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Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun
Powerful and interesting actions happen when people realize it’s up to us to protect what we love. When we stop waiting around for someone else to take action, we find that there’s a lot we can do – and probably should have done much earlier. In the United States, where there’s a terrifying sense that that ‘no one is coming to save us’ from our homegrown authoritarianism, we’re seeing people taking extraordinary and courageous actions that illustrate this dynamic.
Governor Pritzker of Illinois directed state officials to block the Trump administration’s access to personal autism data, protecting individuals privacy and safety amidst concerns of eugenics and discrimination. Seeing the US’ funding cuts global humanitarian relief, along with the abuses of billionaires in power, Bill Gates plans to give away all of his billions in the next 20 years, redistributing his fortune and closing up his foundation. Appalled by the blatant racism and white supremacy of the move to resettle white South Africans (while throwing Black and Brown refugees out of the US), the Episcopal Church – which has a 40 year history of working with the federal government to resettle refugees – terminated that partnership and said it would not cooperate with the blatant racism of Trump’s immigration policies. Musician Bruce Springsteen is using his European tour to speak out boldly against the Trump administration’s attacks on migrants, workers, citizens, democracy, human rights, and civil rights. Actor Robert De Niro ripped Trump at Cannes Film Festival.
But one of the most important examples of someone putting their foot down and taking action is the New York City Comptroller. After Summer of Heat On Wall Street’s season-long civil resistance campaign, and a well-organized pressure campaign by two other groups, Comptroller Brad Lander decided that any asset manager doing business with NYC’s immense pension fund must submit a climate plan within two months. Those without a viable strategy to achieve net zero fossil fuel emissions for their portfolios by 2040 will be replaced by companies that do have a plan. With the US federal government denying the existence of the climate crisis, slashing funding for adaptation programs, and censoring climate date, it is more important than ever that all other sectors of society take action on climate issues.
A new – and potentially very powerful – set of campaigns has emerged in the US resistance to DOGE takeovers. After Trump summarily fired the heads of the Library of Congress and the US Copyright Office, the Library of Congress shut the doors against Trump appointees, keeping their second in command as interim director and reminding Trump that they are a congress-controlled agency. Similarly, the Corporation For Public Broadcasting refused to accept Trump’s firings, replacements, and DOGE infiltration efforts, sending a strongly-worded legal memo that reiterated that federal law states that CPB “will not be an agency or establishment of the United States Government. Accordingly, neither DOGE, the GSA, nor any other component of the executive branch has any role supervising or having any activity relating to CPB.”
This kind of noncooperation has been tried by other agencies earlier on (notably US Institute of Peace, USAID, as well as others), but rarely had the coordination required to hold their ground. But these two efforts stand on firm legal standing and benefit for three months of relentless resistance to the administration’s takeover efforts. Will they succeed in drawing – and holding – a line in the sand against Trump? Stay tuned.
Meanwhile, other resistance efforts are going strong. Move over Smokey the Bear: the Resistance Rangers say ‘there’s a new bear in town’ and have rolled out a skull and crossbones ‘Jolly Roger’ style pirate logo for this rebellious group of off-duty park rangers. (They proudly point out that their views do not represent the official views of the Dept. of the Interior.) Dear White Staffers, an anonymous account run by a Hill staffer has been supporting organizers and helping federal workers leak stories. When Trump’s EPA failed to release the annual greenhouse gas emissions report, the Environmental Defense Fund filed a FOIA request and published it for them. Nashville mayor signed an executive order saying that ICE has to inform the city about its sweeps and raids within city limits; this comes after targeted and intense activities that grabbed more than 100 people off the streets. New Jersey clergy blocked the detention center that Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested at three days earlier. Volunteer patrols in San Diego are mobilizing a coordinated warning system on ICE activities. In the US Congress building, 25 ADAPT disability activists were arrested for protest disruptions House hearings on cuts to Medicaid and Medicare. The Washington Post cartoonist who quit in protest after her sketch of the journal’s editors bowing before Trump was censored has now been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for illustrated reporting and commentary. Last but not least, grab your popcorn – and violins – because Tesla Takedown UK activists are gleefully showing up at Discover Tesla Day events all over the country. We’ll have their characteristically humorous and satirical actions in next week’s edition of Nonviolence News.
