Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun
Today, September 21, marks the International Day of Peace. Around the world, millions of people will join city governments and community groups in rallies, vigils, and celebrations for peace. Yet, with ongoing wars in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and many other places, many activists are honoring the day with direct action aimed at stopping weapons financing and manufacturing, implementing an arms embargo, and demanding ceasefires. (We’ll have those stories for you next week.)
This day is also the start of the massive Campaign Nonviolence Action Days from September 21-October 2 with a whopping 5,209+ actions and events across the United States and around the world to “build a culture of peace and active nonviolence, free from war, poverty, racism, and environmental destruction.” The campaign includes everything from self care to mutual aid, and teach-ins to direct actions. It highlights just how much nonviolent action is happening around the world and how widespread the longing for a profoundly different culture is.
In more Nonviolence News, Hondurans took to the streets to support Xiomara Castro amidst a right-wing coup attempt, Nigerians are protesting to #EndBadGovernance, thousands demonstrated in Brussels and France against sexual violence, Colombian women are leading the campaign for information about forced disappearances, and 1500 Australians disrupted a military exhibition demanding a ceasefire in Gaza. Also, don’t miss the ‘wins’ in this week’s round-up. You’ll find reports on how Canada suspended arms sales to Israel, the Hague banned fossil fuel ads, and the United Kingdom blocked a coal mine using an important new legal ruling that climate impacts must be weighed in new projects.
One favorite story? I’ve got two. After former president Trump made derogatory remarks about Haitians in Springfield, OH, community members are packing Haitian restaurants in a show of protest and solidarity. (Way to turn the tables!) Meanwhile, in Dallas, TX, Black dancers are spinning and leaping on the picket line in protest of low wages, poor studio conditions, and unfair firing practices. They’re dancing circles around the management … even while on strike.
In solidarity,
Rivera Sun
Photo Credit: Hondurans march in support of Xiamara Castro’s government. Photo by Libre Party.
Jury Defies Judge And Refuses To Convict Palestine Action Activists: A jury at Bradford Crown Court has defied a judge’s attempts to rule out any legal argument about the imperative of disrupting Israel’s genocide in Gaza and has refused to convict four Palestine Action ‘actionists’ who caused over half a million pounds’ worth of damage to a Teledyne weapons factory supplying missile parts to Israel. Defendants represented themselves to communicate directly with jurors about their legal right to acquit. Read more>>
In a Win For the “Arms Embargo Now” Campaign, Canada Suspends 30 Arms Export Permits: Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly announced that she had suspended 30 arms export permits to Israel and that the government would oppose the transfer of 50,000 mortars to be produced at General Dynamics in Quebec and slated to flow to Israel via the US. Read more>>
‘This Is Historic’: Electric Vehicles Now Outnumber Petrol-Powered Cars in Norway: In what’s believed to be a global milestone, electric vehicles now outnumber gasoline-fueled automobiles on Norway’s roads, as the overwhelming bulk of new cars sold in recent months have been battery-powered. Last month, 94% of new vehicles sold in the oil-producing nation were electric. Read more>>
For the First Time, Part of the Ocean Has Been Granted Legal Personhood: By affording rights to its iconic waves, a Brazilian city is paving a new path to marine protection. In early August 2024, the coastal municipality passed a new law that gives the waves at the mouth of the Doce River, which runs to Brazil’s Atlantic coast, the intrinsic right to existence, regeneration, and restoration. Read more>>
The Hague Becomes World’s First City To Ban Fossil Fuel-Related Ads: Legislation makes it illegal to advertise fossil fuel products and services with a high carbon footprint. Read more>>
High Court Blocks Cumbria Plan for UK’s First New Deep Coalmine In 30 Years: The UK’s first new deep coalmine in 30 years will not be allowed to go ahead after a ruling in the high court. New fossil fuel projects are thought to be on shakier legal ground after the precedent set by a landmark supreme court decision that found the climate impact of burning coal, oil and gas must be taken into account when deciding whether to approve projects. Read more>>
