Campaign Update: Elders Make Big Impact in Summer of Heat

In this month's campaign update, Deborah Moore reports back on the impact elders had during the Summer of Heat on Wall Street Campaign. In the 12 weeks of sustained non-violent direct action in New York City and across the country, Third Actors pressured Citibank, and other big banks, to stop funding the expansion of fossil fuels. Around 200 of the 700 arrested in New York City were Third Actors, many of whom were arrested for the first time, and the movement generated more than 250 pieces of media coverage.

The big picture

Third Act works to persuade big banks, like Citibank, to stop funding the expansion of fossil fuels that are contributing to climate change. Older Americans hold more than 70% of the wealth in the US, so Third Act supporters have a powerful voice in calling on financial institutions to not use their retirement savings and investments to rob coming generations of a healthy future. As part of our Banking on our Future campaign, Third Act, with leadership from its Working Groups, was a core partner for the Summer of Heat on Wall Street campaign to escalate pressure and “turn up the heat” on Citibank through 12 weeks of sustained non-violent direct action in New York City and across the country.

The goals of Summer of Heat were to disrupt business at Citibank headquarters in New York City, grow our climate movement and the number of people willing to risk arrest for climate action, develop new leaders able to organize disruptive actions, and host at least 3 direct actions per week throughout the summer to increase visibility and pressure on Citi.

Third Actors organized 25 actions across the country in protest of fossil fuel funding by big banks

Throughout the summer there were “themed” weeks of protest elevating the climate concerns and demands for Citi to act. These demands came from youth, elders, frontline environmental justice communities, scientists, and more. There were 45 actions organized in and around New York City across the 12 weeks, 32 of which were focused on Citi headquarters and executives. Third Act and our Working Groups led and organized 5 actions in New York City during the summer, plus another 20 actions organized across the country during “Elders Rise Up” week in July. This was a disruptive action at Citi HQ roughly every 2.7 days – something Citi executives and employees had to face day after day, week after week.

The actions that Third Act led included: the Rocking Chair Rebellion rising up to stop funding climate chaos; a funeral procession and die-in honoring people and nature who have died as a result of climate extremes worsened by Citibank’s funding; a family-friendly read-a-thon and sing-along, resulting in a book delivered to Citi with childrens’ and elders’ wishes for the future; an action focused on Citi’s big credit card client Costco; and numerous events and actions at bank branches across the country during which grandparents shared why they were protesting. For many, the motivation was the same: to protect their grandchildren’s future.

More than 5,000 people in total participated in the actions in NYC and 700 arrests were made. About 200 of the 700 arrested were Third Actors, including many who were emboldened to take arrest for the first time. Third Actors from all over the Northeast, Midwest, and even the West and Southwest came to New York City to protest, as well as thousands who participated in distributed actions across the country.  At the July 8, 2024 action in NYC, Third Act launched “Elders Week” with a “sidewalk sermon” featuring Bill McKibben; Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr. President of Hip Hop Caucus; Gus Speth, former dean of Yale School of the Environment and former Administrator for the UN Development Program; youth speaker Liv Senghor from Summer of Heat; Rev. Dr. Jim Antal, special advisor on climate justice to the United Church of Christ; and Rev. Dr. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas, an Episcopal priest, author, and climate activist.  After the sermon, hundreds of people staged a funeral procession led by a bagpiper around Citi’s headquarters, ending with a die-in blocking the entrance to Citi. Police arrested Bill and 46 other elders at the July 8 die-in, and on August 27, the day with the highest number of arrests, 68 elders were arrested.

We generated more than 250 pieces of media coverage and reached 5.1 million people

Thanks to our collective efforts, we generated more than 270 pieces of media coverage across online, offline, and social platforms, including posts from Third Act Central and coverage from top outlets like The New York Times, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, and Democracy Now! This attention forced Citi to respond to reporter inquiries.Influencers like Dan Savage, scientist Sandra Steingraber, and rock star Michael Stipe (frontman for R.E.M.) also highlighted key actions, including Elders Day and Elders Week, and helped expand our reach.

Our communication push reached 5.1 million people, with 52,500 people engaging with our digital efforts and 392,000 people viewing our campaign in some way, shape or form across various platforms. You can check out some of the action videos here, here, and here. And read more about all the amazing actions via this collection of all the blogs published by Third Act Working Groups throughout the summer.

We are seeing the fruits of our labor

Our pressure is working. On July 9, Citi released its latest environmental and social risk management report that includes an updated policy that will restrict the bank from directly financing new projects involving Amazon oil and gas expansion. This policy update followed years of pressure from investors and Indigenous peoples, as well as the first few opening weeks of Summer of Heat protests. While a welcome change, this is a tiny fraction of Citi’s fossil fuel financing, the vast majority of which funds and under-writes oil and gas companies, rather than the projects themselves. So this announcement does not change our demand that Citi broadly stop funding fossil fuel expansion.

Throughout the summer, Citi executives were forced to send memos to all staff at the global HQ about the protests and what was happening, prompting numerous staff conversations in meetings and “around the water cooler.” Protestors leafletted passersby and Citi employees, both at Citi HQ protests and at our distributed actions around the country. There were a range of reactions from Citi employees, from interested and sympathetic to disaffected to aggressive. Passersby were most often curious and had, for the most part, been unaware of banks’ roles in funding climate chaos. 

For Third Actors, Summer of Heat helped strengthen and build our growing community of action-takers, especially training up elders, many of whom were arrested for their first time, in how to organize and participate in non-violent direct action.. The CT Mirror published this piece by Third Act Connecticut members, 5 of whom had not been arrested before Summer of Heat.

But we are not done yet

We will not let up on Citi, and other big US banks, until they stop funding fossil fuel expansion and accelerate a transition to clean energy and climate solutions. Just this week, our partner Stand.earth released a new report documenting Citi’s environmental racism. It details deaths, asthma, and climate pollution linked to Citi’s funding of gas terminals.

In solidarity with Gulf South communities being poisoned by Citi’s funding of oil and gas projects, you can take action to push Citi to end its financing and instead invest in just, sustainable, community-led solutions to the harms it has caused these frontline communities. Together, we can collectively hold the dirty bank accountable. 

You can expect continued actions and protests during Climate Week in NYC (September 22-29, 2024) and beyond. We look forward to making more good trouble with you and invite you to join a Third Act Working Group and our ongoing Banking on our Future campaign.

Deborah Moore

Deborah is a Campaign Strategist here at Third Act. Her background is as an environmental scientist, with expertise on water and energy, and as a campaign manager and organizer, previously with the Union of Concerned Scientists, Green Schools Initiative, and Environmental Defense Fund. She has stopped destructive mega-dams and saved rivers and protect communities around the world; helped pass 100% clean energy and climate laws in California, Oregon, and Washington; co-founded an all-volunteer voter registration organization and helped pass vote-by-mail laws.

Deborah is based on Ohlone Land in Berkeley, California, and recently became a grandmother.