SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Iain Armitage, an 11-year-old actor, joined Jane Fonda Friday for the actress and activist's Fire Drill Fridays demonstration in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Fire Drill Fridays/Twitter)
Dozens Arrested for Demanding Food Justice at Jane Fonda's Fire Drill Friday Protest in DC
The weekly demonstration coincided with a global youth-led climate strike that aimed to put pressure on governments attending COP 25.
Nov 28, 2019
As protesters filled streets around the world Friday for a youth-led climate strike, more than three dozen people were arrested at the U.S. Capitol for Jane Fonda's weekly Fire Drill Friday civil disobedience demonstration, which the actress and activist launched last month.
Each week, Fonda--along with friends from Hollywood and climate campaigners--holds a Thursday night teach-in followed by a Friday protest in Washington, D.C. The focus of this week's #FireDrillFriday events was food justice.
Fonda, whose civil disobedience series was inspired by teen climate activist Greta Thunberg, was joined Friday by her grandchildren Malcolm and Viva; actors Iain Armitage and Paul Scheer; and various activists who spoke about how food and farming are both affected by and can be used to combat the climate emergency.
Jim Goodman of the National Family Farm Coalition, who also participated in this week's teach-in, delivered a speech Friday before the action that led to arrests.
"It's time for an agriculture that protects and restores the biodiversity of our land and the oceans; an agriculture that promotes organic farming, based on healthy soil, healthy food, and healthy people; an agriculture that respects the rights of farmers, farmworkers, and of nature," he said.
Goodman called for "a food system controlled by farmers and the people we feed, not corporate profit margins or the global economy." He also highlighted the importance of respecting the rights of Indigenous people around the world--one of the key demands of the Fire Drill Fridays movement.
Fonda, in her speech, tied the food justice and agriculture theme to last week's focus, water, as well as a forthcoming focus, forests:
Scheer noted in a speech before he was arrested that this week's action coincided with the Black Friday shopping event that follows Thanksgiving every year.
"I am here today because I am scared, I am angry, and I want something--and in many respects that's like a typical Black Friday," he said. "But instead of getting a cool new TV we are fighting for a Green New Deal and we are gonna get it because this is not a political issue--this is a human issue."
Scheer shared how he "finally woke up" and "realized being concerned isn't good enough." As he put it: "We need to start showing up, like all of you here today. We need to get our friends involved. We need to stop waiting for the perfect moment to make a change and start it today."
The Fire Drill Friday action happened alongside the latest climate strike, which youth organizers planned to pressure governments attending the United Nations COP 25 climate summit on Monday to pursue bolder climate policies.
Fridays for Future activists in D.C. organized a funeral procession on the Southeast lawn of the Capitol "to eulogize and mourn all that has been lost and all that is threatened by the climate crisis."
"We're bringing the loss of our future to the steps of the Capitol because they need to prepare to own this death," 17-year-old organizer Maddie Graham said ahead of the demonstration. "We need systemic change. Congress has been feeding our fossil fuel addiction. They know they are killing our future, but they won't take action to save it."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
As protesters filled streets around the world Friday for a youth-led climate strike, more than three dozen people were arrested at the U.S. Capitol for Jane Fonda's weekly Fire Drill Friday civil disobedience demonstration, which the actress and activist launched last month.
Each week, Fonda--along with friends from Hollywood and climate campaigners--holds a Thursday night teach-in followed by a Friday protest in Washington, D.C. The focus of this week's #FireDrillFriday events was food justice.
Fonda, whose civil disobedience series was inspired by teen climate activist Greta Thunberg, was joined Friday by her grandchildren Malcolm and Viva; actors Iain Armitage and Paul Scheer; and various activists who spoke about how food and farming are both affected by and can be used to combat the climate emergency.
Jim Goodman of the National Family Farm Coalition, who also participated in this week's teach-in, delivered a speech Friday before the action that led to arrests.
"It's time for an agriculture that protects and restores the biodiversity of our land and the oceans; an agriculture that promotes organic farming, based on healthy soil, healthy food, and healthy people; an agriculture that respects the rights of farmers, farmworkers, and of nature," he said.
