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The Roots of Revolutionary Nonviolence in the United States are in the Black Community

A photo of Bayard Rustin standing near a poster that reads: Integration Means Better Schools For All! This photo is on a golden background, and there is text underneath the photo that reads: "read: the roots of revolutionary nonviolence are in the Black community"

Many are wondering how to respond to the current white supremacist threat. We only have to look to history — to those who organized against the brutal culture and laws of segregation in this country — for inspiration on the importance of relationship building, creative strategies and training to dismantle it today. Few people today know that it was transnational solidarity between Black and white Christian clergy in the United States and Indian activists fighting for independence from British colonial rule that introduced the philosophies and strategies of revolutionary nonviolence to the United States, and that this work would build the foundation leading towards the civil rights movement.

In the late 1930s, Black people around the United States were searching for leadership and methods to end racial discrimination. Black publications were reporting on the Indian liberation movement with great interest. Indians and others involved in the movement for Indian independence brought the story to the United States. And Black leaders traveled to India to meet with Gandhi, with growing interest in the method of satyagraha, which translated into “nonviolence.”

We need to strategically eliminate fascism, not engage in hollow calls for peace.

Today, the right wing are openly organizing and attacking the political gains made by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) organizers at the frontlines of racial and economic justice, as well as attacking any sort of attempts to keep fascism at bay— such as the results of the 2020 U.S. Presidential election. In response, centrist and liberal media commentators, along with some organizations are calling for “peace” without a deeper analysis of the root causes of right wing fascism at play. In particular, this is where we diverge from other organizations who use the language of nonviolence to pursue a hollow vision of peace without the commitment to justice. These are acts of conflict avoidance masquerading as conflict resolution, and create a vacuum for the right wing to continue organizing.

December of Dissent: Help us raise $30K to resist war!

We kicked off our year-end fundraising on Giving Tuesday by asking you to help us raise $5,000 for WRL’s antiwar work. With your help and matching funds from a generous donor we raised $8,192! Thank you!

Now, for the month of December we’re setting an ambitious goal to raise $30,000 for WRL and we need your support! Can you make a gift today to help us get to $10,000 by the end of this week?

#GiveToResistWar

This Giving Tuesday we’re asking you to #GiveToResistWar! We have a goal of raising $5,000 by the end of Giving Tuesday to support WRL’s antimilitarist work.

Thanks to a generous donor, when you give this Giving Tuesday every dollar you give will be matched! Will you make a gift right now to make your gift go twice as far and help us reach our goal?

War Resisters League Commends Kings Bay Plowshares

WRL thanks and honors the Kings Bay Plowshares 7, three of whom (Carmen Trotta, Martha Hennessy, and Clare Grady) were sentenced last week for their bold Trident disarmament action at the Kings Bay nuclear submarine base in south Georgia. Several of the Kings Bay Plowshares are WRL members and have participated in WRL organized nonviolent actions. All are war tax resisters.

50 years to the day after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., on April 4, 2018, over two and a half years ago, the seven cut a lock and entered the base where nuclear-armed US submarines are home-ported, in a plowshares action which included pouring blood, posting an indictment which charged the US government for crimes against peace, posting crime scene tape and hanging banners, one of which said, "The Ultimate Logic of Trident is Omnicide", and damaging Trident D5 monuments. Plowshares actions seek to enact the prophecy in the Biblical book of Isaiah that nations will beat swords into plowshares and study war no more.

Our next commander in chief is not Donald Trump

As Leftist and progressive organizers going into this election cycle, we knew our best chances to continue making gains against oppression would not be under a Trump administration. This is why many, like LUCHA in Arizona, PA Stands Up, New Florida Majority, and Working Families Party, worked to get out the vote for the Biden campaign and invest long hours in Nonviolent Direct Action and de-escalation training in the event of a stolen election.

The AP has just called it for the Biden campaign, and we join in commending organizers for holding the line against fascist authoritarianism and creating conditions that hold more possibility for making antiwar gains. We remain on alert for any kind of Trumpist backlash on the streets or elsewhere, and will be amplifying resources in the event of any escalations.

Submission: Leftists and anti-authoritarians have an obligation to vote out Trump

October 30th, 2020

Dear Friends,

Earlier this month we shared with you our Editorial Committee's letter on 2020 Elections and Antiwar politics. We're pleased to share this piece in response from Joey Ayoub, a Lebanese academic based in Zurich who writes extensively on anti-authoritarian struggles worldwide. He writes: Biden is problematic, but he can be pushed to the left if we intensify our struggles for justice and equality.

Call for Submissions | Reimagining Safety → Problematizing Policing and Envisioning Alternatives

It’s undeniable: the violent police crackdowns against Black Lives Matter protests throughout the United States in summer 2020 have decreased public support for police and increased criticism of their role in American society. Images and video of heavily armed and armored police tear gassing, pepper spraying, and assaulting demonstrators have vividly called into question the police’s role as “protectors.” These police responses to the sustained calls for racial and economic justice, underscored their role in enforcing the existing oppressive structures of white supremacy and capitalism. Given that policing in the American context has its roots in slave patrols and anti-labor repression, what might alternatives to policing look like?

We made serious mistakes. An apology to action participants.

Dear friends, organizational partners, allies, and community members:

We’re here to share with our broader community some insight to what WRL has been focusing on internally, and to apologize to our community members and comrades who have been harmed after participating in a WRL action.

For background, we recently held an action in Trump country. Security, safety, coordination, and tactical aspects of the action were planned poorly, and it put people in harm’s way. Risk assessment was miscalculated, particularly for BIPOC folks. Participants were followed, harassed, threatened, and physically attacked by white supremacists.

After action leadership debriefed with the participants, it was clear that we did not adequately prepare our people - who collectively risked so much in every role - for the danger of doing a direct action in a rural white community.

Resources to Stop a Coup

Trump has repeatedly said he will not peacefully transfer power and there is legitimate fear that the election may be stolen. If Trump makes good on this promise, then make no mistake: we are headed towards a coup.

The President has also called on white supremacists to “protect the vote,” threatened to call out troops to protect (his) ballots and is actively seeding doubts about the integrity of the election process in order to contest it.

We cannot sit back and watch Republican-led efforts suppress the right to vote.Remember: Black organizers and activists fought for decades using nonviolent tactics to win the right to vote. In a settler-colony like the United States, it's imperative we mobilize to defend hard-won rights so that we may move even closer towards an equitable country.

From rural to suburban to urban areas, people in the United States are organizing in powerful ways to confront white supremacy and police in the streets, to defend our election against a coup, and to de-escalate conflict on the ground.

We've compiled a list of resources, readings, and free online trainings to help with these efforts. It’s going to take all of us to stop a coup: please read + forward this resource guide to activate more people in defense of our democracy.