Happy spring, Rebellion is in the air...
As the first COVID-19 cases are confirmed, New York has shown its ability to react swiftly and decisively when faced with a real and imminent threat to our city. While climate change is a far bigger threat, it's not as quick to spread and test for as COVID-19. A warming planet is a slow boil that's all too easy to forget. Therefore, we rebels are and will continue to be front that makes the threat of climate change tangible and unavoidable with our voices, bodies, and steady drumbeat holding our institutions accountable for what they have failed to protect and provide.
We applaud our brave rebels who continually fight for our future and stand up to our education system, financial institutions, and greedy corporations. Bravo, and we will see you in the streets in April. Keep an eye on this space for details about our April rebellion or visit our Earth Week coalition website: https://www.earthweeknyc.com.
Upcoming Events
Occupy Education: Decarbonize, Democratize, Decolonize
XR Universities will rally together on the steps of 52 Chambers Street in Manhattan with a mission that extends beyond holding individual institutions accountable as we focus on the education system as a whole. We often see that education is all too focused on profits and prestige; indoctrinating individuals into a colonial, neoliberal, and extractive system that ignores both human and planetary limits. We have three demands; our education system must:
Decarbonize (Divest from fossil fuels and commit research and personnel to renewable energy innovations)
Decolonize (Recognize that the system is inherently tied to colonialism and respect other forms of knowledge)
Democratize (Form People's Assemblies, democratically elected boards, student input groups, etc.)
Join us on Monday, March 9th at 10:00am
This is a fun, regenerative outreach action meeting one Saturday each month to address the climate and ecological emergency. We will begin with a brief rehearsal before taking to the streets with our hotter-than-the-climate disco fever, building our movement with the power of groove! Watch this video to learn the moves.
Join us on Saturday, March 21st at 1:00pm - Location TBD!
RSVP for more info
Upcoming Trainings
The Red Rebel Brigade are currently recruiting participants for our upcoming appearance as an affinity group in a subway action on Monday, March 23. This rehearsal will be directed by professional dance director Lynn Neuman, who will show us practice moves we can use on the subway to ensure a dynamic, memorable outreach effort. While performance experience is desirable, it is not required. We welcome all!
Sun March 8th 6:30pm at The Muse Gowanus - RSVP HERE
Outreach Training: How To Help Make History with Earth Week
This is a workshop for both seasoned neighborhood group members and XR newcomers. We'll discuss the main outreach activities leading up to Earth Week!
Sun March 8th 9:30am at Access Theater - Fill out this application
This training is for experienced XR nonviolent direct action (NVDA) participants who want to train others to learn the same skills.
Sun March 8th 12:00pm at Access Theater - Fill out this application
Jail and Court Support Training
Come and learn the logistics of various roles, including embedded jail support, release party organizer, and court support liaison to figure out which is the best fit for you!
Sun March 8th 8:00pm on Zoom - RSVP HERE
Heading for Extinction Talk Training
This training is for anyone who has already attended the Heading for Extinction Talk and wants to help our movement grow.
Sat March 14th 10:00am at Ace Hotel - RSVP HERE
De-escalation and Police Liaison Training
Whether you plan to risk arrest or simply want to support, these are great skills for any rebel to learn for upcoming actions and beyond!
Sun March 22nd 2:00pm at CRS - RSVP HERE
And check out our Events Page for even more trainings coming soon!
Local XR News
North Brooklyn Pipeline Shutdown
Photo Credit: Ken Schles
On the morning of February 28th, 10 XR rebels were arrested for shutting down construction of the North Brooklyn pipeline: a 30-inch-wide, 6.8-mile-long fracked gas pipe snaking through the heart of Brooklyn, from Brownsville to Greenpoint.
A year ago, after XR’s nonviolent direct actions effectively disrupted business as usual, New York City declared a climate and ecological emergency, and just this month, Mayor de Blasio’s office committed to banning new fossil fuel infrastructure. The construction of this massive fossil fuel project directly conflicts with the government’s statements and with the actions necessary to meet our second demand, which states that the “government must act now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.”
As severe storms, droughts, and wildfires caused by global heating threaten millions of lives, XR Jessica Serrante says, “Permitting the completion of the North Brooklyn pipeline is not only irresponsible and immoral—it is a crime against humanity and all life on Earth.” For the construction of this pipeline, National Grid continues to tear up streets in low-income neighborhoods and lay down pipe as the community objects.
Our fourth demand is a just transition for all, which includes fossil fuel workers, as well as those whose utility bills will be raised if this unnecessary, unsustainable pipeline’s installation is completed. XR stands in solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en nation and all indigenous and marginalized groups who have been protecting their land and fighting corporate climate colonialism for generations. We also stand in a coalition of resistance to this pipeline with Sane Energy, Sunrise Movement, 350 BK, and the DSA. Together, and only together, can we stop this pipeline and all new fossil fuel infrastructure in favor of community-owned renewable energy for all.
JP Morgan Chase Investors Day Action: Stop the Money Pipeline
Photo Credit: Felix Boehme
Global banks have invested $1.9 trillion in fossil fuels over the past four years, with investment increasing each year. JP Morgan Chase alone investing $196 billion in fossil fuels since the 2016 Paris Climate agreement. In order to stop the money pipeline, 150+ rebels from Extinction Rebellion and our partners Rise and Resist, 350, and Sunrise Movement swarmed the entrances to JP Morgan Chase HQ on Tuesday morning to "greet" attendees of the bank's investors day.
In anticipation, Chase had closed off the otherwise public lobby creating a gauntlet for investors to get into the building, leaving them to line up around the block with plenty of time to take in our message before deciding where JP Morgan Chase will invest its money this year.
The event was a huge success with coverage by CNBC, Financial Post, and NASDAQ.
A Regenerative Break at Washington Square Park
The Mindful Rebels, XR Diggers, and Bread and Puppet Theater converged on Wednesday, March 4th in Washington Square Park for a meditation, freegan lunch, and a street theater workshop. We reconnected, broke bread, and built our community on a beautiful sunny day!
Neighborhood Groups
North Brooklyn
Our group continues to feel passionately about stopping National Grid from using public funds to build fracked gas infrastructure in our neighborhood. We are looking forward to supporting the FA5 Subway Outreach action in March and also pleased to follow Prospect and Crown Heights NG's lead and bring the first warm day #paintthestreets outreach action to McCarren Park, slated for Saturday, April 4th.
We meet every first and third Wednesday and would love to welcome new members. Email northbrooklyn.xr@gmail.com for details!
Washington Heights / Inwood / Riverdale / Marble Hill
We have a number of upcoming events in our neighborhoods:
Banner Hold: Saturday, March 7th at 4pm. We will display large climate-crisis banners at two high-visibility locations in Hamilton/Washington Heights. A family-friendly action, all are welcome. RSVP here.
Heading for Extinction (and what to do about it) Talk: Thursday, March 12th at 6:30pm at Café Bunni in Inwood. RSVP here.
George Washington Bridge Walk: Saturday, March 28 at 4:00pm (gathering at 3:30 near the foot of the GWB). We aim to create a carnivalesque atmosphere and to educate, inform, and warn several thousand people who pass in cars and on bicycles about the climate crisis. Come join us for a stroll across one of the most beautiful bridges in North America. Get in touch at xrwashingtonheightsinwood@gmail.com to help with planning.
We have also been busy doing outreach every Saturday from 9:30am - 11:30am at the Inwood Greenmarket. We plan to continue with neighborhood-based outreach most weekends, and welcome others to join us. We are also looking for others to join us in a local affinity group to support the Mindful Rebels’ Day of Service on the subways.
Upper East Side
We have been busy getting ready for Earth Week by creating custom XR gear at the Upper East Side Neighborhood Group Art Build, including a bandana for our newest (and cutest!) member.
Our next meeting will be Tuesday, March 10th. Meet us at the 82nd St Green Market every Saturday morning. For updates on the UES Neighborhood Group events and news follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or contact us at ues@extinctionrebellion.nyc.
Park Slope
"The strength of our movement is in the strength of our relationships, which could only be measured by their depth." - Adrienne Marie Brown
Build community at our next meeting on Monday, March 9th at 6:30pm at Interference Archive, 314 7th Street. We'll break-out for rapid-fire strategizing on a boatload of local and city-wide spring activities (Gowanus rezoning, Earth Week, Chase Stop the Money Pipeline, and more), and regroup to collectively push initiatives forward.
New rebels are always welcome, and happy hour to follow at Halyards beginning at 8pm!Please also consider joining XR Fort Greene - Bed Stuy this Saturday, March 7th at 11am as we escalate pressure on Chase Bank, 402 Myrtle Avenue (corner of Vanderbilt).
Recommended Reading
A third runway at Heathrow airport was ruled illegal because it did not take into account the Paris Climate agreement. While it may just be one runway, the implications of this ruling are truly global.
The “Drawdown Review: climate solutions for a new decade” is in!
What does the process of re-wilding look like? The Guardian investigates in their long-form article “The End of Farming?”.
A leaked internal report by JP Morgan Chase economists warns that the climate crisis is a threat to the human race. However, their board of investors has chosen to blatantly ignore this warning in their investments.
Due to COVID-19, China’s air pollution has dropped by ~25%. While we regret that pristine blue skies for China come at the cost of human lives and hope that the country recovers quickly, it’s a reminder that there’s still time for us to clean up our act.
Similarly, why are people more willing to declare the coronavirus epidemic and emergency than global warming?
Deep Adaptation: a map for navigating climate tragedy.
The Canadian police have broke up the indigenous solidarity blockade on February 25th after two weeks of fighting to keep a natural gas pipeline off of their land.
In “How to survive a disaster” Rebecca Solnit discusses the importance of community and a regenerative culture.