Metro DC DSA Weekly Update for Friday, August 23, 2019

Comrade,    THE WEEKEND Saturday, AUG 24 2-3:30 PM DSA for Bernie. Sunday, AUG 25  1:30-3 PM, Queer Caucus Organizing Meeting;  at 4 PM Socialist Feminism Reading Group 🌹  Follow links for details.

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COMING IN SEPTEMBER: The MDC DSA monthly general body meeting for September will be a picnic held at a recreation center (final location to be announced). Representatives from working groups and campaigns have the opportunity to table as part of the picnic Campaigns Fair, which is a great opportunity for newer members to get plugged into our work. Steering will provide some food and beverages, but this will be potluck style. Please sign up here if you can bring items to share. Contact Brandon H. at [email protected] if you are interested in signing up to table. If you would like to volunteer to help with logistics (e.g. planning, setup and cleanup), please reach out to a member of Steering on Slack.
 
DSA for Bernie Sunday Aug 25 2-3:30 at Mt. Pleasant Library https://www.facebook.com/events/2359574620795229/
 
DC PAID FAMILY LEAVE AT RISK -- Solidarity Ask from DC Jobs with Justice and ally Jews United for Justice.
Last week the Office of Paid Family Leave published key regulations that will determine who gets access to paid leave next year. This is where the rubber meets the road and its clear we've already won a few major concessions. However, under the released regulations 58,000 workers in DC would be unable to access paid family leave due to a lack of employment protections. This is unacceptable -- EVERY worker in this city deserves access to paid family leave!
Union City reported Aug. 21 ““Under these regs, tens of thousands of workers, especially low-income women of color, may not be able to access paid family leave,” says JUFJ DC Campaigns Manager Joanna Blotner. “This is not the universal paid leave that we fought hard to pass in 2016.”

We have until September 9th to speak up. Please join DC Jobs with Justice and Jews United for Justice in reaching out to Paid Family Leave administrators and asking them to implement truly universal paid family leave.  Click here to take action! Here, sent Tuesday, is the newsletter from MoCo DSA, including some support materials for the Socialist Night School session on criminal justice reform/prison abolition that happened Aug. 14. MDC DSA’s Ecosocialist Caucus comrades “encourage you to join our allies next week to learn about upcoming opportunities for mass civil disobedience in DC to demand climate justice” – big actions on climate will come after Labor Day and planning begins now -- more at this Facebook event page

And speaking of ecosocialism, here is the text of Bernie’s Green New Deal plan at this stage (it was just released) , and one early take from the enviro magazine Grist. We have also put these links in “Good Reads,” below. Maryland Solidarity: the Metro Washington Labor Council’s Union City reports this morning (Aug. 23) that “members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Maryland (AFSCME) Council 3 gathered last Saturday in the parking lot outside Ocean City's Convention Center, calling on Gov. Larry Hogan to improve conditions. Some say the staffing crisis is a matter of life and death, becoming alarmingly common among many places like correctional facilities and state hospitals." Hogan was speaking at last weekend’s annual conference of Maryland’s association of county government officials, doubling down on his GOP message of low taxes and spending.

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“Good Reads” includes a cumulative a deep-dive DSA 2019 Convention roundup, with first takes from two weeks ago, some more measured discussions from last week, and the latest, including the national office’s convention report. Curious about Metro DC DSA? MDC DSA’s website has expanded resources on our chapter Campaigns, WGs and Caucuses – check it out here. Is your campaign, caucus or working group properly represented? Contact [email protected], attn: web managers . MDC DSA Publications Schedule for August: the Labor Day issue of the Washington Socialist will appear Friday, August 30 with an article deadline of Sunday, August 25.

Weekly Updates are scheduled in September for Friday the 6^th, 13^th, 20^th and 27^th and the October Washington Socialist will publish on Tuesday, Oct. 1. Article deadline for October will be Wednesday, Sept. 25.

Our activism gains support when it is explained in a socialist context and voice, so submit your contribution to our ongoing narrative here. “Pessimism of the intellect and optimism of the will,” to use Gramsci’s formulation, are best explicated as a paired mental activity in – what else – the written word. Get busy.

