DMV students occupy GW university square for Palestine; MDC DSA to rally for UNITE HERE workers on May Day; GOTV for Maryland Uncommitted and more ...
This is the weekly newsletter of the Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America (MDC DSA), which is produced by local members of the chapter's Publications working group. The Weekly Update publishes every Friday at 9am.
Paid for by Metro DC DSA (mdcdsa.org). Not authorized by any candidate or committee.
UP FRONT
DMV students occupy George Washington University Yard to protest US-backed genocide
Early Thursday morning, university students from across the DMV erected a Palestine Solidarity encampment at George Washington University in DC. Students at GW (joined by students from Howard University, American University, Georgetown, UMD and other universities in the area) are calling for an end to business as usual as Palestinians suffer a US-backed genocide. In a published statement, students demanded the following:
Drop charges against pro-Palestine student organizers.
Protect pro-Palestine speech on campus.
Divest from companies selling technology and weapons to the Zionist regime.
Immediately disclose all endowments and investments.
End all academic partnerships with the Zionist state of Israel.
Protesters have asked community members to come out to support them and an end to the US-backed assault on Gaza and the West Bank. Specific asks can be found here, and updates can be found by following DMV SJP on social media. (Note —this is a rapidly evolving situation; the university had already started threatening to forcibly clear students from university yard at time of writing.)
As seen at Columbia University, UMD, University of Texas and other colleges across the country, the powers that be on campus are willing to call in the police to violently disperse peaceful protests. The news media has also demonstrated willingness to escalate violence towards college students instead of bringing attention to mass graves in Gaza, as reported by the United Nations.
The students aim to remain on campus as long as possible, and community support will be vital. Community members are encouraged to follow guidance from DMV SJP on turnout locations, and Metro DC DSA will be updating its social media channels with relevant updates. DSA members can find more information in the #internationalism and #bds-palestine-solidarity channels on the chapter Slack.
Metro DC DSA members to rally with UNITE HERE for May Day
This International Workers’ Day (Wednesday, May 1), Metro DC DSA members are joining UNITE HERE Local 25 members to show solidarity with local hotel workers. At 4:30pm, UNITE HERE Local 25 will be rallying, as hotel contracts are set to expire for thousands of Local 25 members in the coming months. Metro DC DSA comrades will be joining to show solidarity with hotel workers fighting for strong contracts with fair wages, good benefits and the dignity they deserve. The rally will be held at McPherson Square (901 15th St NW) on Wednesday, May 1 at 4:30pm. Fill out this form if you’re able to attend or if you can volunteer, and wear DSA gear.
GOTV for Maryland Uncommitted Vote continues in College Park, Silver Spring this weekend
With less than three weeks until Maryland’s primary election day on May 14th, operations to turn out the “Uncommitted” primary vote continue. Across the country, hundreds of thousands of people are voting “Uncommitted” in the Democratic Presidential primary in order to send a strong message for peace and justice for Palestinians to President Biden and Democratic leaders in Maryland. Mass voter outreach, coordinated by the Montgomery County and Prince George’s County Branches, has successfully reached well over 2,000 doors in the county so far.
Maryland is one of the last states with an Uncommitted option in the Democratic Primary, so driving up turnout is a focus. The following canvasses are happening this weekend:
Saturday, April 27th: 11am canvass in College Park. Meeting point: Old Town Playground, few minutes walk from College Park Metro. 7555 Columbia Avenue, College Park, MD 20740. RSVP here.
Sunday, April 28th: 11am canvass in Silver Spring. Meeting point: Sonny’s Green, few minutes walk from Silver Spring Metro on the Red Line. 175 High Park Lane, Silver Spring, MD 20910. RSVP here.
NoVA branch to cohost a Q&A for Alexandria’s Mayoral and City Council elections on May 2
The NoVA branch will be co-hosting a Q&A for Alexandria’s Mayoral and City Council elections with Grassroots Alexandria and Tenants Workers United (TWU) on Thursday, May 2 starting at 6pm. Weather permitting, it will be held outside the TWU building at 3801 Mt. Vernon Ave, Alexandria, VA 22305. Rain location TBD. This is our first time collaborating with these groups on this event, so it would be great to have a large turnout. It should be a useful opportunity for Alexandria residents to learn more about the candidates who will be on your ballots this year, too. Finally, if you’re able to and interested in helping out on the day of the Q&A, please let Alex Y. know either directly or in #nova-electoral ASAP. RSVP here.
