Extinction Rebellion Brighton Newsletter
16th January 2021
News
Majority support car-free Brighton city centre
For the past year, XR Brighton Streets for Life and others have made the case for a city centre free of polluting cars. We must prioritise climate action and our health.
This work has already begun—in past months we have seen the council make changes to help improve walking and cycling along with social distancing.
This week, a poll for the Argus showed the majority of residents support these moves and want to see more. The survey was conducted following the first council Climate Assembly.
As we continue to put pressure on the council to take action on the climate emergency which it has declared, there is clear support for more action in 2021 in our streets.
Help needed with this newsletter
The XR Brighton newsletter team is a small but committed team who draft, edit and send out this newsletter every week, spreading the work of XR Brighton. We need a volunteer to help with publishing and sending out the newsletter. You will be well-organised and able to spare a couple of hours per week on Fridays (or Saturdays sometimes). Some knowledge of HTML is useful. If you are interested, please email xr_brightonmedia@protonmail.com
Week of Action
Saturday 23rd - Thursday 28th January
We are proposing a Covid-friendly Week of Action for January.
The plan for a week of actions to encourage people to support the CEE BIll has had to be scaled back to things that can be delivered within the current lockdown. These will include:
-
The South East Regional CEE Bill banner will be in town for a bunch of photo ops.
-
Cards and letters: Rebels write to friends and relatives across the country to support the bill.
-
Rebel Ringers: get involved and call signed up rebels to take action.
-
A range of sticker actions will be going on alongside all this.
Details of all these actions and how to get involved will be posted on the usual channels this week.
Meetings
XR Brighton General Meeting
Tuesday 19th January, 7-9pm, online (Zoom)
Everyone welcome. Come, join in, reflect, and plan our way to make a difference and create change. It’s you that makes the difference!
> Join Zoom Meeting Passcode: 456681
Extinction Rebellion and climate change activism: Breaking the law to change the world - Book presentation
Thursday 21st January, 5:15-6:30pm
Oscar Berglund and Daniel Schmidt's new book, Extinction Rebellion and Climate Change Activism: Breaking the Law to Change the World, summarises and critiques XR as a social movement organisation, engaging with key issues surrounding its analysis, strategy and tactics. They suggest that XR has an underdeveloped and apolitical view of the kind of change necessary to address climate change, and that while this enables the building of broad movements, it is also an obstacle to achieving the systemic change that they are aiming for.
Oscar Berglund discusses XR and civil disobedience with a panel. Chaired by Andrew Kelly, director, Festival of Ideas. There will be time for questions, discussion, reflection and an opportunity to buy a copy using a discount code provided at the event.
Oppression, movement building and our relationships as activists
Thursday 21st January, 7-10pm, online (Zoom)
We are members of XR looking at how movements can be divided when oppression goes unaddressed, offering practical tools to heal these divisions which affect our relationships as activists.
Further information
> Extinction Rebellion Brighton's website
> XR Brighton Youtube Channel
> Facebook (@nepocide) for news and info
> Brighton Rebel Community Board Facebook for community chat
> Twitter
> Instagram
Do you have something for this newsletter?
Please add your item to newsletter suggestions by WEDNESDAY lunchtime for inclusion in the newsletter that goes out at the end of that week. Make sure to date it and include an email address so we can get back to you if we need clarification. Thank you!