Opinion pieces, campaign updates, coverage of rallies, socialist illustrations or photo essays – all are welcome and valued. Check our submission guidelines, and mind the deadlines.  Thinking about writing an article but wondering if the subject has been covered here, and how recently? You can find out in the Index for 2016-18. The 2012-2015 issues are collected in per-month PDFs; look at the Archive section on the right of the mdcdsa.org website’s  Washington Socialist page. And web warriors can start with us about keeping the mdcdsa.org site fresh and up to date. It’s all of a piece, comrades.
Yours in solidarity, 
The Publications Working Group

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Follow links for details

Sunday, AUG 25  1:30-3 PM
Queer Caucus Organizing Meeting
Shaw (Watha T. Daniel) Neighborhood Library 1630 7th St NW · Washington, DC
Please gather with other LGBTQ+ comrades in our chapter to discuss caucus activities and plans. Follow link for details.

Sunday AUG 25 4:00 PM
Socialist Feminism Reading Group 🌹
The Festival Center, 1640 Columbia Rd., NW, Washington, DC 20009
Please read our reading group Participation Guide  and join us as we explore and discuss topics within Socialist Feminism. 🌹 This month, our readings are collaborative; suggest some here. Follow link for details.

Thursday AUG 29  6:30 PM
DSA Happy Hour
The Midlands Beer Garden, 3333 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20010
Join us for our monthly happy hour! This is a great chance to meet and mingle with fellow comrades. No agenda, no work, and no politics… well, maybe a little politics. Happy hours, like most MDC DSA events, are open to members and non-members alike! Come join us in an informal setting to learn more Follow link for details.

Thursday AUG 29  6:00 PM
Disability Justice Working Group Meeting
The Festival Center, 1640 Columbia Rd NW, Washington, DC 20009
Join Metro DC DSA Disability Justice Working Group for our monthly meeting. Learn how to get involved in the various campaigns to empower and liberate the disabled community from the oppressive capitalist system. We meet on the first floor of the ADA-compliant Festival Center. ASL interpretation will be provided on request. Follow link for details.
 
SEPTEMBER

Wednesday SEP 4 7:00 PM
Steering Committee (remote only)
Steering Committee meetings are open to any MDC DSA member who would like to attend. You can find the Zoom link in the #steering channel in the chapter’s Slack. Follow link for details.

Saturday, SEP 7 11 AM -3 PM
Migrant Justice: Research Training 
501 3rd St NW
 MDC DSA has marched on the homes of deportation profiteers behind private prisons, surveillance companies, and ICE itself. Join us as we choose our next target and plan our upcoming profiteer action! Follow link for details
 
Sunday SEP 8  3:00 PM
Metro DC DSA Monthly General Body Meeting  [Date is tentative; September picnic being planned]
Friends Meeting of Washington, 2111 Florida Ave. NW, Washington, DC
The monthly meeting of the Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America! The agenda will be distributed the week before the meeting.

Thursday, SEP 12  6:30-8 PM
Migrant Justice Action: Stand Up to Deportation Profiteers
 The executives of for-profit companies providing key services to ICE make millions for destroying lives in our community. Join MDC DSA as we expose the fifth profiteer. Register here to join the action. Follow link for details

Sunday SEP 15  2:00 PM
MoCo DSA 🌹General Branch Meeting
Takoma Park Volunteer Fire Department, 7201 Carroll Ave, Takoma Park, MD 20912
Please join us for our September branch meeting! Help us build our vision for equality, democracy, and socialism in Montgomery County. Afterwards, we’ll adjourn to a local establishment for a social hour. See you then!

