Testify for Environmental Justice legislation in DC; rally to support queer and trans students in VA; Prison Capital Socialist Night School and more ...
Testify in support of DC Council Environmental Justice legislation: DC Council set to consider critical legislation on March 18th
The DC Council has scheduled a hearing on the Environmental Justice Amendment Act of 2023 for March 18, and submitting written testimony can help to get the bill across the finish line. This bill is a crucial piece of environmental justice legislation, which was co-written by We Power DC and introduced in November by Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker. If passed, it will provide much-needed protections to overburdened communities by making it more difficult to build, expand or re-permit polluting facilities and infrastructure in neighborhoods that are unduly exposed to pollution and on the frontlines of the climate crisis.
This legislation could save countless lives and radically improve public health by reducing deadly pollution in our most polluted neighborhoods — most notably, Wards 5, 7 and 8. To submit written testimony, follow the instructions linked here and use our testimony toolkit. The deadline to submit written testimony is April 2.
Facing lawsuit from far-right agents, Virginians and allies to rally in solidarity with queer and trans students at Fairfax County Public Schools — Thursday, March 21 at 6pm
Last week, Fairfax County Public Schools was sued by a student being represented by the fascist attorney Stephen Miller and his firm seeking to block the current policies and rules protecting LGBTQIA+ students from harassment and bullying. The lawsuit alleges that rules prohibiting the malicious misgendering and dead naming of trans students violate the right of the student to freely practice their religion. The lawsuit follows policies set in place by Governor Youngkin and others that harm LGBTQIA+ youth, stifling access to books and information that provide representation and diversity in voices across race, ethnicity, and gender and sexual identities.
A rally called by FCPS Pride and Allies, students, and community members is being organized to push back against these attacks, and to call on the school board to stand with the community and fight for the rights and dignity of students. The rally is set to take place on Thursday, March 21 at 6pm at the Fairfax County School Board meeting at Luther Jackson Middle School (3020 Gallows Rd, Merrifield, VA 22042 — closest Metro stop is Dunn Loring on the Orange Line.
Metro DC DSA members will be out in full support as part of the national DSA’s Trans Rights & Bodily Autonomy campaign, standing in solidarity with the community as they show up to declare that they will not let hate and fascism win. Socialists are encouraged to come out wearing DSA merch and Pride gear. Sign up for updates and notices here.
Socialist Night School: Prison Capital — this Saturday, March 16 at 3pm
Metro DC DSA’s Political Education working group will be hosting their next hybrid Socialist Night School on Saturday, March 16 at 3pm at the Cleveland Park Neighborhood Library and on Zoom. Attendees will listen to professor Lydia Pelot-Hobbs discuss her new book Prison Capital: Mass Incarceration and Struggles for Abolition Democracy in Louisiana. Louisiana had the highest per capita rate of incarceration in the nation (and thus, the world) every year between 1998 to 2020 except for one. Understanding Louisiana’s carceral crisis extends our understanding of the interplay between mass criminalization and racial capitalism while highlighting the conditions of possibility for dismantling carceral power in all its forms — including in the DMV. RSVP here.
BRIEFS
Metro DC DSA to hold General Body Meeting at American University — March 24, from 2 to 4pm
The chapter’s next general body meeting will be from 2 to 4pm on March 24, hosted online and at American University. RSVP for the Zoom link and additional location details. In addition to updates from across the chapter, the general body will be hearing from YDSA comrades at AU on the recent national YDSA Conference. Members new and old are welcome!
Members will also have the opportunity to debate and discuss the following upcoming chapter resolutions:
Members can submit proposed amendments to the above resolutions via Red Desk by selecting “Agenda Item / General Body Meeting.” Amendments must be submitted by March 22.
Ceasefire vigil being held at Alexandria City Hall — Saturday, March 16 at 5pm
NoVA Branch DSA and Alexandria for Palestine are holding a vigil calling for a ceasefire outside Alexandria City Hall on Saturday, March 16th at 5pm. The vigil will assemble stories, poems and speeches from Alexandria neighbors demanding the City Council pass a ceasefire resolution. Signs and keffiyehs are encouraged. All folks are welcome — you don’t need to be an Alexandria resident. The vigil will end by 6:30pm to accommodate those breaking their fast for Ramadan.
