Wednesday, June 1, 2016

PEACE, JUSTICE, ECOLOGY ACTIVISM NEWSLETTER #12

OMNI
ACTIVISM, IMAGINATION, ACTIONS, RESISTANCE FOR PEACE, JUSTICE, AND ECOLOGY NEWSLETTER #12, June 1, 2016
Compiled by Dick Bennett for a Culture of Peace, Justice, and Ecology.
(#2: June 23, 2011; #3 1-1-2012; #4 April 9, 2012; #5 Nov. 27, 2012; #6, March 24, 2013; #7 Sept. 15, 2013; #8 March 4, 2014; #9, June 1, 2014; #10, August 2014; #11, Oct. 5, 2015)
For a discussion of “activism,” OMNI, and these newsletters, see Activism Newsletter #9 (June 1, 2014).

 
What is the mission of OMNI? 
With the Quakers (AFSC, FCNL) we seek:
a world free of war and the threat of war,
a society with equity and justice for all,
a community where every person’s potential may be fulfilled,
and an earth restored.

LOOKING FOR A GUIDE TO ACCOMPLISH THIS MISSION?  YOU CAN BEGIN WITH OMNI’S ACTIVISM NEWSLETTERS.    Choose your path!


Contents Activism Newsletter #11 at end

Contents Activism Newsletters #12, 2016

Individuals
Individual Catholic Women
Van Jones

Groups
FCNL, Friends Committee for National Legislation
A.  J. Muste Peace Institute
ACLU
Brave New Films

Methods
Nonviolent Direct Action (NVDA)
   Eiger, Resisters Against Trident Nuclear Subs Arraigned at Bangor
   Murray, Ground Zero Workshop On NVDA with Ray McGovern
   NVDA Google Search
Divestment at Universities
Bolder Action:  For Nonprofits and Foundations

Caring for Traumatized Activists
Book Review of Jones, Aftershock




Individuals

Individual Catholic Women
My Badass Book of Saints
Courageous Women Who Showed Me How to Live
BY Maria Morera Johnson.  Ave Maria Press, 2015.

Read a Sample

In this edgy, honest, and often audacious book of Catholic spirituality, blogger and popular podcaster Maria Morera Johnson explores the qualities of twenty-four holy women who lived lives of virtue in unexpected and often difficult circumstances.

In My Badass Book of Saints: Courageous Women Who Showed Me How to Live, Johnson shares her experience as a first-generation Cuban-American, educator of at-risk college students, and caregiver for a husband with Lou Gehrig’s disease. Through humorous, empowering, and touching portraits of twenty-four spiritual mentors who inspired her, Johnson shows how their bravery, integrity, selflessness, perseverance, and hope helped her and can help others have courage to reach for a closer connection to God.

She presents remarkable holy women and saints—including the gun-toting Servant of God Sr. Blandina Segale, who tried to turn the heart of Billy the Kid; and Nazi resister Irena Sendler, who helped smuggle children out of the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II—in a way that brings their vivid personalities to life and helps readers live out the challenges of their lives with virtue and conviction. The book includes a group discussion guide.


Kupfer Interviews Van Jones
VAN JONES
Building Things to Solve Problems: An Interview with Van Jones by  David Kupfer.  The Progressive (Feb. 2016), p. 36.


Groups, Organizations, Movements

NONVIOLENCE
Diane Randall, FCNL dianerandall@fcnl.org via fcnl.bounces.plusthree.com 
to me  1-4-16
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/images/cleardot.gif

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEh9LAHxLlmRpXnvb1nAXEfsYUPj9gbYsgiVnsigsgTZJjctcfCwFB5F46KU1l79uqFKO_b5kTgqghFNk1KtgbmQLizJQ1oibCIekRMmKk3_xX0xuj6Hq-Tb1kQG8dYEircaEr-f9R_KI5gO=s0-d-e1-ft