Wednesday SEP 18  7:00 PM
Steering Committee
Institute for Policy Studies, 1301 Connecticut Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC 20036
Steering Committee meetings are open to any MDC DSA member who would like to attend. Please RSVP and message the hosts if you would like to join by videoconference so we can make arrangements to get you the appropriate URL. Follow link for details

Sunday SEP 22 4:00 PM
Socialist Feminism Reading Group 🌹
The Festival Center, 1640 Columbia Rd., NW, Washington, DC 20009
Please read our reading group Participation Guide  and join us as we explore and discuss topics within Socialist Feminism. 🌹 This month, our readings focus on your ideas. You can submit suggested articles anytime — we can build a topic around them! https://goo.gl/forms/Rn7ktzvYmN2ZvEOT2
 
Thursday SEP 26 6:30 PM
DSA Happy Hour
The Midlands Beer Garden, 3333 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20010
Join us for our monthly happy hour! This is a great chance to meet and mingle with fellow comrades. No agenda, no work, and no politics… well, maybe a little politics. Happy hours, like most MDC DSA events, are open to members and non-members alike! Come join us in an informal setting to learn more. Follow link for details

Thursday SEP 26 6:00 PM
Disability Justice Working Group Meeting
The Festival Center, 1640 Columbia Rd NW, Washington, DC 20009
Join Metro DC DSA Disability Justice Working Group for our monthly meeting. Learn how to get involved in the various campaigns to empower and liberate the disabled community from the oppressive capitalist system. We meet on the first floor of the ADA-compliant Festival Center. ASL interpretation will be provided on request.Follow link for details

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SAT Aug 24 TOMORROW Please join us to hear Dr. Sacoby Wilson discuss environmental justice, disparate impacts on communities of color in the nation and Prince George's County, at a free event to be held Saturday, August 24 from 3 to 5 pm at the Greenbelt Community Center, 15 Crescent Road, Greenbelt MD, room 202.  He will outline racial and economic disparities in health impacts of environmental problems and present a plan to turn around such forms of injustice in Prince George's County. Audience discussion will follow.  See Facebook event.

SUN Aug 25 Basilica Tenants Community Celebration! 1-4 PM, 636 Girard St NE, Washington, DC 20017-1320, — Hosted by LinkUp and Justice First: Join Basilica tenants as they celebrate their recent victory against displacement by the Catholic Church! If you are able to make a small donation, or if you are able to contribute drinks, food dishes or supplies, please contact [email protected]

MON AUG 26 Listening Sessions: Are you in the know about Paid Family Leave 12:30-2 PM, Busboys and Poets 2021 14th St. NW Wash, DC 20009 Sponsor: Restaurant Opportunity Center DC, Second Floor, 1100 Florida Ave NW, Washington, DC 20009, -- A discussion on the upcoming Paid Family Leave benefit and how service industry professionals will be affected. Repeated; watch for more dates.

 MON Aug 26 ROC DC Monthly Meeting  1-3 PM Restaurant Opportunity Center DC, Second Floor, 1100 Florida Ave NW, Washington, DC 20009, USA
Come together and meet other restaurant and tipped workers in DC who want to build worker power in order to improve wages and working conditions in the DC restaurant industry! Dinner will be provided and children are welcome!

SAT Aug 31 Black August Street Law 101: Know Your Rights Training 1-2:30 PM Dorothy I. Height/Benning Library 3935 Benning Rd NE, Washington, DC 20019  Hosted by Black Lives Matter DC and Keep DC 4 Me — This Black August, we continue to hold MPD accountable for illegal stop and frisks, jumpouts, brutality, and murder.

SAT AUG 31 On A MOVE! Repression, Resistance and Freedom 12-2 PM  Shaw (Watha T. Daniel) Neighborhood Library, 1630 7th St NW, Washington, DC 20001 Hosted by Stop Police Terror Project DC and Pan-African Community Action -- a panel featuring Eddie and Janet Africa, members of MOVE a Black liberation group based in Philadelphia that suffered deep police repression and terrorism in the 1970s and 80s.

 WED Sept 4 Robert Kuttner, editor of the American Prospect, discusses his new book, The Stakes, on the 2020 election, at the Economic Policy Institute from noon to 1:30 PM. It’s a free event with lunch included. Interested comrades can RSVP here.

THUR Sept 5 --  Progressive Cheverly Forum, What We Need to Know … and Do About the Epidemic of Gun Violence in Our Country: 7 PM, Multipurpose Room at Gladys Noon Spellman Elementary School, 3324 64th Avenue, Cheverly (note the new venue) Discussion of action to stop the mass shootings and the daily killings that have tragically affected communities everywhere.  Come hear Representative Anthony Brown (invited) and Jennifer Stapleton, a state leader in Moms’ Demand Action Maryland talk about what is happening around gun reform legislation on the federal and state levels and what we can do to get involved.   All are welcome.