Montgomery County DSA canvassing Gaithersburg renters — Saturday, March 16 at 12pm
On Saturday, March 16 at 12pm, join the Montgomery County branch to talk to tenants in Gaithersburg and get tenants involved in demanding that the county council pass strong rent stabilization regulations ASAP. RSVP here. Last year, the Montgomery County Council passed rent stabilization legislation limiting rent increases to 6% or less, thanks to tireless organizing by tenant groups including Metro DC DSA. But landlords across the county continue to increase rents by 10% or more because the county government is not yet enforcing the law. The county council must pass rent stabilization regulations as soon as possible so that the county government can start enforcing rent stabilization.
PG County Council extends temporary rent stabilization to October 17th — canvassing operations in Greenbelt this Saturday
The Prince George’s County Council on Tuesday passed an extension of the Temporary Rent Stabilization Act of 2023 for six months — from April 17 to October 17, 2024 — “to continue combating the existing public emergency affecting the public health, safety, and welfare; said emergency being the threat of homelessness due to a lack of affordable housing.” Comrades from the Prince George’s MDC DSA branch have been active in promoting this extension, as have progressive members of the council. This extension allows time for the Prince George’s County Housing Justice Coalition, which includes MDC DSA, to knock on doors and gather the support to pass a fully permanent ordinance, with even stronger protections than the current ones.
The door-knocking begins this weekend: DSA members will be joining our coalition partners at CASA and the Prince George’s County Housing Justice Coalition to canvass for permanent rent stabilization at the Franklin Park Apartments in Greenbelt from 12 – 4pm on Saturday, March 16. The County Council just extended temporary protections until October 17, but permanent action is still desperately needed to protect tenants from displacement, to stabilize communities and to rein in corporate greed. Rides from Greenbelt Metro Station will be available for anyone who needs one. Please RSVP here or email [email protected] for more information.
Help renters fight evictions with Stomp Out Slumlords’ anti-eviction canvass — Saturday, March 23
Join Stomp Out Slumlords next Saturday, March 23 for their next anti-eviction canvass. Tenants that speak with SOS are twice as likely to go to court and fight their eviction, so every volunteer can make a big impact. The canvassing group will be meeting at the L’Enfant Plaza Metro for a quick training at 1:30pm, and then pair up to canvass followed by a debrief/social at Sonny’s in Petworth. New members are always welcome, and will be paired with an experienced canvasser to learn the ropes.
Get more details at the sign up link, or email [email protected] to ask questions or find out more ways to get involved. The canvassing group is always in need of cars, which can help canvassers get to Metro-inaccessible areas.
“Inclusive Revolution” labor movement webinar — March 26
Systemic racism within the labor movement is the focus of an Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee webinar and workshop on March 26 from 7 to 9pm. Labor historian Dr. Tamara Lee of Rutgers University leads a panel of union leaders, activists and workers of color in this national DSA-based practicum, which will include breakout sessions for local-context strategizing. Register here.
Fill out this MDC DSA member-created survey on having bread and roses, too
Inspired by adrienne maree brown’s Pleasure Activism, a group of MDC DSA members wants to host a session where we ask ourselves, “How can we fight for a better world and not forget our pleasure along the way?"
We are putting together an event around pleasure and joy. We want to hear your feedback to get general interest so we can keep improving our logistics and content. Please fill this quick survey and let us know your thoughts (your answers will be anonymous).
DSA national has its own site of course. DSA Feed is an RSS feed that aggregates multiple DSA publications — including our own Washington Socialist — in one convenient place. More from the National Tech Committee here.
MDC DSA Publications Schedule:Washington Socialist is on a quarterly schedule. Updates to the current number will be published on a rolling basis over the next month. Get on record about your socialism! Contributors to the Washington Socialist can email submissions or questions to [email protected]. Weekly Updates are scheduled for Fridays — March 22 and 29; April 5 and so on… Want more INFO ACCESS? Submit your Update suggestions to the tip line, including nominees for ESSENTIAL PERSPECTIVES.
