Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun
How much injustice, harm, and destruction takes place in our world because democracy remains an aspiration rather than an actuality? Democracy and nonviolence go hand-in-hand. From Gandhi’s independence movement (which he called Indian Self-Rule) to the Philippines People Power Movement to keep the dictator from stealing the election, nonviolent action has been critical in making democracy more fair, just, and functional. Nonviolent action is a tool that people turn to when their government fails to reflect the needs (or desires) of the populace. Often times, the public has no other form of effective and immediate political power.
If you look at this week’s Nonviolence News story, you will see this dynamic playing out in a number of the stories. In Kenya, protests have broken out because the impeached governor refuses to leave office. In Indonesia, cities have been rocked by protests against a scheme to revision the election laws – even as the country heads toward the polls in November. In the United Kingdom, Extinction Rebellion held a 3-day encampment protest at Windsor Castle, saying that the climate crisis shows the urgent need to “Upgrade Democracy” to reflect the will of the people (who want immediate climate action) and the needs of the ecosystems and Earth (which are largely left out of political structures).
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis joined mass protests in multiple cities demanding a ceasefire and hostage release. They are angered by Netanyahu’s repeated rejection of deals that would have led to the return of the hostages held by Hamas. The protests were followed by a day-long general strike that brought Israel to a standstill. Although pundits were quick to say it “achieved nothing”, the protests and strike broke the illusion that Israelis support their government’s approach.
In more Nonviolence News, the Baloch, a suppressed group that resides in a region across Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan, continue to organize against forced disappearances despite heavy repression of their historic demonstration. South Korean women are protesting Deepfake sex crimes. Greek students took action against their university’s complicity in the fighter jets bombing Gaza. Germans demonstrated against their government’s plans for military involvement in the Ukraine-Russian War. And Barcelona residents are rising up against overtourism in their city.
In the Knowledge Section of our full round-up, you’ll find two interesting history pieces. One is about the Chicano Moratorium Against The Vietnam War and what happened when 20,000 Chicanos marched in Los Angeles for peace. The other is about the resistance campaigns of Ancient Rome. You may have heard of Spartacus’ gladiator revolt (violent) and even the Plebians’ general strike in 494 BCE. But did you hear about how the traveling performers of Dionysus leveraged their popularity for better wages and protections on the road?
Let’s just say that nonviolent action’s history is long and deep, its present-day uses widespread, and its future vast with infinite potential.
In solidarity,
Rivera Sun
Photo Credit: Thousands protest in Tel Aviv. Photo credit: Flash90
Black Cemetery Campaign Wins Important Ruling At The Supreme Court Of Maryland: In its finding, the court acknowledges what BACC has been asserting for years: Moses African Cemetery “was a historic Black burial place that contains interments of many individuals, including formerly enslaved persons and their families” and “it appears likely that human remains are still interred in the land today, which is currently part of a property known as the Westwood Tower Apartments.” The campaign is now calling on politicians to end the desecration and development at the site. Read more>>
Portland Maine City Council Unanimously Votes To Divest From Companies Doing Business In Israel: The resolution brought forth by Councilor April Fournier drew a large and emotional crowd to City Hall. The divestment list includes Chevron, Volvo, Boeing and 82 other companies. Councilor Victoria Pelletier said she had received more than 3,000 emails about the proposal before the meeting. Read more>>
California City’s $550m Deal With Chevron Could Be a National Model For Environmentalists: California environmentalists have a new playbook for beating Big Oil. In mid-August, this Northern California city extracted a half-billion dollar payout from Chevron, one of the most powerful companies in the world. It didn’t require a lawsuit, or a refinery disaster, or years of negotiations. Read more>>
Economic Justice Victory for Automobile Technicians in New York State: As of today, New York State will ensure that Technicians employed at Dealerships will earn equal pay for equal work. New York State will abolish the two-tiered compensation system imposed by the highly profitable Vehicle Manufactures. It also effectively increased the weekly earnings for both union and non-union Technicians. Read more>>
$800 Million And Nothing To Show – How Activists Derailed Silicon Valley Billionaires’ Dream City: Plans for a utopia in Solano County, California, were temporarily scuttled after community advocates pushed back against the project. It’s a rare instance of tech titans not getting their way. Read more>>