Dear James Bennett,
Thank you for your support and advocacy in 2015! I wish you peace and Light in the New Year.
2016 will be an intense year in Washington, DC, and FCNL will be right here working on the legislative priorities that matter. With your support we will be...
·  Urging Congress to pass legislation that reduces mass incarceration;
·  Pressing Congress to take meaningful action to reduce carbon emissions;
·  Promoting peacebuilding policies that give new capacities to prevent violent conflict —and don’t rely on military responses;
·  Supporting actions to close Guantanamo, upholding human rights and the rule of law;
·  Building support for comprehensive immigration reform;
·  And much more.
I am thankful to have you as part of the FCNL network, working with us to face the challenges to building a more just and peaceful world.
Last month FCNL set an ambitious fundraising goal to help us start this year with resources to continue our educational programming and legislative priorities when Congress returns. Our network answered our call and we met our goal – thank you!
FCNL relies on support from friends like you to keep our nationwide network of advocates strong, enabling us to promote social and economic justice, peace, and good government.
You may have just received your 2016 supporter card in the mail as an early reminder that FCNL needs your advocacy and support this year. Having you take action to support our work is vital to our mission.
Thank you for all you do for FCNL and for peace – Happy New Year!
In friendship,
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgvYSV3MzuFvLZc4Bdsac4AR_d5iQn1pO9YPgbJ7wDQ7VN31xAmzd3o7EsnXf7XbstFnEaDQCClq-ld8c9eKyzT6q7_lOpbhKUA2_oFqcRwVYxxZ9BaMjE3RGqAzcLkNCYLr3smVmNcOwnhvkzV=s0-d-e1-ft
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhFIRNOTbJ4SCDJwbUvpmbDorPkFIPAMEyeTdP51DpjEXuqjrXyIMW-M2az0il2PnDjmGeFHZt4qUj8sdROkvvVQkP1UfvC06HIFJNA5UoFh1zW3zyIP7SemYD1mbVOg47t1whCIijj6CBb-_iVg3_8pibDIw=s0-d-e1-ftDiane Randall
Executive Secretary









https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEh9LAHxLlmRpXnvb1nAXEfsYUPj9gbYsgiVnsigsgTZJjctcfCwFB5F46KU1l79uqFKO_b5kTgqghFNk1KtgbmQLizJQ1oibCIekRMmKk3_xX0xuj6Hq-Tb1kQG8dYEircaEr-f9R_KI5gO=s0-d-e1-ft

Dear James Bennett,
Thank you for your support and advocacy in 2015! I wish you peace and Light in the New Year.
2016 will be an intense year in Washington, DC, and FCNL will be right here working on the legislative priorities that matter. With your support we will be...
·  Urging Congress to pass legislation that reduces mass incarceration;
·  Pressing Congress to take meaningful action to reduce carbon emissions;
·  Promoting peacebuilding policies that give new capacities to prevent violent conflict —and don’t rely on military responses;
·  Supporting actions to close Guantanamo, upholding human rights and the rule of law;
·  Building support for comprehensive immigration reform;
·  And much more.
I am thankful to have you as part of the FCNL network, working with us to face the challenges to building a more just and peaceful world.
Last month FCNL set an ambitious fundraising goal to help us start this year with resources to continue our educational programming and legislative priorities when Congress returns. Our network answered our call and we met our goal – thank you!
FCNL relies on support from friends like you to keep our nationwide network of advocates strong, enabling us to promote social and economic justice, peace, and good government.
You may have just received your 2016 supporter card in the mail as an early reminder that FCNL needs your advocacy and support this year. Having you take action to support our work is vital to our mission.
Thank you for all you do for FCNL and for peace – Happy New Year!
In friendship,
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgvYSV3MzuFvLZc4Bdsac4AR_d5iQn1pO9YPgbJ7wDQ7VN31xAmzd3o7EsnXf7XbstFnEaDQCClq-ld8c9eKyzT6q7_lOpbhKUA2_oFqcRwVYxxZ9BaMjE3RGqAzcLkNCYLr3smVmNcOwnhvkzV=s0-d-e1-ft
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhFIRNOTbJ4SCDJwbUvpmbDorPkFIPAMEyeTdP51DpjEXuqjrXyIMW-M2az0il2PnDjmGeFHZt4qUj8sdROkvvVQkP1UfvC06HIFJNA5UoFh1zW3zyIP7SemYD1mbVOg47t1whCIijj6CBb-_iVg3_8pibDIw=s0-d-e1-ftDiane Randall
Executive Secretary

A.J. Muste Memorial Institute 
10:24 AM (2 hours ago)
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/images/cleardot.gif
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/images/cleardot.gif
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/images/cleardot.gif
to Dick 10-9-15
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/images/cleardot.gif
Young people are taking direct action for racial justice. Will you help us support them?
*** spread the word--share this message with others ***

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
ajmuste.org - supporting nonviolent action since 1974
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

We received an inspiring batch of Social Justice Fund grant proposals this summer. They came from young people engaging in direct action for racial justice, veterans speaking out against war, immigrants organizing for human rights, families opposing the death penalty, and activists working to prevent an eruption of violence in Burundi and to end the decades-old occupation of Palestine... just to mention a few. With your help, we will support them all--our biggest cycle yet--and continue to expand the resources we provide for nonviolent resistance.