MIT Divests From Israeli Arms Firm Funded Program: The divestment marks the first American-Israeli arms manufacturer partnership to end at an American university since “Israel” began its ongoing genocide in Gaza on October 7. Read more>>
Tens of Thousands On The Streets of Honduras To Support the Government of Xiomara Castro: Amid growing accusations of a right-wing led coup attempt, the Libre party called for a national mobilization to defend the government of Xiomara Castro. Read more>>
Dead Bunnies And PETA Call Out the EU For Its Dire Stance On Animal Testing: Campaign group PETA has provocatively highlighted how the EU is still allowing animal testing for human cosmetics. This is despite EU assurances to the contrary, and a so-called ‘ban’ which the group says is not fit for purpose. Read more>>
Nigeria’s Fight to #EndBadGovernance: Recent protests are the latest wave in an ongoing struggle against inequality and corruption. Reacting to the harsh living conditions facing citizens across Nigeria, the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest, also known as the “hunger protest”, commenced on August 1, with participants vowing to protest nationwide for ten days. Protesters — mostly young people aggrieved by the hardships and rising cost of living — mobilized online and offline. Read more>>
Campaign Nonviolence Action Days Kicks Off With 5,206+ Actions: From September 21, the International Day of Peace, to October 2, the International Day of Nonviolence, tens of thousands of people will take part in Campaign Nonviolence Action Days. With over 5,209+ actions, it’s a coordinated, collaborative experience of what a nonviolent world feels like. Even amidst the violence, war, harm, and destruction in the world, people are demonstrating that nonviolence is possible. Nonviolence is a huge toolbox, offering solutions, the actions with which to implement them, and the skills for taking care of one another as we push for widespread change. Here’s a glimpse of what’s happening. Read more>>
Investors Urge Banks To Cut Commodity-Driven Deforestation: Investment managers with a combined $8 trillion in assets under management are urging the banks in their portfolios to eliminate deforestation from their lending and investment practices. Read more>>
Young Climate Activists Ask US Supreme Court To Revive Their lLawsuit Against the Government: Young climate activists in Oregon have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revive their long-running lawsuit against the federal government in which they argued they have a constitutional right to a climate that sustains life. Read more>>
As Europe Reels From Flood Damage, Calls Grow for Big Oil to Pay for Climate Destruction: “We are deeply worried such events will get worse until oil and gas giants like Shell, Total, Equinor, Exxon, OMV, and ENI are forced to stop drilling for fossil fuels driving climate change,” said one campaigner. Read more>>
Your Retirement Investments Are Probably Fueling Climate Change: Discover how your retirement savings might be supporting the fossil fuel industry—and what you can do about it. During the episode, members of the Vanguard S.O.S. network and others are interviewed about the work they’ve been doing to push Vanguard to chart a new course away from climate catastrophe and toward truly sustainable and responsible investing. Towards the end, the focus moves to what action ordinary savers can take to clean up their investments and exert pressure on the firms which manage them. Read more>>
Humanity Must Choose a New Path to Avoid Rapid Ecological Breakdown, Lakota Spiritual Leader Says: The first tribally hosted World Wilderness Congress convening this week has an ambitious agenda—placing Indigenous knowledge at the center of global resolutions to protect biodiversity. “Either we face a lot of chaos, global disasters, tears from our relatives’ eyes … or we come together [and] unite as people of the world,” Arvol Looking Horse said. Read more>>
The Baristas Who Took Over Their Café: Baltimore’s 230-year-old tradition of workplace democracy is experiencing a revival. while worker cooperatives are barely known to most Americans, co-op-heavy cities like Baltimore offer glimpses at how they can empower workers and at the institutions it takes to grow and sustain the model. Read more>>
AT&T Southeast Strike Nears One Month, With California and Nevada on Brink of Walkout: Workers in nine Southeast states walked out on an unfair labor practice strike four weeks ago over accusations the telecom giant has been bargaining in bad faith, including engaging in surface bargaining, not sending representatives with real authority to the table, and reneging on commitments to bargain to lower health care costs. Read more>>