Painters Union To Divest From Israeli Firms: The president of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, Jimmy Williams Jr., says his union is directing its massive international pension fund to divest from the Gaza genocide. Read more>>
Ultium Workers in Tennessee Win Their Union as Majority Sign Cards to Join the UAW: A majority of workers at Ultium Cells in Tennessee have signed cards to join the UAW and the company has agreed to recognize their union. Ultium, a joint venture of General Motors and LG Energy Solution, did not interfere with the decision by its 1,000 employees to join the UAW. The workers organized without facing threats or intimidation and won their union once a majority of workers signed cards. Read more>>
Trinidad & Tobago Will Remove Christopher Columbus’ From Coat of Arms: Officials in Trinidad and Tobago are redrawing the island’s coat of arms for the first time since its creation in 1962 to remove references to European colonization in a move that many are celebrating. Christopher Columbus’ three ships — the Pinta, the Niña and the Santa María — will be replaced with the steelpan, a popular percussion instrument that originated in the eastern Caribbean island. Read more>>
Prescribing Nature Works, New Study Shows: More than 8,000 people were helped to take part in activities including nature walks, community gardening, tree planting and wild swimming. It is thought to be the largest such project in the world so far. The results showed that after taking part in the schemes, people’s feelings of happiness and of life being worthwhile jumped to near national averages, while levels of anxiety fell significantly. Read more>>
Best First Day Ever? Seniors at an NYC College Learn Their Tuition Will Be Free: Although free tuition was part of the university’s legacy for over a century, things changed in 2013. Cooper Union faced a financial crisis and began charging some students tuition, with a plan to return to the free education model by 2028. However, a $6 million gift this summer from three alumni donors (along with cost-cutting and fundraising measures) accelerated the timeline for the class of 2025 — restoring the school’s longtime mission to make education “as free as air and water.” Read more>>
Illinois Homeowners Can’t Be Stopped From Planting Native Plants Gardens: Illinois passed a law that says homeowners associations can’t stop residents from planting native gardens, a move aimed at boosting biodiversity and environmental stewardship. Read more>>
Behind the Mass Student-Led Protests That Have Rocked Indonesia: Since August 22, cities across Indonesia have been rocked by student-led protests against a proposal to revise the laws governing regional elections, which are due in November. They are outraged by President Jokowi’s push to have his son run for Vice President by arbitrarily changing laws. Read more>>
Repression Backfires in Pakistan, As Oppressed Baloch People Hold Historic Mass Protest: When authorities cracked down on a one-day national gathering in Balochistan, they galvanized a movement fighting to end enforced disappearances and killings. Read more>>
Baloch Supporters Demonstrate in Amsterdam on International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances: On the occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the Netherlands chapter of the Baloch National Movement (BNM) organized a poignant demonstration in Amsterdam. They held banners, placards, and flags symbolizing the Baloch National Movement and the quest for Balochistan’s independence. Read more>>
Kenya Pupils Faint From Tear Gas While Protesting: Several pupils from Meru Primary School collapsed after police officers lobbed tear gas into the school compound during anti-Governor Kawira Mwangaza protests. Meru residents have been protesting against Mwangaza, asking that she leave office following her recent impeachment. Read more>>
Barcelona Residents Protest Tourists: There are plenty of reasons to worry about overtourism in some of the world’s most frequently visited cities, from skyrocketing CO2 emissions to increased gentrification and rising housing costs pushing out longtime residents. Last month, protesters took to the streets of various Spanish cities to demonstrate against their economic reliance on tourism, from Barcelona to Mallorca, sporting signs like “Tourists go home” and even spraying tourists with water guns. Read more>>
Thousands of Hotel Workers Launch Labor Day Weekend Strike Action: Some 10,000 hotel workers began on Sunday a Labor Day weekend strike after contract negotiations with hotel operators Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott broke down, the Unite Here union announced. Hotel workers in more cities were expected in the coming days to join the strikes that affected some 24 hotels in eight cities on Sunday, as workers push for higher wages and against “COVID-era staffing and service cuts,” per a union statement. Read more>>
Courage On The Strike Line: Pensacola Workers Stand Strong Against AT&T: These workers, standing firm outside the AT&T worksite, are part of the largest strike currently unfolding in the United States, a powerful labor struggle involving over 17,000 CWA members across nine southeastern states. Their picket line is just one of four in the far-west of Florida’s panhandle. Read more>>