--> Donate now! http://npo.justgive.org/ajmuste
--> Read more: http://ajmuste.org/mustenotes.htm

--> Printer-friendly PDF version:
http://ajmuste.org/MusteNotesFall2015.pdf

Also in this issue of Muste Notes (Fall 2015):

* Marchers Demand: Free Oscar López Rivera!
http://ajmuste.org/mustenotes.htm#oscar

* Painting Peace: healing communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina
http://ajmuste.org/mustenotes.htm#painting

* Banner Protests Militarized Police
http://ajmuste.org/mustenotes.htm#nopolice

* Texas Youth Speak Out: Stop Deportation and Incarceration!
http://ajmuste.org/mustenotes.htm#youthspeak

* Indigenous Costa Ricans Defend Land
http://ajmuste.org/mustenotes.htm#frenapi

* Empowering Young Immigrants in New York
http://ajmuste.org/mustenotes.htm#empowering

* Remembering Juanita Nelson, Judith Malina, George Houser, Julian Bond
http://ajmuste.org/mustenotes.htm#juanita

* Author: A.J. is “American Gandhi”
http://ajmuste.org/mustenotes.htm#author

* JOIN US! *

--> Donate now:
http://npo.justgive.org/ajmuste

--> Follow the Muste Institute:
- on Facebook: http://facebook.com/ajmuste
- on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ajmuste

--> Learn more about how you can support the Muste Institute:
http://ajmuste.org/ajsupport.html

--> Stay in touch!
- Join our mailing list: http://ajmuste.org/mailing_list.html
- Would you like to receive Muste Notes by postal mail? Already getting
Muste Notes in the mail and prefer to read them online? Let us know.

A.J. Muste Memorial Institute
339 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10012
phone 212-533-4335 - fax 212-228-6193
email info@ajmuste.org - website http://ajmuste.org


Happy new year! Thanks to your support, we made great progress on key fronts in 2015.
ACLU
Here's a quick look at some of last year's victories:  1-4-16

Reforming a Broken Criminal Justice System
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgnRAtnCAn_8JCnhryDkgf2I9v5EZBk6rMraeR4OvooJCOtYGJCmlFGidu-u-qpKrAoOT6RIila-RlUl_a3nd76HGw5RrtprndNAtAExcpivb7z4Y2gzWA675UHNd5nE3VATnYbeQYrXnYhgntxJre7Ua28t3z1x479Sw=s0-d-e1-ft
We closed or reformed scandalously dangerous prisons and jails in Arizona; Baltimore, Maryland; and Los Angeles and Monterey County, California.
Winning the Freedom to Marry
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgnRAtnCAn_8JCnhryDkgf2I9v5EZBk6rMraeR4OvooJCOtYGJCmlFGidu-u-qpKrAoOT6RIila-RlUl_a3nd76HGw5RrtprndNAtAExcpivb7z4Y2gzWA675UHNd5nE3VATnYbeQYrXnYhgntxJre7Ua28t3z1x479Sw=s0-d-e1-ft
Our Supreme Court victory in Obergefell v. Hodges made same-sex marriage the law of the land. That was the culmination of years of strategic ACLU litigation and advocacy, including 12 state wins just since our 2013 Supreme Court victory in Windsor.

