Image: Remix by Nonviolence News from photos by Franz P. Sauerteig and UnratedStudio on Pixabay
Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun
Let’s start by looking around the world. South Koreans are celebrating after the Constitutional Court officially removed President Yoon from office for attempting to declare martial law in a power grab. Millions of people used mass protest to stop him and get him impeached by the legislature; the court ruling was the final step in the process. Millions of Yemenis took to the streets on International Quds Day to protest the US-led war. Puerto Rico protested against university shutdowns amid broader austerity measures. Belgium‘s two largest unions launched a general strike against the new administration’s austerity plans.
In the United States, a wave of surging protests is rocking the country. As many US residents are reminding global citizens, the country is geographically enormous and getting people all in one place is challenging. That said, hundreds of thousands of people – possibly millions – are mobilizing in local actions. USPS held 500 rallies for postal workers and supporters. Other protests were held by the largest EPA union, thousands joined a march in Kansas City, Missouri; and the annual Trans Day of Visibility brought out crowds and supporters in numerous locations across the United States and beyond. On top of all that, #HandsOff rallies on April 5 (today) are scheduled in over 1000 locations.
In addition, thousands of people took action at over 277 Tesla showrooms across the United States and around the world during the March 29 Tesla Takedown Global Day of Action. In the US, where the movement has faced threats of deportation over the unaffiliated acts of vandalism, the protests were decidedly nonviolent. People lined the streets for blocks. Bands, music, and chants could be heard. In Seattle, one group flooded the street with people dancing the ‘Unelected Slide‘. Was it coincidence that the very next day, Elon Musk made a point of stating that he’d be stepping down from DOGE (as required) at the end of May to focus on running his company? Musk also played a shell game by selling the social media platform X to his other company xAI at a $10 billion loss from when he bought Twitter for $44 billion in 2022. Is he feeling the pinch from losing SpaceX contracts and Tesla stock and sales plummets? He probably shouldn’t have meddled in democracy by wasting $25 million trying to defeat Wisconsin judge Susan Crawford. In a resounding win, Wisconsin voters rejected billionaire rule and oligarchy by voting down Musk’s candidate.
Trump has set off a wave of economic defiance in Canada with retaliatory tariffs, a consumer Buy Canadian campaign, merchants overhauling their supply chains to get rid of US products, canceling subscriptions, terminating government contracts with US companies, and halting cross-border trips and vacations in the US. In Alberta, Canada, 26 unions representing 300,000 workers formed a united pact bracing anticipated cuts to workers pay and benefits amidst Trump-cased economic instability.
It makes me think about what combined international and US economic defiance of Trump policies might accomplish. A story from Turkey – where mass protests are opposing the Erdogan government – offers another clue to wise strategy. Two million people took to the streets in renewed protests to demand the release of the imprisoned Istanbul mayor. Opposition leaders are boldly expanding the call for boycotts of Erdogan-supporting businesses, even in the face of an attempt to shut down the boycott. Maybe US-based boycott coordinators could use a clear demand like this: resist the Trump administration or we’ll get people to stop buying your products.
We’re seeing signs that the US-based resistance is shifting gears from rapid response actions to coordinating sector-wide strategies. This is a significant – and promising – glimmer that institutions are combining their power, resources, leverage, and clout in united efforts. Rutgers University Senate proposed that the Big 10 Academic Alliance form a “Mutual Defense Compact” to share legal and financial resources to protect the First Amendment Rights that Trump is attacking. Federal worker unions are increasingly mobilized as hundreds of thousands of their members lose their jobs and Trump tries to rescind their right to collective bargaining. Labor unions are mobilizing against migrant raids. A project called DONE – Department of Nonprofit Efficiency is coordinating a stop-gap effort to help nonprofits pivot language and federal grants programs away from banned words so they can continue doing the same work with different semantics. Lawyers, judges, and courts are increasingly working together against the slippery slope into lawlessness. Law school deans made a joint statement that Trump’s attack on big law firms is unconstitutional. The American Bar Association has already made statements against the administration’s other unconstitutional behaviors and a pattern of disregard for the law.
Judges keep halting, blocking, and reversing Trump’s efforts. Consumer Finance Protection Bureau workers were reinstated and further firings blocked. A US district judge temporarily halted deportations to third countries without chance to challenge – an important protection for the legal residents and undocumented immigrants who are being snatched off the street by ICE and sent to El Salvador. A federal judge protected 350,000 Venezuelan refugees from having their protected status revoked – an important ruling that might have impacts on other refugees and asylum seekers under threat of having visas revoked. Parts of the attacks on law firms were blocked by a judge. Voice of America secured a reprieve which even some of the critics of VOA say is an important rebuke of Trump’s infringement on congressional power. There’s a clear pattern here: Trump (and Musk) are doing illegal things, over and over again. Lawyers, courts, and judges are halting them over and over again.
