When you have a dream that seems impossible, and one day decide
to embrace it… you discover that dream is not just yours, that
millions share it, and that you were only a kind of initial impulse.
Then that impulse becomes a hurricane of uncontainable power. It fills
city squares and it is transformed into a collective dream that
screams out for change.
--Gustavo Petro
Comrades,
This week, Bernie Sanders unveiled three massive plans to transform
our society. The first, his Justice and Safety for All
(https://berniesanders.com/issues/criminal-justice-reform/) plan,
calls for enormous public investment in our communities to minimize
and displace the role of police and prisons. The second, his Workplace
Democracy plan
(https://berniesanders.com/issues/the-workplace-democracy-plan/) ,
aims to double the size of unions and reawaken the sleeping lion that
is the American labor movement. The third, his Green New Deal plan
(https://berniesanders.com/issues/the-green-new-deal/) , will pull us
back from the brink of climate destruction and profive 20 million new
jobs in the process.
Nobody in the presidential primary field can match the energy of
Donald Trump besides Bernie Sanders. We need Bernie to go head-to-head
with Trump in the general election.
Bernie versus Trump would be a real referendum on the future of
this country. It would bring millions out to vote who, uninspired by
business as usual, would otherwise stay home. And by counterposing a
transformative democratic socialist vision to Trump’s hateful chaos,
the contest would expose the real antagonism at the heart of our
society: that between workers like us, and billionaires like Trump who
want to keep us down.
East Bay DSA knows this is an opportunity too rare and too good to
be wasted. Join us in the coming weeks as we get the ball rolling on
our Bernie 2020 campaign. See below for how to get involved.
Solidarity in the struggle for a better day!
Featured Events
If you don't want to waste this opportunity, here's a list of
official chapter events. RSVP to keep updated. You can also keep track
on our Events page (http://eastbaydsa.org/events/) .
** CANVASS FOR BERNIE
SANDERS!
------------------------------------------------------------
Friday,
August 23 | 4–7 p.m.
Fruitvale BART, Oakland ♿️
Join us for at the Fruitvale BART to crowd canvass in order to
support Bernie's run! A democratic socialist is a front-runner for the
presidency, and DSA is building a mass movement for socialism behind
him. Bernie Sanders's 2020 run offers an unprecedented opportunity for
democratic socialists to reach thousands of ordinary people with our
politics, build working-class power, and make sure that California—a
crucial battleground state—goes to Bernie on Super Tuesday.
We'll begin with a training on how to talk about Bernie, and then
spend the morning talking to our neighbors about Bernie 2020 and
democratic socialism. Come join us!
Fruitvale BART is wheelchair-accessible.
RSVP
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/779/2019-08-23-canvass-for-bernie-sanders/)
** HOW TO TALK ABOUT BERNIE SANDERS AND
DSA
------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday,
August 24 | 1–3 p.m.
Lake Merritt, near corner of Grand &
Bellevue, Oakland ♿️
Bernie Sanders is the only candidate in the crowded field for the
Democratic presidential primary who knows that the only way to
transform our society is by building a movement of working class
people all across the country who are ready to stand up and fight for
the world we deserve. How do we build a movement? First, you have to
talk about it to your liberal friends, your apolitical coworkers, your
immigrant neighbors, and, yes, to strangers.
At this training, we'll practice having political conversations
that move someone from skepticism, complacency, or apathy to being
ready to fight arm-in-arm for the better future promised by democratic
socialism and the Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign.
RSVP (http://eastbaydsa.nationbuilder.com/event-class-2019-08-24-how_to_talk_about_bernie_sanders_and_dsa)
** DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM
101
------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday,
August 25 | 2–4 p.m.
Empowerment Park, 462 Bellevue Ave, Oakland
♿️
Democratic socialist politicians like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria
Ocasio Cortez are calling for Medicare for All and a Green New Deal.
Teachers from West Virginia to Oakland are striking for public
education and winning, and tens of thousands of people across the
country are getting involved in the project of building democratic
socialism in the US. But what is democratic socialism? Let’s talk
about it.
Since the 2016 Bernie Sanders campaign brought democratic socialism
back into the mainstream, the Democratic Socialists of America went
from about 6,000 members to 60,000 nationwide, making it the largest
socialist organization in the US in more than 50 years. If you’re a
new DSA member or just curious about democratic socialism, come out to
our Democratic Socialism 101 picnic and find out how to get involved
in DSA’s fight for democratic control of the things that matter on the
job and in your community and the things we all need to lead a
dignified life.
The event is outdoors at Empowerment Park.
RSVP
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/777/2019-08-25-democratic-socialism-101/)
** MEMES 4 BERNIE CONTENT
PARTY!
------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday,
August 25 | 2–4 p.m.
Powderface, 3411 E. 12th St. #134, Oakland
♿️
Come meme with us! An electrifying afternoon of content creation
awaits. We’ll be curating articles, hatching tweets and slappin’ text
on cat pictures for Bernie Sanders and Socialism.