Securing Net Neutrality
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgnRAtnCAn_8JCnhryDkgf2I9v5EZBk6rMraeR4OvooJCOtYGJCmlFGidu-u-qpKrAoOT6RIila-RlUl_a3nd76HGw5RrtprndNAtAExcpivb7z4Y2gzWA675UHNd5nE3VATnYbeQYrXnYhgntxJre7Ua28t3z1x479Sw=s0-d-e1-ft
Intensive ACLU advocacy helped finally to secure “net neutrality,” crucial new Federal Communications Commission rules that prohibit Internet service providers from favoring some content over other content—for example, through the creation of “fast lanes” for websites willing and able to pay providers a premium for faster access to consumers.
Opposing Torture
Opposing Torture
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgnRAtnCAn_8JCnhryDkgf2I9v5EZBk6rMraeR4OvooJCOtYGJCmlFGidu-u-qpKrAoOT6RIila-RlUl_a3nd76HGw5RrtprndNAtAExcpivb7z4Y2gzWA675UHNd5nE3VATnYbeQYrXnYhgntxJre7Ua28t3z1x479Sw=s0-d-e1-ft
Years of ACLU advocacy and litigation helped spur the historic release of the so-called Senate Torture Report on the CIA’s torture of detainees—and made possible our landmark lawsuit on behalf of victims, targeting torture profiteers.
Combating Religious Refusals
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgnRAtnCAn_8JCnhryDkgf2I9v5EZBk6rMraeR4OvooJCOtYGJCmlFGidu-u-qpKrAoOT6RIila-RlUl_a3nd76HGw5RrtprndNAtAExcpivb7z4Y2gzWA675UHNd5nE3VATnYbeQYrXnYhgntxJre7Ua28t3z1x479Sw=s0-d-e1-ft
In Nebraska, Colorado, and North Carolina, the ACLU successfully fought efforts to use religion to discriminate against LGBT people.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgnRAtnCAn_8JCnhryDkgf2I9v5EZBk6rMraeR4OvooJCOtYGJCmlFGidu-u-qpKrAoOT6RIila-RlUl_a3nd76HGw5RrtprndNAtAExcpivb7z4Y2gzWA675UHNd5nE3VATnYbeQYrXnYhgntxJre7Ua28t3z1x479Sw=s0-d-e1-ft
Thank you for standing with us. We look forward to our continued partnership in the year ahead.
Best wishes for the new year,
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhhVFXoGgZUkNXzBo9wgS7cYcCpDTRHFRfxXKT9gwW3GyO7EoF_RnBfYNgpIm2zuQJ4I5ml0oCjmtTDBCifqkf6mOAAN7vcEGAwb9kZ-QXTdJE3z7Tf976EMUPlotXZUUf_Ad8dZnrodj0EEIoGYKiWQiiCbBYvCWpbXZ0=s0-d-e1-ft
Anthony Romero
Executive Director



Brave New Films
Our mission is to champion social justice issues by using a model of media, education, and grassroots volunteer involvement that inspires, empowers, motivates and teaches civic participation and makes a difference.
Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films are creating a better America, and we want you to join us. Using media, films, volunteers and internet video campaigns, Brave New Films has created a quick-strike capability that informs the public, challenges mainstream media with the truth, and motivates people to take action on social issues nationwide.
From exposing the private prison crisis to helping middle class and poor workers to understanding where your tax dollars are going, our groundbreaking social media campaigns have revolutionized activism. We are reaching millions through YouTube, bloggers, networking sites, and strategic partnerships — and we’re getting results.
You are critical to advancing these hard-hitting campaigns. We can't create a socially conscious nation alone.
Brave New Films is a non-partisan, non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization that carries out the Brave New Films mission by creating and distributing educational films. Brave New Films Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that conducts legislative activity necessary to carry out the mission of the Brave New Films family. Neither of the Brave New Films organizations makes contributions to or expressly advocates for the election or defeat of candidates for public office.
AWARDS
·         2014 Media for a just society award for Our Turn to Dream.  2014 LA Webfest outstanding reality/documentary series for Prison Profiteers.   2014 LA Webfest outstanding writing in reality/documentary series for Prison Profiteers.   2013 Media for a just society award for Law and Disorder.   2009 Bronze Telly for This Brave Nation.   2008 Laurel Awards.                         







Methods, Tactics
Nonviolent Direct Action

Eight Resisters Arraigned for August Action at Bangor

http://www.gzcenter.org/2015/11/05/eight-resisters-arraigned-for-august-action-at-bangor/
Posted on November 5, 2015   Leonard Eiger Posted in Court
The eight resisters who were arrested for “trespassing” on the Bangor Trident base in August of this year had their initial day in US District Court yesterday. Magistrate Judge Karen L. Strombom presided over their arraignments.
Earlier that morning supporters gathered to vigil in front of the courthouse, carrying “Abolish Nuclear Weapons” signs and handing out leaflets to the passersby.

