On Sept. 9, Providence residents resoundingly endorsed a new vision for our city. The vision voters chose at the ballot box is of a city that prioritizes working people over business interests, affordability over maximum profit for corporations, and justice and dignity for all.
That vision was embodied in the victories of David Morales and a slate of other progressive candidates across the city. But the candidates didn’t create it — it emerged from our communities, our neighborhoods, and the values that drive us.
This progressive wave didn’t begin with one candidate or a dozen, and it doesn’t end with them. On Nov. 3, Providence voters will have an opportunity to win yet another historic progressive victory. We have the chance to become the first city in US history to divest from genocide and apartheid by popular binding vote.
From February through July, over 100 passionate volunteers with the Providence for Palestine coalition worked tirelessly across our city — trekking through feet of snow, heat waves, and wildfire smoke — all to speak to thousands of their neighbors about the struggle for a free Palestine and an end to militarism around the world. Our goal: Collect enough signatures to put a question on the Nov. 3 ballot that would create an ordinance requiring the city of Providence to divest from states and corporations profiting from genocide, apartheid, and other crimes against humanity.
Nearly 10,000 Providence voters signed the petition. Now, thanks to their support, our community will have a democratic voice in how the city invests our money for the very first time via Question 7.
Progressive champions like Morales, Jackie Goldman, and Brittany Kubicek have supported this campaign from the start, speaking out firmly in favor of divestment and promising to enforce this ordinance if voters pass it into law in November. We’ve already seen that voters want a Providence for all. These candidates know that that doesn’t just mean a dignified life for us here in Rhode Island at the expense of families in Gaza or the West Bank or Lebanon — all means all.
The city’s current investments are both immoral and irresponsible, tying our city’s financial future to deeply volatile conflicts abroad. This law would initiate a process by which the city treasurer would take into account these ethical considerations when investing city funds, without putting our finances at risk. Investing city funds ethically would put Providence on more sustainable long-term financial footing while also aligning with our values.
Opponents like Mayor Brett Smiley have said Providence has no role to play in opposing genocide.
They’re wrong — this type of local action has never been more essential. The Trump administration is now directly overseeing the occupation of Gaza through the so-called “Board of Peace,” Israel is deepening its brutal occupation of the West Bank and southern Lebanon, and the US war on Iran continues to spiral out of control.
A 2025 Gallup poll showed 60 percent of Americans and 83 percent of Democrats oppose Israel’s destruction and occupation of Gaza. But until now it seems that our voices have not been heard, as our leaders have continued spending our tax dollars on bombing schools and hospitals instead of building them. Unfortunately, most Democratic politicians have disregarded the will of their voters, refusing to take action to defund a war machine that sows death and destruction for the profit of a few corporate executives.
If our politicians won’t stand up for humanity and justice, it’s up to each of us to show where the people’s real priorities lie. This ballot initiative is part of a broader movement to end US support for the genocide of Palestinians and criminal wars abroad, starting by building power in our local communities.
Just last fall, voters in Somerville, Mass., overwhelmingly passed a nonbinding ballot initiative calling on their city to divest from and boycott companies complicit in Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Other cities in Maine, Massachusetts, California, Michigan, and across the country have also enacted divestment laws through their city councils. Now, we’re bringing this movement to Providence.
This November, we will show our leaders that if they don’t heed the people’s call for an end to these war crimes, they’re going to be left behind just like Brett Smiley. It’s time for Providence — and every city — to divest from genocide and invest in a future we can all be proud of.
Daniel Denvir is the co-chair of Reclaim Rhode Island. E.J. Toppin is a fourth-year graduate student in political theory at Boston University and the Social Justice Chair of AFT Local 6516. Joe Ricci is the an organizer with of the Rhode Island Democratic Socialists of America. Livvie Mann is a member leader of Jewish Voice for Peace Rhode Island. All four organizations are part of the Providence for Palestine coalition, which put forth the divestment ballot initiative.