Popular front continues fight against occupation as an offense appears to emerge; As Trump increases grip over DC, Mayor Bowser manufactures consent for fascism; Sign-ups for Metro DC DSA’s fall 2025 reading groups now open
This is the weekly newsletter of the Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America (MDC DSA), which is
produced by local members of the chapter's Publications Working Group. The Weekly Update publishes every
Friday at 9am. Want to fight fascism from the heart of empire? Join DSA and fight to build socialism!
Paid for by Metro DC DSA (mdcdsa.org). Not authorized by any candidate or committee.
UP FRONT
Popular front continues fight against occupation as an offense appears to emerge
It has been nearly three weeks since Donald Trump launched his invasion of the District of Columbia. The swarming of federal officers, acting under the guise of “public safety,” have launched a mass terror campaign targeting immigrants in the city. Over the past three weeks, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and a smattering of federal agencies have skulked across the city to harass and abduct locals suspected of being undocumented.
Locals have developed a resistance effort to defend from assault. Despite shock and strain, signs of a population ready for offense are emerging. Last Saturday, hundreds took to 14th and U to rally against the federal occupation. Following several speeches, which called on the multi-racial working class to rise in defense, locals spilled onto the streets of Shaw. The heroic demonstration led locals down U Street to call for an end to both the federal occupation and the wasteful curfew laws imposed by Mayor Bowser. Cars caught in the streets blared horns in support as bystanders joined the fray and cheered on resistance forces. Police, clearly caught off-guard, struggled to contain the march and shrunk from lines and positions established to contain protesters. Street protests were also summoned yesterday in a pre-Labor Day march. To chants of "NO COOPERATION, END THE OCCUPATION," hundreds of workers organized by labor unions and advocacy groups marched in Dupont Circle to call for an end to the occupation regime and wider austerity agenda being pursued by President Trump.
A larger national protest, planned for Saturday, September 6, has been called by the popular front fighting against the occupation forces. Protestors will assemble at Malcolm X Park at 11am, with plans to march through the city to defy the occupation. Metro DC DSA has endorsed the march and is encouraging turnout for the operation. Find more info here.
As Trump increases grip over DC, Mayor Bowser manufactures consent for fascism
Unsatiated by Bowser’s prior surrender of the city, President Trump has escalated his attempted takeover of DC. On Monday, Trump issued executive orders to end cashless bail, detain people who have not been convicted of any crime, and trial the establishment of new militarized police forces to cement his invasion. Trump is exploiting DC’s lack of local autonomy to test-run a planned roll-out to other cities across the country. It should not be lost that Trump is exploiting a style of urban-paranoia that many cynical Democrats have exploited to win favor with the rich and powerful over the years.
As fear and outrage grip the residents of DC, Mayor Bowser held a press conference on the federal takeover of DC on Wednesday. The press conference shocked the people of DC as it became clear that Bowser was doubling-down on her surrender of the city to Trumpist rule: the Mayor suggested in her presentation that the assault on life and civil liberties in the city has been good for residents. Bowser called for more police, the ones ushering ICE raids and detainments, despite historic declines in crime and violence in DC prior to occupation. Despite admitting a lack of data access, Bowser would go on to claim that the Sanctuary Values Act — which is supposed to prevent ICE cooperation with MPD — is still very much being followed even as people are being dragged out of their cars and off of the streets by the hour. When asked about the possibility that the federal takeover (or “surge” as she kept reframing for reporters) would be extended, Bowser openly declared to form a collaborationist government with Trump, saying “we will be prepared to take advantage of additional federal officers to focus on the beautification to support the federal task force.” Her final words to DC residents who feel as though their lives and neighborhoods are being offered up as collateral? That she’s sorry people are so anxious, but to remember “we all have a role to play in advancing and protecting our democracy.” One wonders how giving billions to billionaire settlement-funder Josh Harris in a stadium giveaway (one that includes a Bowser-approved fine waiver to chop down heritage trees) advances democracy.
