Yet another heat wave is pummeling New York this week. Temperatures will hit 105°F in parts of the city. Across the country, 30 million Americans will swelter in 100°F heat. The Summer of Heat, it’s turning out, is an apt name for our campaign.
This past week, the metaphorical heat has been rising on Citi, too.
Over the past 8 days, there have been 5 major protests at Citi’s HQ. Last Monday, elders held a mock funeral and die-in; 46 were arrested. On Tuesday, the Costco Hot Dog Rebellion blocked 1000+ employees from getting into work for over an hour. On Wednesday, kids, parents, and grandparents gathered for a storytime and sing-along about the climate crisis in the HQ plaza. On Thursday, employees had to navigate dozens of lamenters and activists wearing sandwich board signs.
This week, we have picked up exactly where we left off―with a civil disobedience blockade of Citi’s headquarters. 11 people were arrested this morning, as they highlighted both Citi’s financing of fossil fuels and the ongoing atrocities in Palestine where the death toll has now been estimated to possibly be as high as 186,000.
Actions are starting to pick up across the country, too. Last week, activists in San Francisco shut down a major Citi branch and painted a “Summer of Heat on Wall Street West” street mural. Third Act groups across the country also organized actions.
Even the media is beginning to pick up that something big is happening. The New York Times reported that Citibank “is pouring the most money into new oil and gas projects worldwide” in a story that was mentioned on the front page; in the financial press, Bloomberg covered our recent meeting with Citi, pointing out that the companies Citi finances are driving the climate crisis; meanwhile, the more salacious, right-wing rag, the New York Post revealed that a Citi worker who violently pushed a young student is a senior general counsel at the bank.
Looking ahead, we’re going to keep this pressure up all summer long. Next week, we’re having two mass actions. One targeting insurance companies that are backing the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) which, if built, would be the largest fossil fuel pipeline in the world. The following day, on July 27th, we’re having a mass march and mass action targeting Citi, once again.
There’s a lot happening here. It could so easily be exhausting―especially given everything else happening in the world right now. But two things keep me going. One is the knowledge that no matter what else is happening in the world, ending fossil fuels is a moral necessity. The second is the people powering this campaign.
The students and elders, the scientists, teachers and caretakers, the musicians and artists, who are the beating heart of this campaign.
I truly believe that this is the only way we can win, the only way that we can build the power required to topple the fossil fuel industry: by building a social movement that is powered by people who are driven by their desire for justice―people who are willing to put it all on the line, take risks, and make sacrifices to win a more just, fair and beautiful world for us all.
This summer, I feel so lucky to be surrounded by people like that.
In Solidarity,
– Alec Connon, Stop the Money Pipeline coalition director
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