 SAT Sept 7  When They See Us: Organizing Conversation — 1:00 PM, ATU 689, 2701 Whitney Pl, District Heights, MD 20747 — 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. 

MON Sept 9 Listening Sessions: Are you in the know about Paid Family Leave 12:30 -2:30 PM at Busboys and Poets 2021 14th St. NW Wash, DC 20009 Hosted by Restaurant Opportunities Center of Washington DC (ROC-DC): See Aug 26 entry.

MON, Sept 9 BOOK TALK New York Times journalist Steven Greenhouse discusses his new book, Beaten Down, Worked Up: The Past, Present, and Future of American Labor. 12:30 -2 PM at Economic Policy Institute 1225 Eye St. NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC xxxxxx -- Greenhouse chronicles the rise (and decline) of unions in the US and explores models for rebuilding worker power, including the #RedforEd teachers strikes, the Fight for $15, and bargaining for the common good. RSVP

THU Sept 12, Empower DC Happy Hour Fundraiser 6-9 PM Saloon, 1205 U Street Northwest Washington, DC 20009 RSVP

TUE Sept 17 In Defense of American Democracy – day-long session at the GWU Marvin Center with a star-studded guest list and some surprises; organized by Shanker Institute, AFT and Forward Together.

WED Sept 21 Deep Canvass with SURJ  11 AM – 5 PM Sponsored by SURJ Northern Virginia and Showing Up for Racial Justice - SURJ - DC: at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Rockville, in Maryland. The registration form is coming soon.

THURS Sept 26 DC Stand Up Against “RIA” Displacement at Brookland Manor 8 AM
District of Columbia Government DC Court of Appeals 430 E Street, NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20001 Hosted by LinkUp and Brookland Manor/Brentwood Village Residents Association:
8 AM rally; 9:30 AM pack the courtroom to protest DC’s intrusive, tax-subsidized “Rhode Island Avenue” project and its potential for displacing Brookland Manor residents. More info: linkupitsofficial.org/dc-stand-up
 

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GOOD READS
>>A discussion of the issues and workarounds attending the “Bernie or Bust” stance, via our comrade and former NPC member Chris Riddiough: https://organizingupgrade.com/fighting-trump-building-socialism/?fbclid=IwAR2HT15XobkL-uaLDjULQNoQdrpe1RAcHhDoxMJ2Qyh-GkxNV3XmX8UwrIE
 
>>An interesting and detailed (and link-studded) take on Hong Kong’s resistance stance from, where else, the Baltimore-based Popular Resistance newsletter – an interesting and peripatetic resource.

>>“When mindfulness is taught and practiced in ways that help people connect the dots between their personal troubles and public issues, it becomes potentially transformative” says author Ronald Purser in this oblique approach to wider social solidarity in Open Democracy, “Moving Mindfulness from ‘me’ to ‘we’ “  https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/transformation/civic-mindfulness/

>>Here is the text of Bernie’s Green New Deal plan released a day or so ago -- at this stage -- and one early take from the enviro magazine Grist.

>> From the highly useful online Virginia Mercury – many of our members have been fighting the Mountain Valley Pipeline in VA and the reasons to fight it get better all the time, a hydrologist writes: https://www.virginiamercury.com/2019/08/22/why-the-mountain-valley-pipeline-is-uniquely-risky/

>>From Friday morning’s Portside: One big union, or else: “Our world order, globalized from above, cries out for a globalized response from below, a new international fit for the purpose of system transformation in the twenty-first century…”  https://portside.org/2019-08-22/workers-world-unite-last
 

>>Here (again) is the DSA convention report from National: https://www.dsausa.org/2019-convention-a-world-to-win/?fbclid=IwAR065WUH74SB9LO8dxUoUZxYUTUJa2gKoieUYPHjLq1uFSkf1wjKphxwQJ8