We are in a pivotal movement moment when a lot of things are shifting and changing. Many of us are resolving court cases or heading to trial, reinvigorating our commitment to resist Line 5 and Mountain Valley Pipeline, and engaging myriad challenges across our communities. Many of us are also taking time to build community care networks, to rest, and to do the important internal transformation and healing required to sustain us in these struggles. Though the challenges loom large, we are grateful to be in this moment with you. 

We also want to update you regarding the changing composition of our own team. After almost four years, Core Team member, Emma Schoenberg, is transitioning away from the Climate Disobedience Center. Looking back across those years, I want to recognize that our team and you, our broader community, have done some powerful work.

With a big and beautiful movement family, we’ve gone from dreaming about a Yet-To-Be-Named Network to the launch of the Fierce Vulnerability Network and publication of the FVN Handbook. It’s a big dream, and there is so much work yet to come. You can learn more about this effort to build a constellation of direct action teams positioned at the intersection of racial healing and climate justice here.

With our partners at 350 NH Action and many other grassroots groups and dedicated individuals, we launched and continue to build the No Coal No Gas campaign to #StrikeDownCoal and #BuildUpJustice in New England. Click here to read about No Coal No Gas, our efforts to close the last remaining coal-fired power plant on the grid in the region, and the work of building a vibrant and resilient culture of resistance. 

In 2021, we answered the call from Indigenous leaders in Minnesota to support their campaign to #StopLine3. We organized folks from across the Northeast to travel to Anishinaabe Territory and join the fight against the Enbridge Line 3 Tar Sands pipeline. Last summer, we dramatically shifted our organizational resources to focus on Line 3 legal support, including weeks of on-the-ground frontline legal worker presence and the creation of a large remote defendant support team that offers education, companionship, logistics help, and other support to individuals and defendant groups. We also joined the effort to coordinate attorney support for Water Protectors and organized a formal courtwatch network whose members attend zoom hearings to show solidarity and update case notes for legal support. This work is ongoing, with over 170 (of what was once about 1,000) cases still open in Minnesota. We’ll continue to track legal cases, organize remote volunteer legal workers, and collaborate with attorneys and organizers in Minnesota until all of these cases are resolved. Check out the Pipeline Legal Action Network for more information about legal defense for Line 3 Water Protectors.

A note from Emma: 

“With the Climate Disobedience Center, I’ve gotten to work alongside practitioners, healers, meaning makers, artists, culture builders, and warriors. Reflecting with deep love and respect for the ways in which we’ve risked much more than just arrest. We’ve boldy and vulnerably taken risks in loving one another and fighting for one another, all in order to build the kind of beloved community that can survive climate collapse.  I have learned so much from each and every member of this community. Proud to be part of a movement that seeks to transform not just our institutions but also ourselves – healing, nurturing, repairing, and struggling for a better world. If you’d like to stay connected, or join me in a moment of reflection – feel free to email me at em.schoenberg@gmail.com or reach out by phone or text – number available through the Climate Disobedience Center. 

With care, Emma Schoenberg 

As Emma transitions out of the CDC, we want to celebrate the work we’ve been about as a team and with you. Thank you so much for being part of our movement community and for including us in yours. Let’s keep learning and growing together as we continue to shift and change. 

Fierce Love, Marla (for the Climate Disobedience Center Team)