Goodman called for "a food system controlled by farmers and the people we feed, not corporate profit margins or the global economy." He also highlighted the importance of respecting the rights of Indigenous people around the world--one of the key demands of the Fire Drill Fridays movement.
Fonda, in her speech, tied the food justice and agriculture theme to last week's focus, water, as well as a forthcoming focus, forests:
Scheer noted in a speech before he was arrested that this week's action coincided with the Black Friday shopping event that follows Thanksgiving every year.
"I am here today because I am scared, I am angry, and I want something--and in many respects that's like a typical Black Friday," he said. "But instead of getting a cool new TV we are fighting for a Green New Deal and we are gonna get it because this is not a political issue--this is a human issue."
Scheer shared how he "finally woke up" and "realized being concerned isn't good enough." As he put it: "We need to start showing up, like all of you here today. We need to get our friends involved. We need to stop waiting for the perfect moment to make a change and start it today."
The Fire Drill Friday action happened alongside the latest climate strike, which youth organizers planned to pressure governments attending the United Nations COP 25 climate summit on Monday to pursue bolder climate policies.
Fridays for Future activists in D.C. organized a funeral procession on the Southeast lawn of the Capitol "to eulogize and mourn all that has been lost and all that is threatened by the climate crisis."
"We're bringing the loss of our future to the steps of the Capitol because they need to prepare to own this death," 17-year-old organizer Maddie Graham said ahead of the demonstration. "We need systemic change. Congress has been feeding our fossil fuel addiction. They know they are killing our future, but they won't take action to save it."
From Your Site Articles
As protesters filled streets around the world Friday for a youth-led climate strike, more than three dozen people were arrested at the U.S. Capitol for Jane Fonda's weekly Fire Drill Friday civil disobedience demonstration, which the actress and activist launched last month.
Each week, Fonda--along with friends from Hollywood and climate campaigners--holds a Thursday night teach-in followed by a Friday protest in Washington, D.C. The focus of this week's #FireDrillFriday events was food justice.
Fonda, whose civil disobedience series was inspired by teen climate activist Greta Thunberg, was joined Friday by her grandchildren Malcolm and Viva; actors Iain Armitage and Paul Scheer; and various activists who spoke about how food and farming are both affected by and can be used to combat the climate emergency.
Jim Goodman of the National Family Farm Coalition, who also participated in this week's teach-in, delivered a speech Friday before the action that led to arrests.
"It's time for an agriculture that protects and restores the biodiversity of our land and the oceans; an agriculture that promotes organic farming, based on healthy soil, healthy food, and healthy people; an agriculture that respects the rights of farmers, farmworkers, and of nature," he said.
Goodman called for "a food system controlled by farmers and the people we feed, not corporate profit margins or the global economy." He also highlighted the importance of respecting the rights of Indigenous people around the world--one of the key demands of the Fire Drill Fridays movement.
Fonda, in her speech, tied the food justice and agriculture theme to last week's focus, water, as well as a forthcoming focus, forests:
Scheer noted in a speech before he was arrested that this week's action coincided with the Black Friday shopping event that follows Thanksgiving every year.
"I am here today because I am scared, I am angry, and I want something--and in many respects that's like a typical Black Friday," he said. "But instead of getting a cool new TV we are fighting for a Green New Deal and we are gonna get it because this is not a political issue--this is a human issue."
Scheer shared how he "finally woke up" and "realized being concerned isn't good enough." As he put it: "We need to start showing up, like all of you here today. We need to get our friends involved. We need to stop waiting for the perfect moment to make a change and start it today."
The Fire Drill Friday action happened alongside the latest climate strike, which youth organizers planned to pressure governments attending the United Nations COP 25 climate summit on Monday to pursue bolder climate policies.
Fridays for Future activists in D.C. organized a funeral procession on the Southeast lawn of the Capitol "to eulogize and mourn all that has been lost and all that is threatened by the climate crisis."
"We're bringing the loss of our future to the steps of the Capitol because they need to prepare to own this death," 17-year-old organizer Maddie Graham said ahead of the demonstration. "We need systemic change. Congress has been feeding our fossil fuel addiction. They know they are killing our future, but they won't take action to save it."
From Your Site Articles
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.