Teach-in: Beyond Crime: How We Fight Back Against “Secure DC” and the DC Police State — Thursday, May 9
While the Secure DC omnibus crime bill (“Crimnibus”) has unfortunately become law, the fight against mass incarceration and the police state continues. Come out for a chance to talk with your neighbors and learn how this law is already harming DC residents. Join this teach-in to learn about the history of state repression and criminalization in DC, what’s in Secure DC, how it harms our community and, most importantly, how we can fight back. We will meet on Zoom and in person at the MLK Library (901 G St NW) on Thursday, May 9 at 7-8:30pm. Food and child care will be provided onsite. RSVP.
Interested in outreach activities this Saturday and May 4 for this and the Labor Walking Tour? Sign up here.
Northern Virginia DSA free screening of Israelism, May 7 from 6 to 8pm
Alexandria for Palestine, Arlington for Palestine, Fairfax for Palestine and NoVA Branch DSA are holding a free screening of the documentary Israelism at Busboys and Poets in Shirlington on May 7 from 6 to 9pm ET. Get your FREE tickets.
The screening will be followed by a panel discussion (more details to come).
This event will be a fundraiser for the Rebuilding Alliance, which has been active in Palestine for decades and is one of the few organizations providing aid to Palestinians in Gaza right now. It was founded in 2003 by Rachel Corrie’s parents, following the murder of the young activist by the Israeli army. In their own words, “Rebuilding Alliance is dedicated to advancing equal rights for Palestinians through education, advocacy, and support that assures Palestinian families the right to a home, schooling, economic security, safety, and a promising future.” Read more about how they’re helping feed the people of Gaza here, and read more about Rachel Corrie here.
Reproductive care kit packing event — NEW DATE/LOCATION — Wednesday, May 15 at 6pm
Join the Repro Justice working group for our reproductive care kit packing event for the DC Abortion Fund (DCAF), on Wednesday, May 15 at 6pm. The event, taking place at Red Derby, aims to raise money for DCAF and to pack close to 500 care kits for DCAF to distribute locally to people in need. All are invited to attend — the more people, the more kits packed. RSVP here. Also, consider donating to As You Are DC’s staff in their time of need.
Invite to DSA-sponsored book talk on Wednesday, May 6 — The Price is Wrong: Why Capitalism Won’t Save the Planet
You’re invited to register for a talk on the political economy of finance on May 6th at 7pm at Creative Grounds DC (1822 North Capitol St. NW). Brett Christophers, an expert on the political economy of finance, will be speaking at a Metro DC DSA sponsored event about his latest book, The Price is Wrong: Why Capitalism Won’t Save the Planet on how the green transition simply isn’t profitable despite governments’ efforts to make renewable energy safe for capitalism. His book is an essential read for public power campaigners and ecosocialists. Christophers will be speaking alongside Johanna Bozuwa, founder and executive director of the Climate and Community Project — and a former We Power DC member — and Dharna Noor, a journalist at The Guardian. This book talk is a great opportunity to understand how public power is essential for the green transition. Register to attend here.
DC Labor History Walking Tour on May 11 — outreach efforts continue next two Saturdays at 1pm
Sign up now to join Metro DC DSA for the DC Labor History Walking Tour on Saturday, May 11 at 1pm. The tour will meet at Union Station, then visit several landmarks that pay tribute to the past and ongoing struggle of the American working class with a broad range of union organizers and labor experts as guides. Attendees will learn about the early rise of labor power, the violent state suppression of workers and corporate retaliation against unions that still impacts workers today, how workers fought back and won critical concessions through the Great Depression and how neoliberal international trade undercuts US labor — and much more.
Outreach for the tour and related political education events is continuing this Saturday, April 27th at 1pm and launching from Columbia Heights Civic Plaza. Sign up in advance to receive weather notices, volunteer for the tour or take part in other outreach opportunities.
Summer 2024 reading group sign up now open
You are invited to sign up and invite your friends and coworkers to Summer 2024 reading groups through Metro DC DSA — all start after Memorial Day and end before Labor Day. These reading groups are a great way to meet new people, learn core works connected to socialism and political economy, build our capacity to learn and debate ideas, and get connected to political education in the chapter. Summer offerings include a group exploring Logistics and Capitalism, a political economy group reading The Making of Global Capitalism, a Mobilize Your Union group for anyone looking to get more active in their workplace or union, an Internationalism group reading Vincent Bevins’ The Jakarta Method, a Socialism and Culture group reading Stuart Hall about how socialism can make itself “common sense,” a Communist Manifesto group reading through the original work and interpretations of it today, the Neoliberalism group reading Melinda Cooper’s modern classic Family Values, and the Know Your Chapter: Bylaws Reading Group to bring people together to read and discuss DSA’s existing rules and their history. Register one or more times to join — most groups will meet online but with regular in-person social meet ups to build group camaraderie.
