Metro DC DSA Weekly Update for Friday, August 16, 2019

Comrade,    For the weekend—SATURDAY Aug 17: Community Gardening: Fill The Beds! At 9 AM before it gets hot; at 12:30 PM Rent Control Working Group Organizing Meeting, also info here;  at 1 PM, the radical museum walk: Images of Social and Political Struggle at the National Portrait Gallery ; SUNDAY Aug. 18: the DSA 4 Bernie working group, meeting 2:30 PM at the Petworth Library, is a DC-focused activity to boost the Sanders campaign.

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Highlights from the Aug. 11 General Body Meeting
Action reports from the Drive United working group organizing rideshare drivers for Uber and Lyft; more on Slack at #driver-labor-wg >> The Community Gardening working group, working for environmental and food justice; more at #community-gardening on MDC DSA Slack >> A report from NoVa activists on resistance to pipeline construction in the Old Dominion; see #ecosocialism >> The DSA 4 Bernie working group, meeting Sunday, Aug. 18, 2:30 PM at the Petworth Library, is a DC-focused activity to boost the Sanders campaign.

A resolution on raising the limits on expenditure by the Steering Committee without needing a GBM vote was debated and an OpaVote link has been sent out to members with several choices, including an amended version of the resolution. Members should check their inboxes for that.
A link for nominations for a second co-chair for the Internal Organizing Committee is here. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd4lxSziGZ_RyomFIPTapQRuxd2twAkpXKkPWnkWU4ypx43VQ/viewform?usp=sf_link
An explainer email with links for both of the above was sent to all members around 6 PM Thursday, Aug. 15.

A major presentation at the GBM from a new working group on Rent Control outlined the loopholes in DC’s current rent control regulations that allow landlords to pursue gentrification and profit by extracting individual “voluntary agreements” (often leading to buyouts) that allow the landlords to evade rent control requirements for succeeding tenants. The working group plans a major coalition campaign to push DC’s Council, when renewal of rent control regulations in November 2020 comes up, for major changes. MDC DSA, tenant groups and progressive alliances plan to urge the Council to: Eliminate guaranteed profit; eliminate the 2% rents can be raised beyond CPI; Increase oversight of landlords’ cheat-ready hardship petitions and "voluntary" agreements; Expand rent control to buildings built after 1975, and 4-unit buildings and Strengthen enforcement of the housing code so neglect isn’t profitable.
The new working group meets to organize tomorrow, Saturday, as noted above in the weekend roundup and below in the MDC DSA calendar.  A resolution on the campaign was introduced (first reading) at the GBM and will be voted on by members after third reading at a future GBM.

Also at the GBM, Gabe R, MDC DSA delegate who reported briefly on the 2019 Convention, recommended the account from Protean magazine as comprehensive and trustworthy. It also leads the more recent batch of Convention accounts in “Good Reads,” below.
 Here are the slides shown during the GBM: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1XZ9ICfdNqJzglfIvXN3IcHKRUnev-S486pf8IYsjkaw/edit#slide=id.p2 Good Reads (below) are loaded with accounts from friends, frenemies and more about our just-adjourned 2019 Convention in Atlanta, so check them out. We have added new ones and retained the first round of reports that we published last week, so one-stop shopping if you are just getting around to getting the post-2019 convention landscape into view. Book Talk Report: An overflow crowd at Politics and Prose, Washington's premiere independent bookstore, heard socialist Timothy Faust present his book "Health Justice Now" on August 14.  An inspiring and forceful speaker who has worked with DSA and other groups, Faust described the fight for single-payer health care as the first step toward eliminating the injustices of capitalism. Audience members were handed DSA flyers and many said they already were DSA members.
-- Calvin G. Zon Curious about Metro DC DSA? MDC DSA’s website has expanded resources on our chapter Campaigns, WGs and Caucuses – check it out here. Is your campaign, caucus or working group properly represented? Contact [email protected], attn: web managers . MDC DSA Publications Schedule for August: One more Friday Update will appear for August, on Friday Aug. 23, and the Labor Day issue of the Washington Socialist will appear Friday, August 30 with an article deadline of Sunday, August 25.
Our activism gains support when it is explained in a socialist context and voice, so submit your contribution to our ongoing narrative here. “Pessimism of the intellect and optimism of the will,” to use Gramsci’s formulation, are best explicated as a paired mental activity in – what else – the written word. Get busy.
Opinion pieces, campaign updates, coverage of rallies, socialist illustrations or photo essays – all are welcome and valued. Check our submission guidelines, and mind the deadlines.  Thinking about writing an article but wondering if the subject has been covered here, and how recently? You can find out in the Index for 2016-18. The 2012-2015 issues are collected in per-month PDFs; look at the Archive section on the right of the mdcdsa.org website’s  Washington Socialist page. And web warriors can start with us about keeping the mdcdsa.org site fresh and up to date. It’s all of a piece, comrades.
Yours in solidarity, 
The Publications Working Group

