Dear comrades,

Last week we hosted a Socialist Night School session on Prison and Police Abolition, led by Metro DC comrade David Kaib. Over 40 comrades from our chapter and fellow community members learned what abolition means in the context of policing and prisons, and discussed how to discern whether proposed policy changes are merely reformist or fit within the abolitionist framework.
 
If you couldn't attend but want to learn more, we suggest listening to this podcast episode with abolitionist Mariame Kaba, reading this interview with Ruth Wilson Gilmore, and this article on alternatives to police.

A different world is possible, but in order to build it, we need to build relationships with each other! So, please join us tomorrow for a happy hour with our comrades from the Metro DC chapter's Queer Caucus, at the Silver Branch Brewing Company (details below). As the brilliant Audre Lord wrote, "without community, there is no liberation."

And, mark your calendars for Sunday, September 15 - when we'll have our next branch meeting. Details below!

We've also learned that there are several openings on the MoCo Democratic Party's Central Committee. If you're interested in pushing the local Democratic Party to the left, here's the info on how to apply.

Upcoming DSA events:
Wednesday, August 21 at 6:30 PM: Queer Caucus Happy Hour at Silver Branch Brewing Company
Our chapter's Queer Caucus will have its August happy hour at the Silver Branch Brewing Company in downtown Silver Spring. All LGBTQIA+ comrades, allies & accomplices are welcome! Details here.

Sunday, September 15 from 2:00-4:30 pm: MoCo DSA Branch Meeting at Takoma Park firehouse
Please join us to talk rent control and more as our monthly meetings resume in September - at a new location, the Takoma Park firehouse! Details here.

 Don't forget to check out the Metro DC DSA Meetup Events page to find many DSA events throughout the Washington Metro region!

Upcoming community events:
 Saturday, September 7 at 11:00 AM - When They See Us: Organizing Conversation
From PMD: 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. Join us for a conversation around the Netflix show When They See Us and the existing issues in our criminal justice system in Prince George's County. Details here.

September 20-27: Global Climate Strikes
From the organizers: This September, millions of us will walk out of our workplaces and homes to join young climate strikers on the streets and demand an end to the age of fossil fuels. Our house is on fire — let’s act like it. We demand climate justice for everyone. Details here.

Good Reads:

 From truthout: "Mass Shootings, Militarism and Policing Are Chapters in the Same Manifesto" by Derecka Purnell. "The United States government, which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called 'the greatest purveyor of violence in the world,' commits the most routine violence against people of color on Earth, and has 800 military bases in 70 countries. So when white supremacists attack people of color within the U.S., they are simply implementing on a local level the bloody work that their own government carries out day in and day out across the globe."

 From Teen Vogue: "Why Harlan County, Kentucky Coal Miners Are Physically Blockading Coal Trains" by Kim Kelly. "Harlan County, Kentucky, may be one of labor’s most hallowed battlegrounds. Its soil has been soaked in the blood of union men and women time and time again since the early 20th century, when major labor disputes between miners and greedy mine operators roiled the area. Now suffering Appalachian coal miners have taken matters into their own hands once again. On July 29, coal miners in Cumberland, Kentucky, banded together to stop a moving train. They blocked the tracks because the company, where they had until recently been employed, filed for bankruptcy without paying approximately $5 million in back pay it owes to 1,700 miners. The standoff has now stretched on for weeks."

 From Jacobin: "Why The Labor Movement Needs the Left: An Interview with Bob Master" by Dan DiMaggio. "A longtime union organizer explains why socialists have a critical role to play in building the labor movement. We should pursue three tasks in unions: encouraging rank-and-file militancy, building an independent political infrastructure, and developing workers’ consciousness."

In solidarity,