The Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America

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**
THE
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twin cities
democratic socialists
of america


** Little Red Letter No. 58
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The Solidarity Fund is reopening!

After distributing over $50,000 in just a few weeks, the Mutual Aid Solidarity Economy working group hit pause on the distribution of funds so they could catch up with incoming requests. As of May 1st, the fund is open for requests again! Please donate what you can so we can redistribute the wealth!
Letter-Writing to Prisons Zoom Call
(Register here ([link removed] ) )
Sunday, May 10 at 2:00pm
Join the Socialist Feminist branch in a letter-writing to prisons Zoom call this Mother's Day, inspired by Survived & Punished, an abolitionist organization focused on supporting survivors of domestic violence & sexual assault in prisons. Bring paper & pens, postcards, stamps & we'll all hang out & write some letters. All welcome!
SocFem Reading Group
(Register here ([link removed]) )
Tuesday, May 26 at 6:00pm
Join us for our May book group discussion of As We Have Always Done: Indigenous Freedom Through Radical Resistance by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson. We have a limited number of copies of the book purchased through Boneshaker Books - contact Meg B on slack or email socfem [at] twincitiesdsa.org to request a copy.
All are welcome!

As We Have Always Done
COVID-19 Response Chapter Meeting
(Register for zoom call ([link removed]) )
Thursday, May 7 at 7:00pm
While Minnesota has been under a stay-at-home order since March 27, our employers and our government have failed to take the actions needed to take care of our community. Join your comrades chapter-wide in organizing for health, labor, and housing justice. All are welcome to participate in this work - you do not need to be a member to attend this call.
Upcoming Events:
Ops/Tech Committee Meeting
Mon, May 4, 7pm – 9pm
(Zoom link on calendar)

COVID-19 Chapter Meeting
Thu, May 7, 7:00pm – 8:30pm
(register for zoom here ([link removed]) )

Letter-Writing to Prisons Zoom Call
Sun, May 10, 2pm – 4pm
(register for zoom here ([link removed] ) )

Steering Committee meeting
Mon, May 11, 6:30pm – 8:00pm
(Zoom link on Slack)

Political Education Planning Zoom Call
Tue, May 12, 6:30pm – 8:00pm
(sign up here ([link removed]) )

TC Mutual Aid COVID Check In Call
Wed, May 13, 11:30am – 12:45pm
(Zoom link to come)
Ops/Tech Committee Meeting
Mon, May 18, 7pm – 9pm
(Zoom link on calendar)

TC Mutual Aid COVID Check In Call
Wed, May 20, 11:30am – 12:45pm
(Zoom link to come)

SocFem Reading Group
Tue, May 26, 6pm – 8pm
(register for zoom here ([link removed]) )

TC Mutual Aid COVID Check In Call
Wed, May 27, 11:30am – 12:45pm
(Zoom link to come)

Housing Branch Meeting
Thu, May 28, 6:00pm – 7:30pm
(Zoom link to come)

TCDSA Libertarian Socialist Reading Group
Fri, May 29, 5:30pm – 7:00pm
(sign up here ([link removed]) )

Socialist Feminist Branch Meeting
Sat, May 30, 2pm – 4pm
(register for zoom here ([link removed]) )

Keep an eye on our calendar ([link removed]) for more events as they're scheduled or changed!
What we're up to...

Grievance Committee Update

Since members were elected at the November 2019 general meeting, the eight folks who comprise the Twin Cities DSA Grievance Committee have been hard at work assessing current issues and envisioning what the Grievance Committee could be. We meet on a monthly basis to discuss new grievances and concerns within the chapter, review past grievance processes, and engage in critical discussions of what restorative and transformative justice approaches to addressing harm can look like within our organization. Founded on the belief that the carceral state perpetuates harm rather than providing safety and justice, the Grievance Committee has been working to create systems of accountability, safety, and support within TCDSA... (read more ([link removed]) )

- Caroline C.

Solidarity and Support for the Venezuelan People

Venezuela, by most estimates, has the world’s largest proven reserves of petroleum on the planet. Such immense oil wealth should mean that it has one of the highest standards of living on the planet and the capacity to transition toward a green economy. That would be the ideal, but is far from reality in Venezuela. The country has experienced mass inflation, shortages of food and medicine, and a breakdown in public safety that cause much suffering for the working-class of Venezuela. How did this unfortunate situation develop and what can be done to help Venezuela? (read more ([link removed]) )

- John H.
Do you have opinions? Hot takes? Cool things you've been doing with DSA or our allies? Write for us ([link removed]) !
For Further Review
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With so many great podcasts, articles, books and videos coming out, it's easy to miss something great. Here's a few things members have found and loved recently.