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Follow links for details

Saturday AUG 17  9:00 AM
Community Gardening: Fill The Beds!

643 G St SE, 643 G St SE, Washington, DC 20003

Our Community Gardening group is working hard to get a growing space set up in DC! Due to elevated levels of lead in the soil, we’ve built some raised beds in our space so we can safely grow edible food. Now we just need to fill them. We’re looking for newspaper, leaves, grass clippings, vegetable […]

Saturday AUG 17  12:30 PM
D.C. Rent Control Working Group Meeting

Petworth Neighborhood Library, 4200 Kansas Ave NW, Washington, DC 20011

Agenda is TBD, but will likely include some or all of the below: (1) Updates/report-backs from the coalition liaisons(2) Brief discussion on Ward 4 city council race(3) Discuss tentative calendar and plan for maybe the next 2-3 months, with the goal of planning a couple of things with specific action items

Saturday AUG 17  1:00 PM
Images of Social and Political Struggle at the National Portrait Gallery
Gallery Place Metro, 8th and F St NW, Washington, dc 20004
Beat the August heat with veteran DSA member and Washington Socialist museum correspondent Bill Mosley for a tour of artworks highlighting struggles for justice at these two Smithsonian museums. See the bust of Eugene Debs and other important figures of the left; paintings by labor artist Ralph Fasanella; works by important woman artists and artists and more. Follow link for details

Tuesday AUG 20  7-8:30 PM
Migrant Justice Working Group: Planning Session
501 3rd St NW (photo ID required for entry)
Have you been curious about working with the migrant justice working group (MJWG) but not sure where to begin? Do you wonder what a Deportation Profiteer is? Have you been confused by what a research training involves and how it benefits our work? Or are you interested in taking direct action, but not sure where to start? MDC DSA’s MJWG holds a public planning meeting to explain the work we've done in the past and the steps we are taking in the future to help bring down the Deportation Machine. Follow link for details.

Wednesday AUG 21 6:30 PM
Queer Caucus Happy Hour in MoCo 🌹
Silver Branch Brewing Company, 8401 Colesville Rd #150, Silver Spring, MD 20910
The Queer Caucus (all LGBTQIA+ comrades and our allies/accomplices are welcome!) will be having our August happy hour at the Silver Branch Brewing Company in downtown Silver Spring ! The brewery is in the Silver Spring Metro Plaza Center building, across the street from the Silver Spring metro. The ADA-accessible entrance is on 2nd Ave, Follow link for details.

Wednesday AUG 21 7:00 PM
Steering Committee
Institute for Policy Studies, 1301 Connecticut Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC 20036
Steering Committee meetings are open to any MDC DSA member who would like to attend. Please RSVP and message the hosts if you would like to join by videoconference so we can make arrangements to get you the appropriate URL. Follow link for details.

