Third Act is veteran activist Bill McKibben’s brainchild, a nationwide climate protest group made up of elders and retirees who are committed to leaving their children and grandchildren a habitable planet. One specific focus of their efforts is protesting and raising consumer awareness of “dirty banks” — large corporate banks pumping money into and reaping profits from the fossil fuel industry.
The names will be no surprise: the “Big Four” are Citibank, Wells Fargo, Chase, and Bank of America. What might surprise you is the sheer scope of that funding: “Fossil fuel financing from the world's 60 largest banks has reached USD $4.6 trillion in the six years since the adoption of the Paris Agreement”, according to Rainforest Action Network.
Such an obscene number should give a clue as to how large a lynchpin in the fossil fuel industry that funding is — and also serve as an indicator for how effective putting public pressure on dirty banks may prove to be. (And as today’s article in The Guardian points out, coming hard on the heels of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse the timing of tomorrow’s protest seems eerily prescient).
Launched in 2021, Third Act already has over fifteen regional chapters, and tens of thousands of members (I am happy to say the Virginia chapter is one of the oldest, largest, and most active!). Today and tomorrow, those members will be demonstrating at 90 sites nationwide, with perhaps the largest protest being held in Washington, DC. The Sierra Club’s Ben Jealous, along with Ebony Twilley Martin, co-executive director of Greenpeace, will be joining McKibben for tomorrow’s “Rocking Chair Rebellion”.
The event officially starts today at 2 pm with a twenty-four hour “rocking protest” vigil in front of each of the Big Four’s DC branches, and a pre-rally at 6:30 with Bill. More info here.
For a full schedule of tomorrow’s speakers and events, check the Sierra Club press release. The topline basics:
WHERE: Activists will gather in DC at the southeast corner of Franklin Park (13th and I Streets NW) for the rally, and then will visit the offices of the four big banks south of the park during a Walk of Hope and a March of Action. The event will culminate in a “rocking chair rebellion” at the intersection of 14th Street and New York Avenue NW.
Additionally, there are more than 80 National Day of Action to Stop Dirty Banks events planned on March 21 in towns and cities across the US. Explore events here.
WHEN: Tuesday, March 21, 2023
- 9:30am: Multi-faith prayer circle at Franklin Park
- 10am: Walk of Hope with retired activists singing and carrying signs, visiting vigil keepers in front of the four bank branches south of the park
- 11:15am-12:45pm: Rally in Franklin Park. The Sierra Club’s Ben Jealous will speak last, immediately preceding the march.
- 12:45pm: March of action past the bank branches, ending at 14th Street and New York Avenue NW.
- 1:30-2:30pm: “Rocking chair rebellion” with elders outside the bank branches in rocking chairs alongside giant puppets, street murals, chanting protestors, and labor-style picket signs.
I will try to post some photos from the event as it happens — I am unable to attend myself (fibromyalgia, thyroid issues and now, lucky me, the tail end of a second Covid infection so I’m on lockdown) but I should be getting pics texted to me :-) In the meantime, here are photos from a Third Act Virginia protest last March:
You can join/follow the Virginia Third Act group on Facebook here, or through the groups page on the Third Act website where you can also locate/join any of the regional “working groups”. And check out Third Act’s focus on strengthening our democracy on their “work” page here!