If these stories make you cheer, wait until you hear these wins: New Mexico banned the discharge of fracking wastewater. A judge ordered the restoration of a health monitoring program for coal miners’ black lung disease. Georgetown scholar Badar Khan Suri has been released from an ICE detention center. A federal judge restored grant funds to the American Bar Association and ruled that Trump engaged in unconstitutional retaliation against them by yanking grants to domestic violence and sexual assault programs. An appellate court ruled that Florida’s drag show ban is likely unconstitutional. Mexico’s President Sheinbaum made a historic land return and apology to the Wixárika tribe. Thanks to a lawsuit filed by farmers and environmental groups, the USDA will restore climate data on its website – a major victory for people, planet, and the stability of the food supply.
There are many fascinating and unusual stories of nonviolent solutions and resistance in this week’s collection. There’s a growing trend to use wind-powered sailing ships as carbon neutral shipping alternatives. Mexicans are organizing digital resistance to big tech colonialism, including autonomous servers designed by feminists. Filipino eco-groups cleaned up the post-election trash and urged political parties to take more responsibility for their mess. Over 1,000 Starbucks workers went on strike over the new restrictive dress code – and I’m hoping those still at work will do some mass civil disobedience and come to work in flagrant dress code violations. In the Netherlands, citizens are tearing up urban sidewalks to plant trees and greenery to beat the heat generated by concrete. On a somber note, climate activists held a funeral for 1.5C, grieving what humanity and the Earth are losing as temperatures continue to climb.
Queer organizers have been particularly creative in their resistance to discrimination and targeted repression. Parasol Patrol provided nonviolent security and social support for the Teen Pride Prom – an alternative prom where queer students and allies can celebrate inclusive love. When 20 police officers raided a gay bar for being over capacity, trans performers resisted the attempt to throw a chilling effect on the drag queen show by belting out tunes together outside the building in the pouring rain. In Utah, where rainbow flags and pins are banned, a school teacher put red, orange, green, blue, purple, pink, and yellow pencils in his shirt pocket in defiance. A high school swim team athlete penned an eloquent reproach to politicians who tried to use her second place finish against her first-place winning trans team mate. “I don’t feel like first place was taken from me. Instead, I feel like a happy day was turned ugly by a bully who is using children to make political points.”
Speaking of ugly bullying, as Israel’s blockade of food and humanitarian aid starves Palestinians to death, the undeniable reality of genocide is pressuring power holders to withdraw support. The University of San Francisco will divest from the weapons companies supporting Israel by June 1. Norway’s largest trade union voted to boycott all Israeli products. People around the world continue to speak out. Tens of thousands marched in Brussels, Belgium. The People’s Peace Summit took place in Jerusalem with over 5,000 participants, Jewish, Arab, and others. Pope Leo used his first papal address to call for a ceasefire in Ukraine and Gaza. United Kingdom human rights groups are pushing for a total arms embargo on Israel. Welsh activists called out the fact that the Welsh pension fund has 180 investments in Israeli companies – 10 times more than it claimed. The leader of the Swedish dockworkers union was sacked after organizing a 6-day blockade of ships headed to Israel. Urgent action is required; for Palestinians, every day is a matter of life and death – and every action to lift the blockade and end the genocide matters to survival.
As always, there are more stories to explore in our Nonviolence News Research Archive. This week, I recommend going to the Knowledge Section and taking a look at the articles on examining US protest numbers more closely, learning from Filipino resistance to Duterte, how we can support Bangladesh’s path out of dictatorship into democracy, and a fascinating commentary on AI and democracy struggles from civil resistance researcher Erica Chenoweth.
Explore all 69 stories in this week’s Nonviolence News Research Archive>>
What article would I recommend reading closely over a second cup of coffee? Check out this very thought-provoking, example-packed article on how to build alternative systems in our struggle against authoritarianism and billionaire power. Creating our own power grids, food systems, educational institutions, and healthcare seems impossible until you read how it’s been done before. From Gandhi’s spinning wheel to China’s Barefoot Doctors, these stories will spark your creativity for how we can reclaim our strength, economy, and power from abusive oligarchs.
In solidarity,
Rivera Sun
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