) Learn more>>
Campaign Nonviolence Action Days: From Sept 21 to Oct 2, 2024, (Int’l Day of Peace to Int’l Day of Nonviolence), join tens of thousands of people in creatively building a culture of peace rooted in active nonviolence. Last year, people held over 5,000 actions, events, and marches across the USA and in 20 countries. Over 60,000 people participated in these events. In 2024, join us in advancing peace and nonviolence, and addressing the entwined issues of violence, war, poverty, racism, and environmental destruction. (Sep 21 – Oct 2) Learn more>>
Write To Your Local Editor And Utilities & Fossil Fuels: Will you submit a letter to the editor to your local news outlets to help expose the relationship between utilities and the fossil fuel industry, and demand these companies stop burning our future? Learn more>>
Demand Reparations During #BlackAugust: Black Lives Matters writes “Reparations are about Black liberation. Reparations are about the demand for resources needed to repair the historical and ongoing damage to descendants of Africans enslaved in the United States. For decades, the prevalence of systemic racism has usurped resources from Black communities. They’ve unjustly imprisoned members of the community, placed obstacles in our path to thrive, and pulled opportunities whenever they’ve gotten the chance. We have been fighting an uphill battle for over 400 years since slavery.” Tell President Biden, it’s time for reparations. Learn more>>