We’ll be using this form (https://forms.gle/tAcSKyD1PsED22iC6) to
collaborate on content. Feel free to use it any time and to peruse the
replies!
This is a great event for new members, people curious about DSA or
those who want to connect with our 2020 electoral work. Please bring a
charged device!
RSVP
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/763/2019-08-25-memes-4-bernie-content-party/)
** LABOR COMMITTEE MONTHLY
MEETING
------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday,
August 25 | 6–8 p.m.
Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library, 6501 Telegraph
Ave, Oakland ♿️
Please join the East Bay DSA Labor Committee for our regular
monthly meeting. It's open to all DSA members who are interested in
getting involved in labor work with their comrades! Learn more about
how to get involved in the committee, our ongoing projects, and
upcoming solidarity actions!
Entrance and bathroom are wheelchair-accessible.
RSVP
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/774/2019-08-25-labor-committee-monthly-meeting/)
** BEER & ROSES LABOR
SOCIAL
------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday,
August 29 | 6:30–8:30 p.m.
Telegraph Beer Garden, 2318 Telegraph
Ave, Oakland ♿️
Join the East Bay DSA's Labor Committee for their regular Beer
and Roses social. Hang out with other members who are interested in
the labor movement, hear about what's happening in EBDSA Labor
Committee & learn how you can get involved.
Telegraph Beer Garden has a narrow doorway at entrance and moderate
noise level.
RSVP
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/775/2019-08-29-beer-roses-labor-social/)
Upcoming Events
** CROWD CANVASS FOR BERNIE AT OAKLAND FIRST
FRIDAY
------------------------------------------------------------
Friday,
September 6 | 4:30–8:30 p.m.
Uptown Oakland, near Telegraph & Grand ♿️
Join us at Oakland First Friday to crowd canvass in support of
Bernie's 2020 run and democratic socialism! A democratic socialist is
a frontrunner for the presidency, and DSA is building a mass movement
for socialism behind him. Bernie Sanders's 2020 run offers an
unprecedented opportunity for democratic socialists to reach thousands
of ordinary people with our politics, build working-class power, and
make sure that California—a crucial battleground state—goes to Bernie
on Super Tuesday.
August's First Friday canvass was a resounding success, and this
First Friday should be even better! Join us to talk to all kinds of
folks about the issues that affect their lives and empower them to
join the mass, working-class movement being built by Bernie 2020 and
DSA.
RSVP
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/789/2019-09-06-crowd-canvass-for-bernie-at-oakland-first-friday/)
** GENERAL MEETING: SOCIALISTS AND THE LABOR
MOVEMENT
------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday,
September 8 | 1–3 p.m.
Omni Commons, 4799 Shattuck Ave, Oakland ♿️
This month’s all-member meeting will be focused on the role of
socialists in the labor movement. We’ll talk about the history of
labor movement, how members are engaging with their unions, and how
DSA can support and strengthen union activity.
We need volunteers! From setup to sign-in to mic-running,
volunteering for our meetings is easy and low-commitment. Volunteer
here (https://forms.gle/NzYMzXKQYVy1mFUC8) . Use this form, too, if
you have child supervision or accessibility needs, including the need
for an ASL interpreter.
Our next voting General Meeting will be in October.
Member-submitted resolutions will be accepted on a rolling
basis—please email them to [email protected]. The submission
deadline for each meeting is three weeks in advance of the meeting
itself.
The Omni Commons ballroom is wheelchair-accessible via a lift and
has wheelchair-accessible restrooms, and we provide child supervision
and wireless microphones with runners. It is also accessible by BART
(1/2 mile walk from MacArthur Station) and by AC Transit bus lines 18,
88, and 12. See more information on Omni accessibility
(https://omnicommons.org/wiki/Accessibility) .
RSVP or Volunteer (https://forms.gle/NzYMzXKQYVy1mFUC8)
Not a
Member Yet? Let's Fix That.
DSA recently topped 56,000 members, and
we're still growing. There's never been a better time to get involved
than right now! Join our national organization by clicking below and
become an official socialist organizer.
Join DSA (https://act.dsausa.org/donate/membership/)
Caucus Corner
Check the Caucus Corner of the East Bay DSA
website (https://www.eastbaydsa.org/about/caucuses/) to learn more
about the activities of East Bay DSA caucuses and how to
participate!
Announcements
EAST BAY DSA IN SEARCH OF OFFICE SPACE
Do you or someone you
know have access to an office space that East Bay DSA could rent?
Because we are a member-run organization with limited resources, we
are looking for a low-cost, below market rate office space. Please
contact [email protected]
(mailto:[email protected]?subject=Office%20Space) if you have any
leads. Thank you!
Economic models are not ends in themselves, but instruments for
achieving what we're really after—a society in which people are able
to treat one another as ends, not as means.
--Vivek Chibber