Background: On August 10th the eight activists crossed the blue line onto Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, which represents the largest operational concentration of nuclear weapons in the US arsenal, in an act of nonviolent civil resistance. Some staged a die-in, spreading ashes around others’ bodies on the asphalt, while others attempted to deliver a letter to the base commander urging him to uphold international law (among other things). You can read the letter to the base commander here.
The eight defendants are Mary Gleysteen, Kingston, WA; Anne Hall, Lopez Island, WA; Ann Kittredge, Quilcene, WA; Betsy Lamb, Bend, OR; Peggy Love, East Wenatchee, WA; Emilie Marlinghaus, Bend, OR; Elizabeth Murray, Poulsbo, WA; and Michael Siptroth, Belfair, WA.
The maximum penalties for the trespassing charge are 6 months in prison, $5000, $10 special assessment, and $25 processing fee. The government is evidently not pursuing prison time for the defendants.
The defendants were called one by one to enter their pleas; all defendants pleaded “not guilty.”Michael Siptroth, who is representing himself, pleaded “not guilty on behalf of all the children of the world.” Betsy Lamb, also representing herself, said that she was pleading “not guilty on behalf of our Mother Earth…”
The defendant’s trial date – all will be tried together – was set for April 1, 2016 at 1:30 PM before Judge David W. Christel in Courtroom C, Tacoma Union Station Courthouse.
Attorney, and longtime friend and legal supporter of nuclear resisters, Ken Kagan was with the defendants for the arraignments, and will be representing many of them in their April trial. Three of the defendants are representing themselves (“pro se”).
Judge Strombom expressed her concern to Kagan about him representing so many defendants together, as it can be difficult for so many defendants to have cohesive and consistent defenses. Ken explained the unique situation that exists in the case of this affinity group (and the historical context), and stated that he is confident the defendants can work together and be consistent in their defenses, and that “everyone takes full responsibility…” The judge requested written waivers, and the matter was settled.
After the arraignments, everyone congregated at Jean’s House of Prayer at the Tacoma Catholic Worker to debrief and plan for the upcoming trial. Megan Capes, of the TCW, provided a wonderful meal for everyone (THANKS Megan!).

Defendants and supporters meeting at Jean’s House after arraignment
The spirit was strong yesterday at Jean’s House. It continues to be a sanctuary for all who walk through its doors in the name and spirit of peace. May it always be so, and may we continue to bring that spirit of peace out into the world.

How Do Our Lives Change?
By Elizabeth Murray Ground Zero
http://www.gzcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/January-2016-newsletter-for-website.pdf
I was honored to co-lead a workshop entitled “How Do Our Lives Change” at Jim and Shelley Douglass’s annual Advent Retreat in Birmingham, Alabama in early December, along with my friend and colleague, Ray McGovern.

I spoke about the seeds of transformation within my own life that led me from a career as a CIA intelligence analyst for 27 years (1983-2010) to becoming an activist with the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action.

McGovern, also an ex-CIA analyst and outspoken critic of US policy, spoke on the same theme, from the perspective of having been an analyst and presidential briefer at the CIA during the Vietnam era and Cold War years – a career that spanned from 1963 to 1990.

McGovern returned his Career Intelligence Medal in 2006 to protest torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. He described his nonviolent protest against Hillary Clinton in Washington, DC, in which he was brutalized by security men and dragged away in full view of the audience – as well as for his frank questioning of Donald…(cont. at http://www.gzcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/January-2016-newsletter-for-website.pdf)



NONVIOLENT DIRECT ACTION, Google Search Oct. 9, 2015

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_action
Wikipedia
Jump to Nonviolent direct action - [edit]. Non-violent direct action (NVDA) is any form of direct action that does not rely on violent tactics, as opposed to ...

mettacenter.org/.../the-power-of-nonviolent-direct-action-daniel-hunter-f...
The Power of Nonviolent Direct Action. Written by Daniel Hunter, Training for Change www.TrainingForChange.org. Author of the book Strategy And Soul ...

nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/.../nonviolent-action-def...
Swarthmore College
Other names are “people power,” “civil resistance,” “satyagraha,” “nonviolentresistance,” “direct action,” “pacifica militancia,” “positive action,” and more.

www.beyondintractability.org/essay/nonviolent-direct-action
If asked for an example of nonviolent action, one is likely to mention Gandhi, or Martin Luther King, Jr., and maybe Rosa Parks. Strong and courageous people ...