After Historic Union Vote, Chattanooga VW Workers Rally for ‘Record Contract’: “You’re the backbone of this plant, you’re the backbone of this company, and you deserve your fair share of the wealth that you create,” UAW President Shawn Fain told workers. Read more>>
Thousands of Autoworkers Protest in Brussels Amid Likely Audi Layoffs: Thousands of autoworkers protested in Brussels on Monday following recent news that Audi, a subsidiary of the German automaker Volkswagen, would phase out production at its plant there, which is expected to mean layoffs for its roughly 3,000 employees by the end of 2025. “Their anger is very legitimate, very understandable, especially since Audi is not very clear on its plans,” a local employment minister said. Read more>>
Dallas Black Dancers Fight for Their Union: Leave it to performing arts unions to make a picket line that grabs attention. The rally outside Dallas Black Dance Theatre included a drummer, line dancing, and spontaneous performances from the unionized dancers. Read more>>
‘Above The Poison’: Mohawk Land Defenders Refuse To Surrender Barnhart Island To New York: Akwesasne citizens disagree with elected leaders’ choice to accept US$70M payout, saying island is less contaminated by industrial waste from former GM, Reynolds Metals and Alcoa sites than the rest of their territory. For the land defenders who were arrested, reclaiming Barnhart Island goes hand-in-hand with protecting what’s left of their territory that is still healthy enough for them to gather medicine, hunt, fish, conduct ceremonies and heal. Read more>>
Springfield Residents Pack Haitian Restaurants in Solidarity After Trump Remarks: After Trump made racist comments about Haitians in Springfield, OH, local community members are organizing the city to pack Haitian restaurants to defy the lies and show solidarity with their neighbors. Read more>>
Native American Tribe Unveil Sculpture To Honor Irish Connection: Choctaw leaders have unveiled a sculpture in Oklahoma dedicated to their people’s connection with Ireland. The connection was founded on the gift – a donation made to Ireland in 1847. Read more>>
Apache Stronghold Takes Oak Flat Fight to Supreme Court: After walking two months across country, Apache Stronghold, a Native American advocacy group, has made a final legal plea to the U.S. Supreme Court to block the development of one of the world’s largest copper mines on sacred Arizona land. Read more>>
Activists Take Over Harris’ Campaign Office Demanding A Deportation Moratorium: The sit-in began when six Southeast Asian community members and allies attending a weekday canvassing session at Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign office sat down on the floor, held up signs and chanted: “Release One NOW! Moratorium NOW! Not One More!”. Read more>>
The Urban Gardens Where Gender And Climate Justice Grow: In Ecuador, urban farms have long been a way to create sustainable access to food. But they’re also helping women flourish as gardeners and entrepreneurs. Read more>>
Thousands Protest in France and Brussels to Denounce Sexual Violence: Protests rallied around Gisèle Pélicot, highlighting her trial as a symbol against rape and sexism. Thousands of people took to the streets in 30 French cities and Brussels on Saturday to protest rape and sexist violence and to support Gisèle Pélicot, a woman in her early 70s whose husband of 50 years is on trial for drugging her periodically and inviting dozens of men into their home to rape her while she was unconscious. Read more>>
“Women are Rebelling in Bolivia”: A Conversation with Julieta Ojeda of Mujeres Creando: Feminist organizer Julieta Ojeda talks about her grassroots work in Bolivia for abortion access and empowering feminist struggles from below. Read more>>
Women Who Search For The Disappeared Are Changing What It Means To Be a Victim: Most Colombians expected that the 2016 peace deal would lead to an end of disappearances, but the conflict has been reconfigured. New armed groups have emerged and pushed enforced disappearances back into the national discussion. Disappearances occur in many places and in many ways, but there is a common thread: the work of searching for the disappeared is feminized. This is true from north to south, in the more than 160 search collectives in Mexico to the Migrant Families Network in Central America to the iconic Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina. Read more>>
Pro-Palestinian Protesters Disrupt Australia’s Land Forces Arms Exhibition: The 2024 Land Forces Arms Exhibition in Naarm/Melbourne was met by three days of protest between September 11-13. Australian police used stun grenades and pepper spray on anti-war protesters who gathered outside an arms convention in Melbourne to demand a weapons embargo on Israel. Read more>>