INFO ACCESS
MDC DSA Publications Schedule: TheWashington Socialist publishes on a quarterly schedule. The Spring 2024 edition is now live and will be updated on a rolling basis until Summer. The Spring issue’s pieces include remote work as a socialist weapon, the passage of DC’s “Crimnibus” or Secure DC Act, anti-mask laws in history and several analyses of the chapter’s internal strategy, including as a regional formation. Anyone interested in contributing to the Washington Socialist can email submissions or questions at [email protected]. Get your socialist self on the record.
Weekly Updates are scheduled for Fridays — May 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31. Current and past Updates are on the web here. Want more INFO ACCESS? Submit your Update suggestions to the tip line, including nominating articles for ESSENTIAL PERSPECTIVES.
Find out about our MDC DSA chapter — structure, campaigns and working groups, Night School and reading groups — HERE. And live from our studio, Wednesday, May 8, 7 – 8pm | Why You Should Join DSA/New Member Orientation (with Q&A).
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
Stop the Foggy Bottom Evictions | Stop the Sweeps DC Stop the Sweeps DC is asking people to contact the DC Government, National Parks Service and US Park Police to tell them to not evict the homeless encampments in Foggy Bottom. These sweeps do nothing to aid the unhoused or address the underlying causes of homelessness, but are successful at wasting taxpayer money to upend the lives of the unhoused and separate them from needed social services. Write a letter here.
Environmental Justice Action Summit | EmPower DC
EmPower DC and allied orgs sponsor a first annual Environmental Justice Action Summit this Saturday, April 27. 10am – 5pm (doors open 9:30) at First Congregational United Church of Christ, 945 G St, NW (next door to MLK Library). On the agenda: experts provide info, accountability and action for environmental justice. REGISTER HERE and find out more.
ESSENTIAL PERSPECTIVES
ESSENTIAL PERSPECTIVES are articles and opinion pieces of interest to DMV leftists but not, generally, appearing in local media. They should have links without paywalls. Readers are invited to submit candidates at our tip line.
“I’m a DSA member, I’m here to support the students. In 1968 I was arrested in the math building as an outside agitator, I went to Queen’s College. I had a friend of mine who called me up and said there’s gonna be action over here. So I went out, I got an ID from a friend, went in and joined the demonstration at Low Library. Then we took over the math building. And in the math building we stayed there for, it was about five days or maybe longer. It was a beautiful experience, in solidarity, in kindness. And we got busted by the cops. A lot of people got hurt. A friend of mine got his head broken in…There’s a real continuity between us and what’s going on now. It’s joyous, almost ecstatic for me to see all the young people struggling and knowing the right way to struggle.”
“The organized Jewish community has weaponized [a] conflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism; colleges and universities are banning chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine from campuses. Congressional demagogues are forcing university presidents to resign. State and local governments, foreign governments, U.S. cabinet departments, and even Congress are adopting a definition of antisemitism that includes anti-Zionism.” Alan Wagman, a member of Jewish Voice for Peace in New Mexico, posted this article in Counterpunch exploring the depths of hostility toward anti-Zionist Jews within the Jewish community, and the reasons that level of hostility is growing as Zionism is increasingly called into question. It’s close to home for Wagman; “As a longtime anti-Zionist and member of Jewish Voice for Peace, it has been a fact of my life that the organized Jewish community has considered me a pariah.” Now the politeness is in the past.
“Dupuis never thought of flyering as a particularly radical act. 'Distributing flyers, putting up posters, peaceful protesting where you take to the street… it’s just spreading information to raise awareness—that’s like the most basic act of protest,' they say. But the state of Georgia, which is as hell-bent on building Cop City as its opponents are on stopping it, had other ideas. And so, in September, [Julia] Dupuis and 60 other Cop City activists found themselves indicted under Georgia’s version of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, a law purportedly designed to punish organized crime syndicates.”
Shawn Fain says he expects ‘more of the same to come’ after celebrating the union’s historic victory at VW’s Tennessee plant. The three-day unionization vote at Volkswagen ended last Friday, with the union winning overwhelmingly, 2,628 to 985 – the first time workers at a foreign-owned auto plant in the South have unionized. From The Guardian via Portside. Also via Portside from the Century Foundation, a follow-up from the same author.
“The Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to reinstate net neutrality rules, bringing back Obama-era internet regulations that were abandoned in 2017. Commissioners voted 3-2 in favor of net neutrality, which posits that all lawful data and content on the internet must be treated the same by ISPs [Internet Service Providers]… [R]egulating broadband internet as a utility like a phone service means the FCC can do so more stringently. ‘Broadband is now an essential service,’ FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said.” Route Fifty
This is the weekly newsletter of the Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America (MDC DSA), which is produced by local members of the chapter's Publications working group. The Weekly Update publishes every Friday at 9am.
Paid for by Metro DC DSA (mdcdsa.org). Not authorized by any candidate or committee.
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
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