organizingforpower.org/action-resource/
What a Direct Action Campaign Can Do · Direct Action Strategy Questions · Steps in a Nonviolent Direct Action Campaign & Campaign Planning Worksheet ...

www.ibiblio.org/netchange/cco/orgaction.html
Activists have used direct actions to spur significant social change, such as the occupation of the all-white lunch counters during the sixties, the Montgomery Bus ...

www.thekingcenter.org/glo...
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site
CREATIVE TENSION – In his Letter from A Birmingham Jail, Dr. King said, “Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative ...

www.tarsandsblockade.org/about-2/non-violent-direct-action/
We choose to engage in nonviolent direct action because it is a proven method for resisting violence, empowering people and building communities that can ...

www.thefreedictionary.com/Nonviolent+direct+action
The doctrine, policy, or practice of rejecting violence in favor of peaceful tactics as a means of gaining political objectives.

www.colorado.edu/conflict/.../nonviolc.h...
University of Colorado Boulder
Gene Sharp, one of the leading scholars on nonviolent direct action has developed a list of 198 forms of nonviolent action, which he divided into three ...



Divestment
Campus Activists Unite in Call for Divestments at Colleges.  by Collin Binkley, Associated Press.  December 29, 2015.
BOSTON ― Campus activists who often fight in parallel with one another for their respective causes are now starting to form alliances as they turn up the pressure on some U.S. colleges to financially divest from industries that run counter to their beliefs.
Student groups that have long called on colleges to stop investing in fossil fuels have begun working alongside students demanding divestment from the prison industry, a movement that has gained momentum recently with support from black student organizations.
Coalitions created this year at Wesleyan University in Connecticut and the University of Pennsylvania have pressured their institutions to drop investments in fossil fuels and prisons and in companies that have ties to Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories, demands that students previously pursued separately. At Tufts University near Boston, divestment groups against fossil fuels and Israel banded together with a coalition opposing investments in private prison companies.
“There’s a consciousness with the younger generations that these are not single issues,” said Zakaria Kronemer, a national organizer for the Responsible Endowments Coalition, a New York nonprofit group that helps students campaign around what they see as crucial social-justice issues. “It doesn’t make sense for us to be working in silos anymore.”
Beyond the call for divestments, students have thrown other causes into the mix. After fighting to get Columbia University to divest from fossil fuels, a student group organized a coalition with five other campus groups that tackle issues such as racism, sexual assault and workers’ rights. Together, as the Barnard Columbia Solidarity Network, they issued merged demands to campus administrators.
“I don’t think they’ve dealt with anything like this,” said Daniela Lapidous, a senior and a group member. “Only by building these coalitions will we win any of our demands.”
The collaborations have had some success. After students staged a joint sit-in this year, the president of Wesleyan agreed to endorse divestment from the prison industry.
Advocacy groups that help students organize say they expect to see more crossover coalitions at colleges. Already, students from several universities are trying to establish a national umbrella group that would unite students across schools and causes. National environmental groups have offered online training to students on the perks of solidarity.
“Increasingly, the climate movement has seen how deeply intertwined the climate crisis is with issues of racial and economic injustice,” said Jenny Marienau, a divestment campaign manager for the environmental group 350.org. “I don’t think it’s just a numbers game, though. I really do think there’s deeper alignment.”
Students against fossil fuel investments, for example, point to a recent report from Columbia predicting that rising temperatures will pose a health risk at prisons.
Even with the help of newly formed coalitions, though, students have struggled to get colleges to disclose their investments. The Wesleyan group, named the Coalition for Divestment and Transparency, criticized the school because students have no way of knowing if Wesleyan invests in contentious industries.
Of the 30 public universities with the largest endowments, only nine released any of their investment holdings in response to a recent Associated Press records request. None of the 20 private colleges with the top endowments ― the smallest of which tops $3 billion ― provided any records.
Colleges guard their investments closely, contending that disclosure would tip their hand to competitors. Some students and faculty say colleges should invest only in socially responsible ways, but colleges and financial experts counter that endowments are meant primarily to generate revenue.
Often, administrators can’t even trace all their institution’s investments.
Most big universities now invest in hedge funds, said Jessica Matthews, head of the mission-related investing practice at Cambridge Associates, which advises colleges on investments. While those types of funds pose a challenge to divestment, she added, there are some fossil-free hedge funds available to schools.
Research has been mixed on whether divesting from fossil fuels would hurt a university’s endowment. Some colleges counter that it’s better to work with companies on changes rather than cut ties with them.
Still, Matthews said she sees some evidence that universities are heeding the calls of campus activists. Over the past two years, more than 70 colleges have sent inquiries about divestment, a surge over previous years. Most have been focused on fossil fuels, she said, but there has been growing interest in prison divestment.