Or even better, participate in MDC DSA’s publications effort. We write, we edit, we design, we do the tech — there are so many ways your hand could lighten the load in 2024 and beyond. Check us out on #publications and let us know what you would like to write, or write about.
COMMUNITY BULLETIN
Spring Seed Share + Final Apothecary Pop-Up | Share a Seed Get a jump start on spring by picking up some free seeds from Share a Seed this weekend! Although Share a Seed founder and MDC DSA member Reana Kim is moving to start her farm journey, Share a Seed will continue to operate a DC branch thanks to the support of volunteers and Slow Food DC. Come pick up new seeds for the season and drop off your unused or half-packs for redistribution in the community this Saturday, March 16 at Mt. Pleasant Farmers Market from 11am to 1pm; the table will be on the outside edge of the market near Mt. Pleasant Library Friends’ table. Witchy Business apothecary will also be co-tabling; this market will be the last pop-up for the apothecary in DC, so get your plant potions while you can!
Aid State: Elite Panic, Disaster Capitalism, and the Battle to Control Haiti | Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) On Tuesday, March 19 from 6 to 8pm at Busboys and Poets (Davis Room, 450 K Street NW), IPS will host an in-person book presentation by Jake Johnston. Johnston, a researcher and writer at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, and his colleagues will explain how long-standing US and European capitalist goals ensnared and re-enslaved Haiti under the guise of helping it. This is a free event, RSVP here.
Fundraiser for Baldwin House | Resource Generation Join RGDC for an evening of political education and fundraising centered around gentrification on Saturday, March 23 from 5:30-8pm. Resource Generation will help attendees move from awareness to action and mobilize privilege to create affordable housing and community control in DC. This event is a fundraiser for Baldwin House, hosted by Resource Generation DC. Dinner will be provided. Register here.
Storyfest and Fundraiser | Ward 1 Mutual Aid On Thursday, March 28, join Ward 1 Mutual Aid for an evening of storytelling at Lyman’s Tavern from 6:30 to 8:30pm. Learn about the politics of mutual aid and the social impact of the movement’s initiatives, which currently include: increasing food access by distributing thousands of meals and grocery packages to neighbors each month; building reproductive justice by distributing about 400 diapers every month; and fighting displacement through sustained tenant organizing and eviction defense.
ESSENTIAL PERSPECTIVES
Labor Unions Can’t Be Rebuilt Piecemeal. We Need To Go Big. The 1930s rise of the Congress of Industrial Organizations led to millions of people being union members for the first time. The lesson of the CIO is that it’s necessary to harness the collective power of the working class on a grand scale. Jacobin via Portside
Bernie’s Tune-up – Sanders joins 7 other Senators to remind Biden that Israel’s actions make it ineligible by law for offensive weapons aid In a letter to Biden, Sanders and seven other senators cite the longstanding Foreign Assistance Act: ‘The law is clear: “No assistance shall be furnished under this chapter or the Arms Export Control Act to any country when it is made known to the President that the government of such country prohibits or otherwise restricts, directly or indirectly, the transport or delivery of United States humanitarian assistance.”' via POLITICO Playbook
GOP Intelligence chair spreads fear about Gaza protesters to dodge surveillance reform
The Republican chairman of the US House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), Rep. Mike Turner, presented an image of Americans protesting the war in Gaza while implying possible ties between the protesters and Hamas, an allegation that was used to illustrate why surveillance reforms may prove detrimental to national security. WIRED
Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth
When is enough enough? This is the question at the heart of Ingrid Robeyns’ thoughtful study, Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth. Robeyns, a professor of philosophy and economics at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, assesses the growing gap between super-rich millionaires and billionaires and the ever-increasing number of ordinary people who populate the planet. Reviewer David Rosen says she makes the moral case but may come up short on structural solutions. New York Journal of Books via Portside.
The flame of thought, the magnificence of art, the wonder of discovery, and the audacity of invention all belong to revolutionary periods when humanity, tired of its chains, shatters them and stops inebriated to breathe the breeze of a vast and free horizon.
- Virgilia D'Andrea
Sent via ActionNetwork.org.
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