Many of DC’s Councilmembers (CMs) were quick to condemn Bowser’s endorsement of the takeover. In a forceful response, CM Robert White expressed outrage at the Mayor’s abdication: “This federal takeover is not necessary for any purpose other than the authoritarian takeover he is planning to take to other states… this is not intended to help us… this is wild!” CM Lewis George delivered her plea to DC residents and allies across the country in a message broadcast across social media: “Friends and family are being broken apart… it is not okay. It will never be okay. I don’t care what the Mayor said in her presser or anywhere else, this is not something we are welcoming. This is not something that is good.”
At the quarterly U Street Neighborhood Association meeting, Ward 1’s Brianne Nadeau said that she "disagrees strenuously” with Bowser’s statements. Even if most of the cops “want to keep us safe,” CM Nadeau said, the situation is out of their control. Nadeau alleged that MPD is routinely responding to calls while the feds are simply eavesdropping on the radio calls and showing up. CM Nadeau committed to request body camera footage to try and uncover ICE’s associations with MPD to see how often the other agencies were inviting themselves along on MPD calls. Even though Nadeau repeatedly said that she’s doing everything in her power to stop the takeover and protect DC residents, this was the only specific action she promised to take. Instead, she kept shifting the responsibility to the very helpers Bowser would rather pretend don’t exist — the people. Grassroots organizing like the support for students at school arrival and dismissal as well as the neighborhood surveillance networks are what Nadeau said will ultimately end the occupation of DC.
Want to join the fight against occupation?
Metro DC DSA members can fill out this rapid-response interest form to participate in community defense. Members are also encouraged to check the #migrantjustice channel on Slack for additional actions (including in NoVA and Montgomery County).
Report any federal enforcement incidents in Ward 4 using this form, created by Councilmember Janeese Lewis George.
Sign-ups for Metro DC DSA’s fall 2025 reading groups now open
Kicking off after Labor Day, Metro DC DSA is assembling 13 distinct reading and discussion groups on socialism, Capital Vol. 1, postmodernism, abolition, socialist education, and more. The chapter’s reading groups provide an opportunity to learn in a group setting either online or in-person, and help members develop their organizing and knowledge alongside comrades while providing a forum for debate and discussion. Other topics include an electoral group reading the best analyses of Zohran’s win (and beyond), a Palestinian Poetry group, an ongoing new magazine article discussion group, and much more. Locals can find out more about each group and sign up here.
BRIEFS
Metro DC DSA to hold fundraiser for Maryland electoral campaigns — Sunday, September 14 at 6pm
Over the past several weeks, socialists and allies alike have been fanning out across the suburbs of Maryland to unite the working class behind two socialist candidates vying for power in the state: Frankie Santos Fritz for Greenbelt City Council and Omodamola Williams for Gaithersburg City Council. Both candidates are fighting for a working-class agenda to empower workers and tenants, including to bring rent stabilization, increased police accountability, the right for municipal workers to collectively bargain, expanded public transit, and more to make these Maryland cities work for the working-class.
To continue the campaign, Metro DC DSA is holding a fundraiser on Sunday, September 14, at 6pm to make sure campaign operations have the resources needed to win these races. The event will be taking place at Clear Skies Meadery in Rockville (15201 Display Ct, 20850). No donation required — so all interested in meeting Frankie or Omodamola are invited to attend. RSVP for the fundraiser.
PG County to kick off Abolition Working Group — Saturday, August 30 at 1pm
Are you ready to take action for a more just community in Prince George's County? Prince George's County faces serious challenges with overpolicing and mass incarceration that devastate our most vulnerable communities. These are not isolated problems — these problems are deliberate features of a capitalist system that criminalizes poverty and suppresses working-class power. It is time for organized, sustained action to build a future where real public safety comes from meeting people's material needs, not from mass incarceration and intimidation.
Refuse to accept the status quo. Organizers are excited to announce the formation of the Prince George's County DSA Abolition Working Group, and want you to be part of this movement. The working group will be organizing to end mass incarceration, protect migrant communities, advocate for community-based alternatives to policing, and directly support those impacted by the system. The kickoff meeting will be held both in-person at the Hillcrest Heights Branch Library and on Zoom, ensuring that everyone can participate. RSVP here.