Sunday, AUG 25  1:30-3 PM
Queer Caucus Organizing Meeting
Shaw (Watha T. Daniel) Neighborhood Library 1630 7th St NW · Washington, DC
Please gather with other LGBTQ+ comrades in our chapter to discuss caucus activities and plans. Follow link for details.
 
Sunday AUG 25 4:00 PM
Socialist Feminism Reading Group 🌹
The Festival Center, 1640 Columbia Rd., NW, Washington, DC 20009
Please read our reading group Participation Guide () and join us as we explore and discuss topics within Socialist Feminism. 🌹 This month, our readings are collaborative; suggest some here. Follow link for details.

 Thursday AUG 29  6:30 PM
DSA Happy Hour
The Midlands Beer Garden, 3333 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20010
Join us for our monthly happy hour! This is a great chance to meet and mingle with fellow comrades. No agenda, no work, and no politics… well, maybe a little politics. Happy hours, like most MDC DSA events, are open to members and non-members alike! Come join us in an informal setting to learn more Follow link for details.

Thursday AUG 29  6:00 PM
Disability Justice Working Group Meeting
The Festival Center, 1640 Columbia Rd NW, Washington, DC 20009
Join Metro DC DSA Disability Justice Working Group for our monthly meeting. Learn how to get involved in the various campaigns to empower and liberate the disabled community from the oppressive capitalist system. We meet on the first floor of the ADA-compliant Festival Center. ASL interpretation will be provided on request. Follow link for details.
 
SEPTEMBER

Wednesday SEP 4 7:00 PM
Steering Committee (remote only)
Steering Committee meetings are open to any MDC DSA member who would like to attend. You can find the Zoom link in the #steering channel in the chapter’s Slack. Follow link for details.

Sunday SEP 8  3:00 PM
Metro DC DSA Monthly General Body Meeting
Friends Meeting of Washington, 2111 Florida Ave. NW, Washington, DC
The monthly meeting of the Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America! The agenda will be distributed the week before the meeting.

Sunday SEP 15  2:00 PM
MoCo DSA 🌹General Branch Meeting

Takoma Park Volunteer Fire Department, 7201 Carroll Ave, Takoma Park, MD 20912

Please join us for our September branch meeting! Help us build our vision for equality, democracy, and socialism in Montgomery County. Afterwards, we’ll adjourn to a local establishment for a social hour. See you then!

Wednesday SEP 18  7:00 PM
Steering Committee

Institute for Policy Studies, 1301 Connecticut Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC 20036

Steering Committee meetings are open to any MDC DSA member who would like to attend. Please RSVP and message the hosts if you would like to join by videoconference so we can make arrangements to get you the appropriate URL. Follow link for details
 

SAT Aug 17  Deep Canvass with SURJ  11 AM-5 PM Hosted by SURJ NoVa RSVP Deep canvassing is a long-term, research-based strategy that SURJ is using to invite our neighbors to re-think their support for systemic white supremacy. Info at link or [email protected].
 
SAT August 17 M4A comes to Prince George’s with a Medicare For All Town Hall — 2 PM – 4 PM Mt. Ennon Baptist Church 9832 Piscataway Rd., Clinton, MD (Prince George’s, south county) An Open Invitation For Majority Leader Steny Hoyer to discuss the healthcare of his constituents within House Dist. 5, as well as the rest of us (um, Steny’s staff says he won’t be able to make it…) Progressive Maryland in coalition with the Maryland Progressive Health Care Coalition are among sponsor/hosts.
 
SAT Aug 17 Support Our Sisters and Siblings! NJNP House Party  9 PM – 1 AM TBA, Columbia Heights — Hosted by Showing Up for Racial Justice – SURJ – DC and No Justice No Pride: No Justice No Pride is on the frontlines of the fight to decriminalize sex work, housing discrimination and to take PRIDE back from corporations and cops.
 
