Dear Members,

We sent out the following press release regarding Mayor Tyer's leaked memo
mentioning antifa threat today. You can share it with your friends and view
on our website here:
[link removed]

If you have any ideas about how you want Berkshires DSA to connect and
communicate with the community, we're happy to receive your feedback.

Solidarity!

For Immediate Release

June 10, 2020

PRESS RELEASE: BERKSHIRES DSA, IN SOLIDARITY WITH ANTIFA ASKS
MASSACHUSETTS OFFICIALS TO OPPOSE AUTHORITARIANISM OF TRUMP

Pittsfield, MA- The Berkshires chapter of the Democratic Socialists of
America supports non-violent protest, including the ongoing efforts of
local anti-fascist volunteers around the world, internationally recognized
as antifa. Antifa is not an organized group but an idea that supports and
defends peoples’ right to live free from oppressive abuse of power.

“Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer unfortunately succumbed to the histrionics of
the right last week, taking sides with Donald Trump in blaming antifa for
outbreaks of violence at recent protests, and suggesting that antifa posed
a threat to residents of Berkshire County
<[link removed]>,”
says Berkshires DSA Co-Chair Christian Kennedy.

Berkshires DSA wholeheartedly supports Tyer’s desire to protect our
communities from violence. We therefore call on Tyer and other elected
officials to denounce and make clear the threat posed by alt-right
terrorist groups. Moreover, we call on Tyer and other elected officials to
support the Black Lives Matter movement and to defund the police. Funds
should be diverted from policing to critically needed social services and
programs in Black, Latinx, indigenous, and other communities of color.

“Antifa is not an organized group,” says Kennedy. “Antifa is an orientation
to confronting and crushing fascism, whether at home or abroad.”

While the right blames antifa for violence at recent protests, these
accusations have all been proven false. The FBI Washington Field Office,
for instance, found that there was “no intelligence indicating antifa
involvement/presence
<[link removed]>” in the DC
protests.

Antifa has made its presence felt in defending against fascism around the
world in numerous significant events and ongoing actions, such as the
Battle of Cable Street in London 1936, the Battle of Waterloo 1992, and the
Unity Carnivals. More recently, in 2017, antifa played an important role in
protecting activists protesting against the Unite the Right rally in
Charlottesville, VA; despite their efforts, activist Heather Heyer lost her
life to a neo-Nazi. As Democratic Socialists, we support the fight against
fascism and stand in solidarity with our comrades who identify as antifa.
Recent events have illustrated that standing up to fascism is more
important now than ever, as the COVID-19 crisis intensifies the crises of
structural racism and police brutality. We support the protesters across
the country and around the world, and we will continue to support the Black
Lives Matter movement.

The DSA is the largest socialist organization in the United States. DSA’s
members are building progressive movements for social change while
establishing an openly democratic socialist presence in American
communities and politics. We believe that working people should run both
the economy and society democratically to meet human needs, not to make
profits for the few. DSA members use a variety of tactics, from legislative
to direct action, to fight for reforms that empower working people.

For media inquiries, please contact Amillie Coster (413) 854 5611,
[email protected]

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__________________
Christian Kennedy
Sidney Rothstein
Co-Chairs, Executive Committee
Berkshires DSA
berkshiresdsa.org

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