Northern Virginia socialists to hold Labor Day picnic, debrief — Saturday, August 30 at 1pm
The Northern Virginia Branch of MDC DSA is hosting its annual picnic at Lubber Run Park (200 N Columbus St, Arlington, VA) on Saturday, August 30 at 1pm. All are welcome, but organizers have asked for attendees to RSVP soon (to provide a head count for food) and consider bringing a dish to share. A covered picnic spot has been reserved. RSVP to the picnic here.
New to the DSA and want to connect with others? Applications for next New Member Cohort due by August 30
Anyone new to Metro DC DSA is invited to apply to join the Fall 2025 New Member Cohort. The cohort will participate in weekly sessions throughout September on Wednesday evenings. The first session covers the concept of organizing, the second provides an overview of socialism and capitalism, and the final session explains how MDC DSA works and provides opportunities to talk to people who run chapter campaigns. At least one session will be followed by a social outing. Applications are due by August 30.
Queer socialists to meet at as you are. on Thursday, September 4 at 6pm
Join the Metro DC DSA Queer Section for their first social with new stewards Jo and Casey. The social will be on the first floor of as you are. set up at a table with a placard. RSVP here.
Unwind with NoVA’s Fiber Arts Club — September 6 at 10:30am
Northern Virginia socialists are convening at the Mary Riley Styles Public Library Upper Level Conference Room on Saturday, September 6 for a morning of fiber arts, community, and conversation. Fiber artists will continue to discuss plans for skill building and projects for helping the community, including knitting/crocheting hats to donate. Everyone is encouraged to bring their current projects, or join in the hat making. The event is child-friendly and will include coloring supplies. An organizer will have free emergency contraceptive kits available to take home as part of efforts to distribute healthcare that may soon become restricted.
Socialists launching a new Transit Working Group to gear up for upcoming campaign
The Metro DC DSA Transit Working Group is gearing up its Tax Land, Fund Metro, Build Housing campaign for increased canvassing and strategic advocacy this fall. As the campaign develops, readers interested in getting involved in any capacity or interested in learning more about land value taxation are asked to fill out the Transit Working Group’s New Member Engagement Survey.
Volunteer to participate in Whitman Walker's 39th annual Walk and 5k to End HIV — Saturday, September 20
Metro DC DSA’s Bodily Autonomy Working Group's team for Whitman Walker's 39th annual Walk and 5k to End HIV. On September 20, members of Metro DC DSA will be walking Anacostia Park to help Whitman Walker raise money for HIV prevention programs and research. The foundation’s efforts have allowed them to administer nearly 15,000 HIV and STI tests last year in the DC area. To show your support, please consider signing up for the free walk or making a donation.
INFO ACCESS
The DMV is under siege by authoritarian militarists. Want to fight fascism from the heart of the empire? Join DSA and fight to build socialism! We’re the alternative that works for people, not profiteers. To get a rundown on national DSA strategies and practices to fight back, join Fight Fascism, Build Socialism Tuesday, September 2, 7 – 9pm ET.
The next session of MDC DSA’s “Why You Should Join DSA/New Member Orientation” is an in-person event September 3; there’s a virtual version set for September 17. Join the New Member Cohort for a detailed look at our work and ideas — apply by August 30. Learn about the Metro DC chapter — branches, working groups, campaigns, current activities, and enduring values — anytime right here. Get inside our ideas and our work through our acclaimed “Socialist Night School” — archive is here. Members are encouraged to join our Slack for real-time info on working group and campaign events, strategy/tactic exchange, and inspiration. Email [email protected] with your most recent DSA dues receipt to get access.
