Nearly 60 Third Actors Arrested in Protest of Citibank’s Fossil Fuel Funding

On June 13, elders were front and center at Citibank Headquarters, continuing protests for day four of the 12-week Summer of Heat. Third Actors marched towards the bank with their rocking chairs and stood before the front doors in solidarity.

B Fulkerson and other Third Actors who were there share their reflections

Video by Brenna Perez. Music by Andrew Scott Bell. 

Unless otherwise stated, photos are by Robert S Johnson.

Third Actors turned up the heat against Citibank at its world headquarters in New York City, as part of Summer of Heat’s sustained direct actions that began in early June. Citibank is the largest investor in fossil fuel expansion since the signing of the Paris Accords in 2015, and climate activists are disrupting its business as usual.

The largest action during Summer of Heat’s kick-off week featured 200 elders converging on Citibank Plaza with uplifting songs and banners for Elders Day. Sixty Third Actors were arrested, most for the first time and some in our rocking chairs, for blocking bank entrances and briefly shutting down operations in an effort to give our grandkids and future generations a shot at a livable planet. While we were processed and released later that day, ten of our rocking chairs were confiscated and remain behind bars. (Free our rockers!)

Nonviolent Direct Action (NVDA) is not the pinnacle of activism. Nor is it any more noble than knocking on doors, writing letters to the editor, phone banking, donating to organizations, speaking at public meetings, or other organizing tactics that build the power of the people.

But as someone who has been arrested 12 times since 1985, and as a student of how movements spread like a contagion from the periphery to the rest of society, I believe NVDA a tool that the many can use to defeat the mighty and the few.

Bill McKibben and Rev Lennox Yearwood will be among the featured speakers at a rally beginning at 10 am on July 8. Here is information on these events and how you can get involved either in NYC or in your area. Because not everyone can go to New York City for Summer of Heat, Third Act working groups are organizing a series of events across the country during Elders Week, July 8-14.

You don’t have to take my word for it that Third Act elders rocked it at Summer of heat.

Read testimonials from those who were there:

The energy and camaraderie in the room (pre-action night), in the park (action meet-up) and in Citi plaza (action!) were just amazing.  We were from so many different states and working groups, and with a range of back-stories that could – and should! – fill a book — but we were there together to do one thing: tell Citi that their continued funding of planet-killing fossil fuels is unconscionable and must stop. 

– Jess Grimm, Third Act Ohio

Yes, it was a great action against Citi where 60 elders got arrested as part of weeks 1 of Summer of Heat, but it went deeper than that. People stepped up and got out of their comfort zone, learned new skills, and had a great time together.

– Lisa Finn, Third Act Virginia

People often assume that protesters are people who are not like them, who’ve gone mad or are wild hippies. I’ve found that not to be the case. In addition to my new librarian friend, there were former journalists, nurses, school teachers, lawyers, scientists–people probably much like your parents and grandparents. People who worked hard to provide a safe, healthy home for their kids, just like many of you are doing now.

– Rob Wald, Third Act Maryland

Remember to check out our Summer of Heat page for Elders Week events in your area.

B Fulkerson

B Fulkerson is the Lead National Organizer for Third Act. A fifth-generation Nevadan, B is an Army Brat whose mother protested the Vietnam war, which left their father 100 percent disabled. At 85, she still helps to bail B out of jail when they get into good trouble.

Their first act was serving as executive director of Citizen Alert, Nevada’s first statewide watchdog organization, raising a daughter, and coming out. Their second act was marrying their husband from rural Nevada, co-founding the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, and serving as Executive Director for a quarter century. Their third act is helping raise two grandkids and doing everything in their power to ensure the children have a shot at a livable planet.