As ICE abductions, detainments, and deportations target well-loved organizers like Jeannette Vizguerra and Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez, pro-Palestinian students like Rumeysa Ozturk, wrongfully-deported workers like Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the already-widespread resistance is surging. Thousands marched for immigrant rights in Dallas, TX. Thousands more marched on Cesar Chavez Day in Central California. A new campaign is calling on allies to put their bodies on the line with direct action to stop ICE abductions, Columbia University students are standing up for their rights, and Chicago coalitions are planning a May Day to Cinco De Mayo (May 5) Week of Civil Disobedience. Many refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants face extreme hardship and death if deported back to countries of origin. This threat isn’t limited to the United States. In Pakistan, Afghan refugees, particularly women, are decrying the extreme danger the Pakistani government would put them in by sending them back to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
With Israel violating the ceasefire in Gaza, pro-Palestinian actions are rising once again. Norwegians held a stark and solemn funeral procession for Gazan children. Malaysians set off colorful flares outside a McDonald’s to oppose the US-backed genocide. Israeli youth drummed and marched and chanted “don’t say we didn’t know; ethnic cleansing is on all of us”. At the Tunisia-Mali football game, a pro-Palestinian supporter made an unexpected play by dashing onto the field and tearing down the ad banner of an Israeli-supporting company. In the United Kingdom, demonstrators reversed the arrest of their friend by surrounding the police van and refusing to let it depart until their fellow protester was let go. (Maybe a useful tactic for ICE resisters, too.) The Chevron boycott campaign is picking up supporters who won’t buy gas at the company fueling the genocide. Australian protests are picking up steam again. And Palestinian protests are continuing to oppose Israeli bombings and attacks, call for a lasting peace, and speak out against Hamas.
Explore the Nonviolence News Research Archive. It’s always full of intriguing stories that we can’t fit in this weekly article. For example, have you heard about Liberia’s decades-long efforts for reconciliation after their two civil wars? How about the girl that challenged school segregation 100 years before Brown vs. Education? Or how the civil rights movement made violence backfire through their commitment to nonviolence? Explore these stories and so many more here>>
Here’s a few more wins to savor and celebrate: The Prairie Band Potawatomi regained 1500 acres of stolen land from Illinois; Spirit Lake Nation regained 680 acres in North Dakota from the US Department of Fish and Wildlife. California launched a statewide pesticides alert system – a vital health protection for farmworkers. And gun violence is down 23% in the United States – which is still too high, but is a relief from the shocking post-pandemic heights and a good sign that violence prevention efforts and tighter gun control laws are having an impact in the states that support them.
Let’s look at a few creative actions to spark your imagination – and maybe a chuckle. Activists disrupted a Republican fundraiser to sarcastically thank the Trump supporters for all that they’re doing. Dressed as an ‘Ethics Committee’, CODEPINK did a review of Senator Tom Cotton’s Zionist lobby kickbacks in Operation Cottonball. While the action took place on April Fools Day, the peace activists stated, “We only wish we were joking” about the pro-Israel influence. April 1st brought out a wide-range of pranks against the Trump administration – although its behavior has been so outrageous that many believed the joke reports, including Move To Amend’s warning about the new White House Initiative called Democracy, Brought to You By… This corporate sponsorship program allows billionaires and multinational corporations to officially sponsor U.S. laws, government agencies, and even entire branches of government. Another spoof report announced that a DC sewage plant is changing its name to Trump Water Treatment Plant and installing a gold toilet.
In Colorado, demonstrators managed to oppose hate speech while upholding the value of Free Speech as they rallied in opposition to a white nationalist talk at the university. With the paltry 40 attendees sitting amidst 40 empty chairs and vastly outnumbered by the 200 people outside protesting, the community made it loud and clear that the community at large does not support white nationalism. What if every time a racist tried to give a speech, the crowd attending the other speeches just outside the door outnumbered the people inside? Would the hate-mongers realize that they’re doing a better promo job for the values of diversity and inclusion than for their own cause?
In solidarity,
Rivera Sun
On Saturday, April 5, I’m guessing that the open rates on our newsletter are going to plummet. Why? Because people will be in the streets! (Including me.) This is a good problem to have. Instead of just reading about nonviolent movements, Nonviolence News supporters are out there joining history. Help us send out the newsletter again midweek to the readers who were marching. An extra $50 will cover it. Thanks! Donate here>>