Staying current with MDC DSA — Weekly Updates, like the one you are reading, are scheduled and emailed on Fridays; current and past Updates are available anytime on our website. Not subscribed? DSA member or not, sign up to get the Update, the go-to source for the DMV Left. The MDC Dispatch is the chapter’s new video news series, published on the first and third Sunday of each month. Submit your Update or Dispatch suggestions (or DMV scandal tips) to our tip line. The Washington Socialist, published since the 1970s, offers in-depth analytical/opinion articles on a quarterly schedule; the Summer 2025 issue is available now. Check out the Socialist’stopic-indexed and searchable archive to see what we write — and what you can write. Anyone, MDC DSA member or not, interested in contributing to the Washington Socialist can email submissions or questions to [email protected].
DMV LEFT COMMUNITY BULLETIN
Punk Rock Karaoke on August 29 | Food Not Bombs Fundraiser
On Friday, August 29, at 8pm, head to Black Cat for all-ages punk rock karaoke benefiting local anarchist outfit Food Not Bombs, which serves vegan meals every Saturday in McPherson Square. Tickets cost $15 in advance or $20 at the door. Please RSVP.
CurbFest for Political Prisoners on August 31 | All-African People’s Revolutionary Party and more
On Sunday, August 31, from 1 – 6pm, at the Black Workers & Wellness Center, commemorate Black August, honor revolutionary freedom fighters, be in community with one another, and join the fight to free all political prisoners. There will be free food and produce distribution, political education, performances, letter writing, a book giveaway, capoeira, children’s activities, and more. RSVP here.
Refuse, Resist, Rebuild Town Hall on September 4 | Boycott Target DC and Defend DC
On Thursday, September 4, from 6 – 9pm, movements are coming together for a town hall on non-cooperation, boycotts, sanctuary defense, tenant organizing, labor struggles, anti-apartheid campaigns, and more. Join to talk about the history of boycotting in DC and the solidarity we need to be stronger at the polls, at the picket line, and in our wards. RSVP to attend.
DC Organizing Festival on Saturday, September 6 at 12pm | Rising Organizers
Rising Organizers, dedicated to training people in community organizing and civic engagement skills, is hosting a DC Organizing Festival aimed at bringing over 20 grassroots organizations across DC together for a day of community, organizing, and collective action. The schedule features organizing trainings and workshops, free food, resume reviews, activities for all ages, and a local organization tabling event. The festival is free to attend and will be held at the University of DC. RSVP here.
ESSENTIAL PERSPECTIVES
ESSENTIAL PERSPECTIVES are articles and opinion pieces of
interest to DMV leftists but not, generally, appearing in local media.
They should have links without paywalls. Readers are invited to submit
candidates at our tip line.
Can allied nations work with the US perversion of law and justice?
A Politico columnist says foreign officials worry “senior administration officials like [AG Pam] Bondi and [FBI Director Kash] Patel — as well as DHS Secretary Kristi Noem — have politicized law enforcement in a way that may seriously compromise the integrity of the US criminal justice system and make allied law enforcement agencies reluctant to lend support to Trump administration investigations or prosecutions they see as primarily political. … the private sector and civil society have acceded to Trump’s extortionate demands, and [allied officials] questioned whether the decision to ‘align with the Trump administration out of fear or pragmatism’ could ultimately entrench a form of politics in the US that is typically associated with corrupt foreign regimes.” They are seeing what we are seeing, and they are more familiar with how bad it could get… Politico
Weird Origins of the Right’s Hatred of the Smithsonian The Trump administration has stepped up its antagonism toward the country’s treasured museums. But conservative antipathy toward the institution began long ago—with the bones of Bible giants.