No One Is Well ([link removed])
Jewish Currents editor Arielle Angel’s letter from the onset of the pandemic, about how we can’t and shouldn’t go back to normal. -- TMW

Twin Cities janitor dies from COVID-19; union demands PPE and hazard pay ([link removed])
Armando's entirely preventable death should make us all angry. Stay tuned to his union, SEIU Local 26 ([link removed]) , as they fight to protect other workers like him. -- ARB

Who can look at anything any more... ([link removed])
Here is a powerful short piece from Arundhati Roy on the capitalism-disruption flowing from the pandemic, and the possibility to carry that momentum into a new future. -- DKR

Sanders' campaign proved that class-based organizing works ([link removed])
Really wonderful article by Asad Haider here. -- PKD

Now Is the Time to Dismantle Our Deportation Machine ([link removed])
A photo of our own local car sit-in at the Governor's mansion illustrates this Nation article about dismantling the "deportation machine." -- DKR

The Silver Lining of the COVID-Caused Recession is Supra-Economic ([link removed])
The Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy is behind this thoughtful piece on the "supra-economic" effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. -- DKR

The U.S. Tried to Build a New Fleet of Ventilators. The Mission Failed. ([link removed])
Maybe not revelatory but extremely frustrating to read - the company contracted a few years ago to produce 40,000 ventilators for a us stockpile was bought out by a competitor who then killed the contract, probably to preserve profits on their other ventilators. (That competitor was also later bought out by Medtronic.) -- RT

In a pandemic, there’s no place I’d rather be than here in Appalachia ([link removed])
This one touched me. I was born in Appalachia myself, a coalminer's grand-daughter. -- DKR

Aggressive testing, contact tracing, cooked meals: How the Indian state of Kerala flattened its coronavirus curve ([link removed])
Great article here on how the communists in Kerala are responding to corona. -- PKD

Bernie’s War of Maneuver ([link removed])
If you only read one political analysis of the 2020 presidential election, it should be this one. -- DKR

Facing Reality: The Socialist Left, the Sanders Campaign and Our Future ([link removed])
Good article here by new DSA members Charlie Post and Ashley Smith. Their view: "Unfortunately, these breakthroughs (referring to AOC, etc. victories in 2018) were exceptional events. The Democrats are a bureaucratic machine without a pretense of membership accountability, under the control of capital which commands the unflinching loyalty of the officialdom of the unions and various NGOs that claim to speak for the oppressed... The Democrats, having faced no internal left challenges since Jesse Jackson’s 1988 campaign, were caught with their pants down in 2016 and 2018. However, they regained the initiative by 2020, securing the nomination for Biden. They are even better prepared to meet any left challenges in Congressional and local elections." -- PKD

The Coronavirus Is Rewriting Our Imaginations ([link removed])
The best way to introduce this incredibly timely piece is with an excerpt: "Science-fiction writers don’t know anything more about the future than anyone else. Human history is too unpredictable; from this moment, we could descend into a mass-extinction event or rise into an age of general prosperity. Still, if you read science fiction, you may be a little less surprised by whatever does happen. Often, science fiction traces the ramifications of a single postulated change; readers co-create, judging the writers’ plausibility and ingenuity, interrogating their theories of history. Doing this repeatedly is a kind of training. It can help you feel more oriented in the history we’re making now. This radical spread of possibilities, good to bad, which creates such a profound disorientation; this tentative awareness of the emerging next stage—these are also new feelings in our time." Kim Stanley Robinson on how we are standing on the cusp of a future, and thinking about history. -- DKR

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If you find something that should be shared, post to the #linkroundup channel on slack, submit to this form ([link removed]) , or reply to this email.
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Join Us!
To become a dues paying member, please click here ([link removed]) .

To check if you're a current dues paying member, please click here (mailto:[email protected]?subject=Membership%20Status) .

To make a donation to TCDSA, please click here ([link removed]) .

To make a donation to or request aid from the Solidarity Fund, please click here ([link removed]) .

To join the TCDSA Slack, please click here ([link removed]) .
As always, socialism can't be solitary: what do you think about the newsletter? Do you want to help? Want to create or suggest some #content for next time? Please do ([link removed]) !
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Twin Cities Chapter DSA . PO Box 6554 . Minneapolis, MN 55406 . USA