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In August 1908, a white mob attacked Springfield, Illinois’s Black community, destroying homes and businesses and lynching two Black men. National outrage over the violence helped spur the movement that created the NAACP the following year.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
The Wiwa family lawsuits against Royal Dutch Shell were three separate lawsuits brought in 1996 by the family of Ken Saro-Wiwa against Royal Dutch Shell, its subsidiary Shell Nigeria and the subsidiary's CEO Brian Anderson. Charges included human rights abuses against the Ogoni people in the Niger Delta, summary execution, torture, arbitrary arrest, and wrongful death. After 12 years of Shell petitioning the court not to hear the cases,[1] they were heard May 26, 2009.[2]
On June 8, 2009, Shell settled out-of-court with the Saro-Wiwa family for $15.5 million.[2][3]
The particular incidents raised in these cases were:
American photojournalist Ed Kashi's images from the book Curse of the Black Gold: 50 Years of Oil in the Niger Delta[4] were deposed as evidence of the human rights abuses that the oil industry, particularly Shell, has inflicted on the Ogoni people.[citation needed]
The lawsuit was filed in 1996 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and charges were made under the Alien Tort Statute, the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1992 and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).[5] Plaintiffs were charged with complicity in human rights abuses against the Ogoni people in the Niger Delta, including summary execution, crimes against humanity, torture, inhumane treatment, arbitrary arrest, wrongful death, and assault and battery. The lawsuits were filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and co-counsel from EarthRights International.
On June 8, 2009, Shell settled out-of-court with the Saro-Wiwa family for $15.5 million.[2][3] Ben Amunwa, director of the Remember Saro-Wiwa organization, said that "No company, that is innocent of any involvement with the Nigeria military and human rights abuses, would settle out of court for 15.5 million dollars. It clearly shows that they have something to hide".[6]
Shell stated the payment was a humanitarian gesture and a gesture of sympathy, denying culpability in the death of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the deaths of the Ogoni Nine.[7]
The case brought international attention to environmental destruction in the Niger Delta, increasing pressure on oil companies to adopt stricter environmental policies and community engagement practices.[8] It highlighted the role of multinational corporations in environmental degradation and human rights violations, reinforcing calls for stronger regulations on corporate activities in resource-rich but politically unstable regions.[9][10] The lawsuit set a legal precedent for holding corporations accountable for their actions abroad. Because the plaintiffs in this case demonstrated that companies could be sued for human rights abuses in foreign jurisdiction, this encouraged other affected communities to pursue legal action. A few months after the verdict, the UK Supreme Court agreed to consider additional cases from the Ogale and Bille communities against Royal Dutch Shell and SPDC over widespread environmental pollution in the Niger Delta.[11] There has also been an enhanced focus on human rights in U.S. courts, as the ruling made it easier to bring claims based on a foreign human rights violation despite alternative forums being available.[12]
Despite the settlement, environmental degradation remains severe, and there is widespread contamination in water sources and soil, with some areas requiring decades-long remediation efforts.[13] After a 2011 United Nations Environmental Programme report documented severe contamination, Shell claimed it had addressed the identified pollution. However, recent studies contradict Shell's claims, and there are sites that are visibly contaminated with the remnants of past oil spills.[14]
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Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
The Wiwa family lawsuits against Royal Dutch Shell were three separate lawsuits brought in 1996 by the family of Ken Saro-Wiwa against Royal Dutch Shell, its subsidiary Shell Nigeria and the subsidiary's CEO Brian Anderson. Charges included human rights abuses against the Ogoni people in the Niger Delta, summary execution, torture, arbitrary arrest, and wrongful death. After 12 years of Shell petitioning the court not to hear the cases, they were heard May 26, 2009. On June 8, 2009, Shell settled out-of-court with the Saro-Wiwa family for $15.5 million.
Milieudefensie v Royal Dutch Shell (2021) is a human rights law and tort law case heard by the district court of The Hague in the Netherlands in 2021 related to efforts by several NGO's to curtail carbon dioxide emissions by multinational corporations. It was brought by the Dutch branch of Friends of the Earth and a group of other NGO's against the oil corporation, Shell plc. In May 2021, the court ordered Shell to reduce its global carbon emissions from its 2019 levels by 45% by 2030, relating not only to the emissions from its operations, but also those from the products it sells. However, on 12 November 2024, The Hague's appeals court dismissed the 2021 ruling that had required Shell to cut its emissions, determining that there was no "societal standard of care" to enforce specific emissions reductions on Shell.
Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. (昭和シェル石油株式会社, Shōwa Sheru Sekiyu kabushiki gaisha) was a Japanese company that operated as a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell until it was acquired by Idemitsu Kosan in 2018 and integrated into the company the following year. It was formed by the merger of Showa Oil Company and Shell Sekiyu which was begun around 1876 in Yokohama by Samuel Samuel & Co, the predecessor of Shell Group today. Showa Shell Sekiyu acted as an oil and energy products business in Japan and worldwide, from crude oil extraction and refining, to retail and wholesale energy supply operations.
Shell Aircraft International, based at Rotterdam The Hague Airport, operates executive business jet aircraft for Shell plc headquarters, and for one Shell Group operating company, Shell Oil Company in the United States. It also provides advice on air operations and flight standards to Shell Group companies. Of historical note, Sir Douglas Bader, Second World War fighter pilot of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and double-leg amputee was aviation director in the United Kingdom for Royal Dutch Shell. Prior to 2000, Shell Aircraft Limited operated corporate jets for Shell Group headquarters, and Shell Oil and Shell Canada operated their aircraft independently. In 2000, the three operations were linked in Shell Aircraft International, whose first CEO was Brian Humphries. On 4 October 2013, the operation of Shell Canada Aviation based in Calgary was closed down after 60 years operation, and future operations were contracted out to Flair Airlines Ltd. The ICAO telephony designator (call sign) changed from SHELL to PECTEN in the Edition 201 of the ICAO DOC 8585 Edition 201, published July 2022, however the three-letter designator remained SHE.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →The Greenwood District.