“For most of the nation’s history, the Smithsonian has served as a symbol of national unity, receiving praise from members of both political parties and the public at large.” Conspiracy theories about hiding evidence of Biblical giants were persistent throughout the 19th century but remained fringe. “Intermittent efforts to challenge the museum, such as a 1978 federal lawsuit demanding the Smithsonian cancel an exhibition on human evolution, have largely failed to materialize. That all changed in 1994, when veterans’ groups and conservative politicians, including Patrick J. Buchanan, vocally criticized the National Air and Space Museum for highlighting the Japanese casualties of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings in a proposed exhibit tied to the fiftieth anniversary of the Enola Gay. They considered any questioning of the decision to drop the A-bomb as dishonoring veterans, and thus anti-American. It was, Buchanan said, ‘a sleepless campaign to inculcate in American youth a revulsion toward America’s past.’ … mainstream conservative politicians continue to escalate their attacks on the Smithsonian—a far-right pincer movement directed at an institution that is both the nation’s premier repository of historical fact and a potent bolsterer of America’s civic fabric. And that is no laughing matter.” The New Republic via Portside. // Also Jill Lepore on “The Trump administration’s efforts to reshape America’s past” in the New Yorker.
Getting Some Air
Skateboarding in the West Bank feels like freedom — for a moment. Maen Hammad, author of Landing, thinks of skateboarding as purposeful freedom that provides the “feeling like you’re above the city or the world [...] in a place where the theft of your land is part and parcel of how the regime thinks.” Landing plays with the visual contradictions of skating in Palestine, the freedom and community combined with the feelings of violence and domination that are perpetually present — even a 40-minute trip to a skatepark takes multiple hours of navigating through checkpoints. “I don’t think skateboarding is going to free Palestine,” Hammad writes, “but for those of us who do it, it’s the most free we feel that day.” Lux Magazine
Palestinians’ Fight Against Scholasticide Fuels the Struggle for Freedom
Coined 16 years ago, “scholasticide” originates from Israel’s systemic destruction of education. Sundos Hammad, the coordinator of the Right to Education Campaign at Birzeit University in the West Bank — which provides documentation, legal support, and advocacy for Palestinian students, scholars, and universities — discusses the ways in which scholasticide is one of the many ways that Israeli settler colonialism attempts to weaken Palestinian identity. Hammer & Hope
Democratic advocates are throwing lots of dark money at lib-dem influencers to try to catch up to conservatives’ longtime lead in today’s media environment. They may be botching the attempt, including creeping out some influencers (who are, however, taking the steady money) as well as risking campaign-finance violations. One Brit media sociologist says that these sorts of programs have been “happening in the right wing for ages.” But another scholar said that the structure of the… deal raises the question, “Is it ethical to match the tactics of your opponents?” The Democrats appear to have no real counter to conservative dominance online. “Democrats missed the next generation of media,” says Brendan Gahan, cofounder of influencer marketing agency Creator Authority. “Historically they owned Hollywood, but this next generation of influence is digital, and they’ve miscalculated that. I don’t think they feel comfortable in arenas where they lack control.” Wired
Ritchie Torres confronted for Zionism and Blackrock ties in popular web show A conversation between comedian Adam Friedland and Bronx Congressional Rep Ritchie Torres made rounds over social media over the past week. In a tense broadcast, typically sardonic Adam Friedland gets emotional when confronting Rep Torres for his naked boosterism of Israel and the genocide it is carrying out against Palestine.
The legacy of internationalism as part of the Black LIberation Struggle
In a wide ranging interview, Angela Davis discusses, as well, the heritage of the world Communist movement. Up-close history of the Black Panther Party, Black Lives Matter and the Palestinian struggle for freedom are woven with the solidarity movement with Palestine, her first visit to the occupied territories and the importance of BDS. Literary Hub
This is the weekly newsletter of the Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America (MDC DSA), which is produced by
local members of the chapter's Publications working group. The Weekly Update publishes every Friday at
9am.
Paid for by Metro DC DSA (mdcdsa.org). Not authorized by any candidate or committee.
Thinking about it, but want to get this email Update every Friday? SIGN UP
HERE
The flame of thought, the magnificence of art, the wonder of discovery, and the audacity of invention
all belong to revolutionary periods when humanity, tired of its chains, shatters them and stops inebriated to
breathe the breeze of a vast and free horizon. - Virgilia D'Andrea
Sent via ActionNetwork.org.
To update your email address, change your name or address, or to stop receiving emails from Metro DC DSA, please click here.