Third Man ‘Self-Immolates’ To Protest Israel’s Gaza Genocide, US Complicity: Matt Nelson of Boston set himself on fire outside Israeli consulate, becoming latest individual in US to self-immolate to protest Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza being carried out with American weapons. Read more>>
Palestine Action Target Over Ten Barclays Sites Across The Country: Overnight, Palestine Action have targeted more than ten Barclays UK sites including branches, call centers and offices. The bank has been marked with symbols of their complicity in the genocide of Palestinians. Read more>>
Minnesotans Protest General Dynamics’ Role In Enabling Israel’s War Crimes: On September 14th, around 80 activists marched on the Bloomington General Dynamics facility to highlight the company’s role in facilitating Israel’s relentless attacks against occupied Palestine. Read more>>
South Africa To Sue US, UK For Complicity In Gaza Genocide: South African attorney Wikus Van Rensburg expressed concerns over the ongoing financial and resource support from the US to “Israel.” Which effectively enabled crimes against the people of Gaza. Read more>>
The Third World March for Peace and Nonviolence: On October 2, 2024, the International Day of Nonviolence, the Third World March for Peace and Nonviolence will depart from San Jose, Costa Rica, where it will return, after circling the planet, on January 5, 2025. Read more>>
Minneapolis Residents Are Building Yurts To Shelter Homeless Neighbors: While the city relies on encampment evictions, organizers are creating compassionate solutions for unhoused communities. Read more>>
Climate News (You Won’t Hear On The News): Broadcast TV hardly ever covers climate change, and rarely connects extreme weather to climate change and the fossil fuels causing it. So this group is helping the media connect the dots: Oil, gas, and coal pollution is causing record extreme weather. Read more>>
Banned Book Wagon Headed To Florida To Hand Out Banned Books: Banned Books Week is coming and the Banned Wagon is gearing up again to travel the country giving out free books in places where they’ve been challenged or banned. And yes, they’re coming to Florida. Read more>>
The Visionary Activism of the Long Civil Rights Movement: Historian Victoria Wolcott joins Stephanie and Michael on this episode of Nonviolence Radio to talk about her recent book, “Living the Future: Utopianism and the Long Civil Rights Movement.” Victoria, a history professor at the University of Buffalo, explores the long history of utopianism in the U.S. and its relation to nonviolence, specifically nonviolence as manifested in constructive program, that is, the active building of a nurturing and supportive community as an alternative to a discriminatory and oppressive one. Read more>>
In New AIDS Activist Memoir, Keiko Lane Aims to Articulate the Inexpressible: Keiko Lane was 16 when she joined ACT UP. Decades later, she describes how that activism was a kind of mutual aid. Read more>>
Anti-War Teach-In Network Launches: For generations, teach-ins have combined with direct action to propel movements for peace and social justice. Now, anti-war groups are launching an online teach-in network to foster knowledge far and wide. Read more>>
World Governments Are Using ‘Increasingly Harsh’ Laws Against Climate Protesters: Rather than safeguarding basic rights of freedom of expression, assembly and association, many countries are looking to outdated legislation or enacting new laws restricting peaceful protest and imposing disproportionate punishments. Read more>>
Tell President Biden: It’s Time To Make a Ceasefire Deal: This cycle of violence must stop — and the U.S. government has a key role to play in securing a ceasefire and ending it. Add your name to our petition to tell President Biden: You can’t build peace with bombs and bullets. End this crisis now. Take action>>
Sign & Share the Campaign Nonviolence Pledge: The Campaign Nonviolence Pledge invites people into the movement for a culture of active nonviolence … and connects them to tools, resources, and trainings year-round. Sign here>>
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>>
TidalWave2024 w/ Dissenters: Join the Dissenters’ annual membership conference, where young people from across the country will convene in Chicago for three days of connecting, learning, and taking action to build the movement to defund war and militarism. From October 25 – 27, Dissenters from across the country will arrive in Chicago to strategize about how they can organize young people in the heart of U.S. empire and build our power to wage anti-imperialist campaigns and dismantle the U.S. war machine. Learn more>>