Dear Members and Associates,

We usually participate in the Juneteenth celebrations, here in Duluth organized by the Duluth branch of the NAACP. This year some young activists have organized the Northern March for George Floyd, and the NAACP Young Adult Committee is helping them with the details. It looks like it might be a very large event. We will be tabling on E 1st St between 3rd and 4th Avenue starting at 3 pm. A link to event information is here.  Please wear masks, practice social distancing, don't hug friends even though you want to. Our table will be set up for no-contact information sharing and mailing list sign-up using hash-grids.

At least some Marshals are still needed. If you have experience as a marshal, or would be willing to learn, this links to the volunteer form. 

If you are unaware of the history of Juneteenth and why so many Black Americans have wanted a national holiday on this date, one of the better short articles on it can be found here. 

Finally, our spokesperson Mary Owen has written piece on why DSA members should participate in these protests. I paste it below.

In Solidarity

John Krumm

Twin Ports DSA

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Friends,

As one of the very few dark-skinned members of the Twin Ports DSA, I am requesting that DSA members engage in the protests and actions resulting from the killing of George Floyd and now, Rayshard Brooks.  While it seems obvious to me why we should be standing up against oppression and killing of our Black American brothers and sisters, to some it isn’t so clear.  I recently began reading The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander and was reminded of the history of racism in our country.  Racism, like nearly all efforts of oppression in the United States, is a child of capitalism. When slavery came to an end and a workforce was needed, southern land-owners realized that to maintain low production costs, they needed very cheap labor. To prevent organizing among Black and White workers which might have resulted in higher wages, land owners offered privileges and benefits to Whites only. Alexander writes, “White settlers were allowed greater access to Native American lands, white servants were allowed to police slaves through slave patrols and militias, and barriers were created so that free labor would not be placed in competition with slave labor.” 

While this is a simplistic telling of the birth of racism in the United States, it does remind us all that racism, like most evils is a product of the greed inherent in capitalism and exactly what the Democratic Socialists of America are pledged to fight. The demonization of Native Americans and Latin-X populations also has its roots in the effort to steal lands, again all in the name of capitalism. My point is that we are all in this together, we are all getting oppressed by the same master.  

We only need to look at the history of race and oppression to realize that the protests today are about all of us. The dehumanization of Black Americans is a prolonged attempt to separate us to maintain cheap labor and discredit all claims of inequality and oppression.  

Recently, Twin Cities DSA member Robin Wonsley spoke to the TC DSA and then the national DSA and reminded us of the connections between capitalism and oppression and racism.  You can hear her here.  

So, I’m asking you to please act now.  Join the protests, join the fight to end oppression, join the fight against the evils of capitalism.   

In solidarity,

Mary