SUN August 18 When They See Us: Screening & Discussion 6:30 – 8:30 PM  UUCF-Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax 2709 Hunter Mill Rd, Oakton, Virginia 22124 Hosted by SURJ Northern Virginia: https://www.facebook.com/events/408945519713246/  Documentary about the Central Park Five. More information coming soon! Mark your calendars!
 
THURS, August 22  ONE DC Fundraiser and Open Mic At Dew Drop  7:30 – 10:30 PM The Dew Drop Inn DC 2801 8th St NE, Washington, DC 20017 Come out for an evening of open mic performances to support ONE DC (Organizing Neighborhood Equity) and the vital work they are doing in DC! Info https://www.onedconline.org/
 
SUN Aug 25 Basilica Tenants Community Celebration! 1-4 PM, 636 Girard St NE, Washington, DC 20017-1320, -- Hosted by LinkUp and Justice First: Join Basilica tenants as they celebrate their recent victory against displacement by the Catholic Church! If you are able to make a small donation, or if you are able to contribute drinks, food dishes or supplies, please contact [email protected]
 
MON Aug 26 ROC DC Monthly Meeting  1-3 PM Restaurant Opportunity Center DC, Second Floor, 1100 Florida Ave NW, Washington, DC 20009, USA
Come together and meet other restaurant and tipped workers in DC who want to build worker power in order to improve wages and working conditions in the DC restaurant industry! Dinner will be provided and children are welcome!
 
SAT Aug 31 Black August Street Law 101: Know Your Rights Training 1-2:30 PM Dorothy I. Height/Benning Library 3935 Benning Rd NE, Washington, DC 20019  Hosted by Black Lives Matter DC and Keep DC 4 Me — This Black August, we continue to hold MPD accountable for illegal stop and frisks, jumpouts, brutality, and murder.
 
WED Sept 4 Robert Kuttner, editor of the American Prospect, discusses his new book, The Stakes, on the 2020 election, at the Economic Policy Institute from noon to 1:30 PM. It’s a free event with lunch included. Interested comrades can RSVP here.
 
SAT September 7  When They See Us: Organizing Conversation — 1:00 PM, ATU 689, 2701 Whitney Pl, District Heights, MD 20747 — Join Progressive Maryland’s Justice Task Force, Former NAACP President Ben Jealous, and other special guests for a discussion about our criminal legal system and learn about our plan for action to end mass incarceration here in Maryland. 

TUE Sept. 17 In Defense of American Democracy – day-long session at the GWU Marvin Center with a star-studded guest list and some surprises; organized by Shanker Institute, AFT and Forward Together.

THURS Sept 26 DC Stand Up Against "RIA" Displacement at Brookland Manor 8 AM
District of Columbia Government DC Court of Appeals 430 E Street, NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20001 Hosted by LinkUp and Brookland Manor/Brentwood Village Residents Association:
8 AM rally; 9:30 AM pack the courtroom to protest DC’s intrusive, tax-subsidized “Rhode Island Avenue” project and its potential for displacing Brookland Manor residents. More info: linkupitsofficial.org/dc-stand-up GOOD READS
COVERAGE OF THE 2019 DSA CONVENTION (NEW ACCOUNTS PUBLISHED SINCE LAST WEEK’S ROUNDUP, BELOW)
Here is the Protean mag account of convention https://proteanmag.com/2019/08/09/and-with-the-world-to-win-dsa-convention-2019/
Who let the blogs out? The rank and file militancy effort gets outed, ostensibly, in an “obtained” DSA-ish strategy memo … https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/city-hall/story/2019/08/14/democratic-socialists-look-to-take-over-new-yorks-powerful-labor-unions-1141206?nname=new-york-playbook&nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf

REPORTING ON THE 2019 DSA CONVENTION IN ATLANTA (THE FIRST ROUND, PUBLISHED IN LAST WEEK’S AUG. 9 UPDATE)
The NYT account of our convention, published Tuesday (Aug. 6) https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/06/us/politics/bernie-sanders-democratic-socialists-america.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
More MSM reporting on the convention, from CNN – reporting on this convention seems to be rather more about power and action and less about ideology and side issues that might fall under the category of obsessive disputation and “politically correct posturing,” which might have been more common in MSM reporting after the 2017 gathering: https://www.nbc-2.com/story/40879008/the-democratic-socialist-revolution-comes-to-a-crossroads
And The Guardian, not quite MSM https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/aug/06/democratic-socialists-us-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-bernie-sanders?CMP=share_btn_fb&fbclid=IwAR02xRHfVqO8HEw-1s9CqJBAT4uzQqQ11G5uSWTOYoQ1hTFs8NcJedgFp4A
Here’s a static Google doc with one of the early report-backs – it’s from the Boston delegation scribe — very useful roundup about what got passed. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CyMrdYj4IscDQG8-94yserV5JbT3WOahrf1z0TO5VMI/edit
Our MDC DSA comrade Brandon H passes along Collective Power Network’s write up of their successes and failures of Convention https://dsaorganizer.org/2019/08/06/cpn-report-from-the-2019-dsa-convention/
Here is Nathan Robinson of Current Affairs’s quite long and discursive piece that gives a sense of place and there-ness once you get accommodated to the unreliable-narrator stance. Maybe because it is not MSM, he engages in a Homeric catalogue of quirks and oddities, but his take on Sara Nelson’s blockbuster address and the news conference of our elected officials are pretty deeply affecting. It’s also loaded with links, such as this Current Affairs colleague’s deep dive into several of the prominent caucuses contesting at the event.
Delegate Eric Blanc wrote this account for The Nation, probably not the last discussion of the convention that will appear there, but a first (and hopeful) quick take: https://www.thenation.com/article/dsa-convention-sanders-atlanta-socialism/
Our MDC DSA comrade Allison G reports on specific housing issues and how they played out in Atlanta: https://medium.com/@allisongeroi/democracy-beyond-the-debate-floor-81ab3c9380e2
And… our MDC DSA comrade Kaiser F has kept a spreadsheet of convention issues and proposals with details about support and about the outcomes of the votes. Check it out here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fWofHwOsd4m3PcCab5w0lfIpEPFBKGqfuTi9KR–Zpo/edit?usp=sharing
And just in case you thought everybody thought we were cuddly, comes now KeyWiki Man, with a data dump of staggering proportions and a lavish awarding of credit to us and our predecessors for infiltrating just everything. https://www.thenewamerican.com/print-magazine/item/32907-democratic-socialists-of-america-communism-for-the-new-millennium
 
IN OTHER MATTERS:
For those who missed it (like your ed., here), a look at Sam Gindin’s long, thoughtful essay in last fall’s Catalyst called Socialism for Realists. Detailed recipes for the cook-shops of the future. More recently, Gindin was interviewed on the topic in Catalyst’s hastier sib Jacobin in “What a Socialist Society Could Actually Look Like.”

Politico reports that Joe Biden’s neolib trashing of Medicare for All as a hazard to union contracts is getting significant pushback from – the unions. https://portside.org/2019-08-15/some-labor-unions-split-biden-medicare-all

On the occasion of the 400^th anniversary of the arrival of enslaved persons in Virginia, a quite non-entertaining but absorbing timeline of US history from the perspective of the subordinated peoples, created by The Guardian. Non-fun fact: Maryland, first among the colonies, decreed interracial marriage illegal, in 1661. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/aug/15/400-years-since-slavery-timeline/

And this from Slate, recommended by our comrade David P: https://slate.com/business/2019/08/the-u-s-should-borrow-trillions-right-now-to-fix-everything.html?fbclid=IwAR23WH5LD4ElUB-PzmkyYqJ5EsYSugnYRddk_1Fjadf7vjpQQ0e1uX6HbBw