No name
See also Red Pepper, Apr/May 2018, pp. 13-17 for a wide-ranging analysis. Key issues about the safety of housing for the poor were raised in 2017 when 71 people are known to have died in a rapidly spreading fire in a tower block in north Kensington in London. The Grenfell fire raised major issues about the safety of tower blocks across the UK, the responsibility of builders, local authorities and safety inspectorates for inadequate checks on standards, and the dangers of opting for cheaper solutions. Grenfell also dramatised the gap between the relatively poor and racially diverse tenants of Grenfell living in social housing and the rich residents of the borough and the Conservative Council. A major long-running enquiry has been set up, viewed with some distrust by former Grenfell residents and the local community. Campaigning groups such as Justice4Grenfell and Grenfell Speaks have been set up complaining about lack of respect and representation, and people in other major cities have joined in solidarity protests.
Examines how LGBT movement responded to over 200 attempts by religious right in US to promote discrimination through anti-gay referenda.
This article explores how activism in the protests influenced how students saw their role and their identity. It also argues that the Umbrella Movement needs to be understood within the context of other Asian student movements from the last century (such as student activism leading to Tiananmen) as well as the recent (March 2014) Sunflower Movement in Taiwan opposing greater economic integration with China. Partaken stresses the impact of the movement on the educational world of Hong Kong and also beyond its borders.
The author summarizes the beginning of the two movements, but notesthat despite significant victories, given the political power structure has not been overthrown the goals of regime change 'remain elusive'. She considers the successes in Algeria - the wide range of social groups involved and 'ethos of peacefulness' - and the shortcomings of lack of leadership and of a clear strategy to achieve change. Using the Algerian example she suggests lessons for Lebanon, such as maintaining nonviolence and avoiding political partisanship and sectarianism.
This publication focuses on the role of the Japanese hibakusha’s (atomic bomb survivors) experience in advocating for a Treaty that could ban nuclear weapons. It also discusses the impact of nuclear weapons on the environment as well as the human body, and offers arguments that delegitimise nuclear violence.
This book by the General Secretary of CND was published on the 60th anniversary of the launch of CND in February 1958. It covers both the major campaigns within the nuclear disarmament movement of the first three decades, including the Aldermaston marches and Greenham Common. It also charts the evolving role of CND after 1990: becoming prominent in the resistance to Britain's involvement in wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan; and more recently supporting the movement to achieve the UN Treaty to ban all nuclear weapons. CND has also continued to focus on opposing British production and deployment of nuclear weapons, and in particular the government's decision to renew the Trident missile force.
Summary of developing African opposition, including early ‘passive resistance’ and land protests, attempts at unionization, and links with the East African Indian National Congress, as well as role of Mau Mau.
Argues that despite violence used against opposition and shattered hopes, the protests promoted increased political participation.
Author lived in squatter communities in Rio, Bombay, Nairobi (where squatting was linked to building new homes) and Istanbul.
Records how the Teach-In movement began modestly in a mid-West campus in 1965 but spread across the country, engaging many students and professors, and released a vast quantity of material about the Vietnam War. For first teach-in see: ‘History of Education: Selected Moments of the 20th Century: 1965 First ‘Teach-in’ held at University of Michigan: New Tool for Further Education is Born’:
http://schugurensky.faculty.asu.edu/moments/1965teachin.html
Considers the reasons for emergence of movement and its challenge to free market provision of education. Argues experience of this education provides both mobilizing grievances and resources for political mobilization.
This now famous work contains two essays written on the occasion of the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation - "My Dungeon Shook. Letter to my Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of Emancipation," and "Down At The Cross. Letter from a Region of My Mind". It provides a three-point dissection on "The Negro Problem", an expression not owned by Baldwin that he refers to while discussing the roots of racial tensions of his time and how to overcome them. (To know more about the use of and debate on this expression by Baldwin himself, please see: http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,830326,00.html and https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2934484.pdf).
In the first essay, Baldwin focuses on the central role of race in American history, and specifically addresses himself to his 14 year-old nephew who was confronted with anger and outrage. Through his nephew, Baldwin aims to address any Black young Afro-American.
In the second essay, Baldwin discusses relations between race and religion. He addresses Christianity with particular regard to its meaning for US society and to its use for the oppression of Black people.
A common thread to the whole book is Baldwin’s call to both Whites and Blacks to use compassion, communication and mutual understanding to transcend tensions and overcome the legacy of racism.
James Balwin was an iconic essayist, novelist, playwright and critic, who worked primarily about the Black American experience, racial tension, homosexuality and religion. He was active in the Civil Rights Movement, but spent his last years in the more congenial society of France.
'Ni Una Menos', an Argentine feminist movement, has spread throughout Latin America largely due to its use of social media. The organisation is able to hold to account both the Argentine government and society overall, keeping women’s rights in the spotlight. This study examines ‘Ni Una Menos’ Twitter account since its formation in 2015, in order to understand how the organization has evolved over time, and how it continues to fight for women’s rights.
The authors begin by documenting the restorative origins of #MeToo, as well as exploring steps taken especially by Time's Up, to amplify and promote the credibility of survivors' voices, seek accountability, change workplace practices, and encourage access to the legal system. They then explore the key components of restorative justice: acknowledgement, responsibility-taking, harm repair, non-repetition, and reintegration. The aim is how these concepts might apply in the context of addressing sexual assault and harassment in the workplace and in the world at large.
Hallam is a co-founder of Extinction Rebellion (XR) and claims its April 2019 protest launch in London was based largely on the strategic ideas he had already sketched out. The book examines the case for fearing imminent planetary disaster, outlines 'the civil resistance model' underlying X R strategy. and criticizes 'climate justice' movements' for their approach.
His views do not represent all those taking part in the XR movement or who support in principle taking nonviolent direct action to combat climate change.
For a critical review of both the use of science and the basis of the strategy see: Gabriel Carlyle, Peace News, 2636-2637 (Dec. 2019-Jan. 2020), p. 21
'Has Extinction Rebellion Got the Right Tactics?' - debate in New Internationalist, Jan-Feb. 2020, pp. 46-47
Two supporters of climate activism disagree about the likely efficacy of XR's approach and its ability to maintain momentum over time.
A detailed analysis of how Al Qaeda under various organizational guises have been taking over the opposition to Assad and marginalized the moderates, whilst claiming to pursue a 'middle path'. The author also warns that ISIS has not been wholly defeated.
(also in Brian Martin, Nonviolent Struggle and Social Defence (A. 1.b. Strategic Theory, Dynamics, Methods and Movements) ), Ch. 5.
This issue is largely dedicated to dissent in China.