Con Ed Contractors Demand a Fair Cut: Cleaners contracted to clean utility giant Con Edison’s facilities are paid as little as $16 dollars an hour while the company rakes in billions. Read more>>
830 Resident Physicians Strike: Nearly 830 resident physicians at the University at Buffalo walked off the job and plan on striking for four days. They’re demanding better compensation, benefits, and working conditions. Earlier this year, billboards on the 190 in Buffalo claimed that UB resident physicians are “Overworked. Underpaid. Exploited.” Read more>>
Striking Nashville Drivers Jam Airport Roads: A coalition of rideshare drivers kicked off Labor Day weekend by staging a strike at the Nashville International Airport. Around 100 Uber and Lyft drivers filled up the airport rideshare lot but refused to accept rides, aiming to deal a blow to Nashville’s $30 billion tourism industry on a holiday weekend. The Tennessee Drivers Union, which represents drivers from more than 14 countries, says it’s the largest strike of its kind to occur in the Deep South and has vowed to continue staging periodic strikes until its demands are met. Read more>>
Upgrade Democracy Holds 3-Day Protest At Windsor Castle: Extinction Rebellion set up a protest encampment at Windsor Castle to demand that democracy be updated to deal with the climate crisis. “Over three days, we came together as a vibrant community to explore innovative ways to upgrade democracy. Our political system is broken, corrupted by powerful interests that prioritise profit over the planet. By gathering near to where the Magna Carta was signed, we emphasised our commitment to a fairer, more inclusive system.” Read more>>
Meet The Modern-Day Captain Ahab Held In Jail: Meet the modern-day Captain Ahab held in jail for trying to save whales not kill them. The fly-on-the-wall documentary star was arrested under Interpol warrant for his actions against the Japanese hunting fleet. Read more>>
Voices of Vanguard’s Impact and Visions for a Livable Future: They held the largest climate change and environmental justice protest ever at Vanguard – the largest investor in fossil fuels. But that’s not all they’ve done this summer. Read more>>
How Summer of Heat on Wall Street Is Using Disruption To End Fossil Fuel Financing: A new climate campaign is testing whether relentless civil disobedience can stop Citi from backing the fossil fuel industry. Read more>>
How To Free The Soil By Depaving: There is a way to reestablish balanced ecosystems by a process called depaving: the act of removing pavement and freeing up the soil below. Depave, a Portland-based nonprofit promoting the “transformation of over-paved places,” put together a guide to help people depave in their communities. Read more>>
‘Peace Vessel’ Returns To Vancouver B.C. Protesting Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion: The tiny boat has protested for peace around the world, sailed into war zones, and crossed military lines to deliver humanitarian aid. Now it’s protesting against a pipeline expansion. Read more>>
Tenants At Aurora Apartments Speak Out Against Venezuelan Gang Rumors: Dozens of tenants at the Edge at Lowry Apartments in Aurora are speaking out against rumors that Venezuelan gangs have taken over their complex. This issue was blown to national panic reaction by the racism and bias of right-wing media influencers, including Trump. In reality, the community of residents has only one Venezuelan member and says the problem is their landlord, who isn’t maintaining the building properly. Read more>>
Reclaiming Food Sovereignty: Feed Black Futures, a Black, queer-led organization grounded in principles of abolition and liberation, is building power through Black food economies and food sovereignty. Read more>>
Artist Creates ‘Wooden Quilt’ From Pieces Of Emmett Till’s South Side Home: New Orleans-based artist Jean-Marcel St. Jacques drew on centuries of Black spiritual and sustainable practices to create the artwork, which will be displayed at a Woodlawn museum honoring the teen and his mother. Read more>>
Lahaina Strong Leads Community Rebuilding Efforts After Maui Wildfires: In the wake of the devastating wildfires that ravaged the Northwest coast of Maui, Hawaii, the Lahaina community has come together under the banner of Lahaina Strong, a grassroots, mutual aid initiative dedicated to rebuilding their homes, their future, and way of life. Read more>>
In Vermont, Abolitionists Are Fighting a Prison-Building Boom: Why is “progressive haven” Vermont spending millions on new prisons? Abolitionists like Jayna Ahsaf are fighting back. Read more>>
Mothers Rise Up & Children Deliver Message to Parliament: The UK Labour Party faced another rally outside parliament – but this time, not quite what they’d expected. So, a group of children (and the mothers) from campaign group Mothers Rise Up gave the Labour Party a lesson in what it needs to do to protect all our futures – not least about the controversial Rosebank project. Read more>>
Kolkata Rape and Murder Case Live Updates: West Bengal health department suspends former principal Sandip Ghosh. Junior doctors of different medical colleges resume their protest march to Kolkata Police headquarters. Read more>>
Seoul Women Protests Deepfake Sex Crimes: South Korean women gathered to demand immediate government and National Assembly action against online sex crimes, particularly the distribution of pornographic deepfakes. According to the South Korean news outlet Hankyoreh, the group criticized the government’s delayed and short-lived responses to previous online sex crime scandals, such as the Soranet case and the Nth Room incident. They called for thorough investigations to expose the truth, punish offenders, and implement effective preventive measures.Read more>>
Sacramento Offers Int’l Solidarity With Indian Women’s Protests: A group of Indian Americans organized a protest in Greater Sacramento on August 25, demanding urgent action to address gender-based violence following the rape and murder of a female medic in Kolkata. Read more>>
Can One Woman Unite the Baloch People In Peaceful Resistance? With more than 70 people reportedly killed by rebels this week, Dr Mahrang Baloch’s effective and non-violent protests against Pakistan’s government are rapidly gaining support. “We started mass mobilization in schools as well as going door-to-door to provide the youth … with political education,” says Dr Mahrang Baloch. Read more>>
Hundreds of Thousands Take The Streets of Israel After More Captives Found Dead In Gaza: A general strike called by Israel’s Labor Union has seen businesses and public services shut down across the country in protest against the government. Read more>>
Greek Students Protest University’s Complicity With Israel’s Supply Of Deadly F-35s From Lockheed Martin: Students in Greece have taken a stand against a university’s complicity with Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. Namely, they’ve called out the university’s ties to Lockheed Martin – the company that provides Israel with its F-35 war planes. Read more>>
Thousands Flood New York City Streets For Palestine: On Labor Day, Sept. 2, day 331 of Israel’s genocide, thousands of people gathered at Union Square in New York City in an outpouring of rage against the U.S.-backed massacres of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Read more>>
It’s Strike Two As Rutgers Suspends Students For Justice In Palestine (Again): Rutgers University has suspended the New Brunswick SJP chapter for the entire upcoming academic year. “We recognize this as an act of repression and anti-Palestinian racism, and therefore refuse to adhere to the guidelines of the suspension.” Read more>>
The Freedom Flotilla Ship Handala Makes Waves: During a two-week midsummer port call at the Tino Rossi Harbor in Corsica’s capital city Ajaccio, the Norwegian-flagged Handala—an international solidarity ship sailing toward Gaza—generated considerable attention and interest, with the help and strong support of local organizations. Read more>>
Amnesty Blasts UK ‘Gesture Politics’ After Suspension of Less Than 10 Percent Of Arms Export Licenses to Israel: “The decision means that while ministers apparently accept that Israel may be committing war crimes in Gaza, [the government] is nevertheless continuing to risk complicity in war crimes, apartheid – and possible genocide – by Israeli forces in Gaza,” the organization’s Chief Executive, Sacha Deshmukh, said on 3 September. Read more>>
Pro-Palestine Students March Against Political Neutrality Policy: 150 University of Minnesota students, staff, faculty and community members rallied and marched in response to the Board of Regents vote to impose political and institutional neutrality on the university’s endowment fund. This vote was pushed by new University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham. It effectively makes any sort of divestment from Israel, or weapon manufacturers and other entities complicit in war crimes and human rights violations, impossible. It takes away any accountability that administration has to its students, to its staff, or to its faculty. Read more>>
Families of Hostages Plan To Boycott Oct 7th Memorial: A group representing the families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza plans to boycott the government’s commemoration of the first anniversary of the October 7 attack, frustrated by the slow progress in negotiations to bring back their loved ones. Read more>>
Veterans Across US Will Demonstrate For Peace In Gaza: “September Days of Solidarity with Palestine,” will see members of Veterans For Peace from California to New Hampshire conduct protests and educational events in 25 cities September 1-7. Activities will vary from hanging banners over expressways to conducting nonviolent actions at military installations to prevent business as usual. Those “civil resistance” actions will be conducted to nonviolently enforce several U.S. laws broken every time weapons are manufactured or shipped to Israel. Read more>>
Anti-War Protests in Germany Against Government Military Intervention In Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Large anti-war demonstrations were held across Germany this weekend against the government’s military intervention in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Demonstrators gathered to express their opposition to the German government’s military and diplomatic policies. Read more>>
Creatures of Ava Promises a Nonviolent Video Game: A new video game promises a nonviolent gaming experience focused more on exploring and engaging with a complex world rather than fighting your way through the game. Read more>>
Arts & March For Peace In Kerala: The 3rd World March For Peace & Nonviolence in Kerala, India, launched an art contest as part of its efforts. More than 75 participants expressed their anguish in the calamities caused by wars and violence in various parts of the globe using their skill in art as a vehicle. Read more>>
Pioneering the Use of Media to Promote Peace: Search for Common Ground founder John Marks utilized principles of social entrepreneurship to build the world’s largest peacebuilding NGO. He also pioneered the global production and dissemination of fiction and non-fiction media to promote peace and reconciliation. Read more>>
Ice-Cream And ‘Nans Against Nazis’ – Uplifting Acts In The Face of Far-Right Riots: Even amid threats to safety and anxiety about what might follow, there have been remarkable acts of solidarity and uplifting moments. From the collective cleanup after the Southport riot to an ice-cream seller handing out free cones to police officers, here are some of the acts of kindness big and small that revealed some of the best of Britain. Read more>>
Why We Should Honor the Chicano Moratorium Against the War: On this date 54 years ago, the largest ethnically focussed action in the movement against the Vietnam War took place—offering an important example of the power of a people united. Read more>>
Building A Labor Movement In The United States To Win Worker Rights: For Labor Day, Clearing the FOG Radio speaks with Rand Wilson, a long time labor organizer who began his career with Tony Mazzocchi and the Oil Chemical and Atomic Workers Union and who has been involved in many campaigns to build worker power in the United States. Wilson speaks about the current challenges for workers, including the way contracts are negotiated, labor laws that prohibit strikes, antiquated union structure and union busting by employers. Listen here>>
Gladiator Rebellions And Bread Strikes — Ancient Rome’s Labor Unions Revealed: Strike: Labor, Unions, and Resistance in the Roman Empire by Sarah Bond, an associate professor in the classics at the University of Iowa, reveals how groups of workers in ancient Rome organized and collectively resisted in favor of demands, and often faced political opposition and legislation to undermine their efforts by Roman leaders. Editor’s Note: Not all of these examples were nonviolent, but the collection includes many interesting struggles that were. Read more>>
This Labor Day, Remember That MLK’s Last Campaign Was for Workers’ Rights: Most Americans today know that Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. was killed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968, but few know why he was there. King went to Memphis to support African American garbage workers, striking to gain recognition for their union. Read more>>
The Story of The Shadowcliff Home of Fellowship of Reconciliation: As FOR’s need for more office and meeting space grew, they looked to move out of their cramped quarters in Manhattan. Conrad Lynn, a civil rights attorney who worked in real estate, identified Shadowcliff as a potential home base in 1957. FOR paid less than the asking price and acquired the mansion for $35,000. After Eleanor Manville Ford’s death, a live-in translation service occupied the 44-room estate. FOR filled the house quickly. At one time, some of the 40 beds on the second and third floors had to be converted into offices during the Vietnam anti-war protests. Read more>>
Movement Media Organizations Are Coming Together To Build Power: Waging Nonviolence and 13 other values-aligned organizations have formed the Movement Media Alliance, a new coalition of social justice-driven journalism platforms aimed at sharing resources and transforming the news. Read more>>
David Hartsough’s Lifelong Devotion To Nonviolence: Nonviolence Radio interviews David Hartsough about his life of activism. From his Quaker upbringing to his participation in the civil rights movement and beyond, David explains how the power of nonviolence has guided his life. Read more>>
A Departed Labor ‘Saint’ Offers Vital Insights For This Moment: Staughton Lynd had been advancing the cause of workers all the way to the end of his life at 92. This article looks at Lynd, worker-led unionism, and the total rejection of restraints on it. Read more>>
Stop Fossil Fuel Rubber Stamping: Climate activists are planning to attend the September 19 meeting of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and shut down this rubber stamping agency at a critical moment for our climate and the US fossil fuel export industry. Wherever you are, sign here to call on FERC to stop all new fossil fuel permits. Learn more>>
Get Involved With the CODEPINK Palestine Campaign! CODEPINK activiss are committed to supporting Palestinian liberation from abroad, using the demands of Palestinians as their guideline for organizing. The priority at CODEPINK is to educate and empower their audience to take action for Palestine. Learn more>>
Email Citi Executives – Demand They Stop Financing New Coal, Oil, and Gas Projects: NYPD has arrested hundreds of climate activists for demanding that Citibank stop financing new coal, oil, and gas projects. Email Citi executives today to support the activists and urge Citi to stop bankrolling new coal, oil, and gas projects. Take action>>
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>>