bolderadvocacy.org/
Bolder Advocacy advances and protects the role of nonprofits and foundations in influencing public policy. Our goal is to demystify and decode advocacy by.
Bolder Advocacy is an initiative of the ... To learn more about our ...
The 2015 elections are quickly ... 2015 Electoral Activity Center ...
Navigate the Rules. There are many rules that impact ...
... edition of The Connection: Strategies for Creating and ...
Tools for Effective Advocacy. Nonprofits often face stiff ...
Focus on Foundations. History shows us that when a ...




CARING FOR TRAUMATIZED ACTIVISTS
BOOK REVIEW:
Aftershock: Confronting Trauma in a Violent World: A Guide for Activists and their Allies, Pattrice Jones (2007)
New York: Lantern Reviewed by Lisa Kemmerer

…we are animals, and aren‟t able to decide not to have feelings. Just like the earth, we are going to quake if sufficiently shaken. We don‟t get to choose whether or not traumatic events will damage our psychic infrastructure. Like twisted bridges, injured psyches may not be stable or safe and certainly can‟t be trusted to get us where we need to go. Aftershocked activists who are loath to look after their own feelings for fear of selfishness may need to be helped to see self-maintenance as a necessary chore rather than an act of self-indulgence. (2007: 94)

Merriam-Webster and Cambridge Dictionaries define “aftershock” in the following ways, respectively: 1 : a minor shock following the main shock of an earthquake 2 : an aftereffect of a distressing or traumatic event (Merriam-Webster) 1: sudden movement of the Earth's surface which often follows an earthquake and which is less violent than the first main movement (Cambridge)

In Aftershock, Pattrice Jones applies this geological term to describe “the reverberations of traumatic events endured by activists” (2007: 65). She quotes Wikipedia to explain her use of this term: “Aftershocks are dangerous because they are usually unpredictable, can be of a large magnitude, and can collapse buildings that are damaged from the mainshock” (2007: 65). Similarly, activist aftershock “can leave people feeling like they are in ruins” (2007: 65).

Pattrice Jones is a gay vegan social activist and psychotherapist, with all the right background to explore the psychological affects of animal and eco activism. She notes how those who see violence entrenched in our way of life, and in our paradigms, are affected by this understanding. Focusing on animal and earth liberationists, Jones suggests ways that activists might protect themselves against some of these psychological traumas.  MORE http://www.criticalanimalstudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Lisa-Kemmerer-Book-Review-pg.-129-137.pdf  






Contents of Activism Newsletter #11 Oct. 5, 2015
Insurrection Against a Corrupt, Tyrannous Corporate State
The Dandelion Insurrection: Love and Revolution by Rivera Sun
Orange Rain by Jan Smitowicz
Ethics
Ervin Staub, Good and Resistance to Evil
Individuals
Kathy Kelly
Emma Goldman
Allan Adam (a Giraffe)
Andy Hall (another)
Organizations, Groups, Movements
Giraffe Project (see above)
Earth First! And Earth First! The Journal of Ecological Resistance
Catholic Church, Pope Francis for Peace Education
The Catholic Worker
Dick, In These Times
Radical Brownies in Oakland
Brave New Films on a Dozen Justice Topics
Broad’s Book, Citizen Initiatives 
After Ferguson, Youth in Revolt
Methods, Tactics
Dick:  Winston Alpha, Don’t Just Protest, Make Demands
Ann White, Food Protest Tactics during the Depression
Onion, Blockade
Smitowicz, Hoaxes
Chris Crass, Towards Collective Liberation


AND!!
Blog:  The War Department and Peace Heroes
http://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/
Newsletters














For research purposes, specific subjects can be located in the following alphabetized index, and searched on the blog using the search box.  The search box is located in the upper left corner of the webpage.
Newsletter Index:  http://omnicenter.org/dick-bennetts-peace-justice-and-ecology-newsletters/dicks-newsletter-index/


END ACTIVISM NEWSLETTER #12





No comments: