Demands

Statement on Palestine and Student Protests – University of Maryland, Baltimore Macro Student Union of the School of Social Work (2024)

2011-Present, Authority, Date, Defining the Enemy, Disruptive Spaces, Imperialism, Institutions, Students, Subjectives of Refusal

This statement from the SSW Macro Student Union critiques the University of Maryland Baltimore and its School of Social Work for their handling of the genocide in Palestine, arguing that the institutions prioritize profit over student well-being and uphold oppressive power structures. The student union emphasizes that social work ethics necessitate advocating for Palestinian liberation and demands that the university disclose and divest from companies contributing to the genocide, issue a statement acknowledging the genocide and scholasticide, reconsider their commencement speaker choice due to his pro-Israel stance, among other demands. The statement concludes by aligning their efforts with historical student movements advocating for social change and commemorating the 76th anniversary of al-Nakba.

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Open Letter – Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine and Columbia Jewish Voice for Peace (2023)

2011-Present, Authority, Date, Defining the Enemy, Disruptive Spaces, Imperialism, Institutions, Students, Subjectives of Refusal

This document is an open letter authored by Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine and Columbia Jewish Voice for Peace condemning Israel’s actions as settler-colonialism and apartheid, while expressing solidarity with Palestinian resistance. The authors criticize Columbia University’s administration for biased communications that favor Israel and disregard Palestinian suffering, and for its continued financial ties to companies profiting from the occupation. They demand the university acknowledge Palestinian humanity, divest from implicated companies, and end academic programs and partnerships that they argue normalize apartheid. The letter concludes with a call for student action and protest to pressure the administration and achieve justice for Palestinians.

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The Mandate for 1992: Resistance – Bobby Castillo (1992)

1990-2010, Date, Indigenous, Self Institution, Subjectives of Refusal, Subjects Redefined, Tactics of Disruption

This piece was published in the 1992 program of the International Tribunal of Indigenous Peoples and Oppressed Nations in the USA. Bobby Castillo, the author of the mandate as well as the coordinator of the International Tribunal, challenged the 500th anniversary of the “discovery” of America by Christopher Columbus, demanding that myth be destroyed. Furthermore, he demanded the release of political prisoners/prisoners of war and the ability of oppressed national movements to exercise their rights to self-determination. This document serves to raise awareness to the new resistance of the American Indian Movement and to reaffirm the basic human rights of indigenous groups to determine their own destiny. Additionally, both the document and the tribunal are evidence of efforts by indigenous groups to redefine themselves within the current system.

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President of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians Letter to the Chairman of the Town of Lac du Flambeau – John Johnson Sr. (2023)

2011-Present, Date, Disruptive Spaces, Indigenous, Subjectives of Refusal, The 'Natural World', Uncategorized

This letter, written in December of 2023 by the President of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, John Johnson Sr., to the Chairman of the Town of Lac du Flambeau, Matt Gaulke, communicated that the tribe would be enacting a Road Access Permitting Ordinance applying to all roads that cross tribal land. This would allow legal access to the roads in exchange for a fee, and came after months of contentious dispute over road access on the reservation. In January of 2023, the northern Wisconsin tribe barricaded four reservation roadways they argued were being illegally used. In this letter, the tribe president demanded nearly $10 million to resolve past trespass violations, and required payment of these damages before issuance of any road permits under this new ordinance.

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We Are at the White House: No Compromises, No Excuses Biden – Sunrise Movement (2021)

2011-Present, Blockade/Barricade, Date, Disruptive Spaces, Occupation, Tactics of Disruption, The 'Natural World'

A statement by the Sunrise Movement describing the 500 individuals of the organization who occupied every entrance of the White House and the homes of two important senators in 2021, staging a sit-in to demand the Biden Administration pass an American Jobs Plan that addresses bold solutions to the rising climate crisis.

“So we will sit here until you commit to the side of climate justice, commit to an American Jobs Plan written with bold ambition against the climate crisis including a Civilian Climate Corps, and pass it through reconciliation immediately–or you will not pass a bill at all.”
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