From DC to Portland, the country is under attack from a
radical right-wing government and its small clique of billionaire
backers. Tomorrow, millions of people across the nation are turning out
to demonstrate against this fascist takeover.
Blocking the fascist
takeover of the federal government is necessary, but not enough.
Socialists have a unique role to play in the fight for a better world.
This is why Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America is calling on
members and allies to join in solidarity with this mass action. In DC, the socialist contingent will be assembling at the north side of John Marshall Park
(400 C St NW, Washington, DC 20001, near the Judiciary Square Metro
stop) at 11am on Saturday, October 18. RSVP here for notices and reminders.
Metro DC DSA to discuss socialist path forward and strategy for the resistance to Trump at General Body Meeting on October 19 at 2pm
As the one-year anniversary of Trump’s election approaches,
the Metro DC DSA Steering Committee has resolved to host spaces for
members to reflect on the chapter’s strategic tasks in this moment — and
how socialists can best equip themselves to take them on. Additionally,
the chapter’s Program Development Commission (PDC), which has been
tasked with studying these issues and drafting a coherent strategy, will
be presenting the first draft of the Metro DC DSA Program at the
upcoming General Body Meeting on October 19. Ample space will be set
aside for breakout and whole group strategic debate. RSVP here.
There will be one month for debate and proposed amendments before the
program guide will be voted on by the chapter for approval.
Further, Metro DC DSA will be hosting an additional, hybrid discussion event
on October 26 between 4:30 – 6:30pm, focused on encouraging members to
reflect on how the chapter has matured over the last 10 years and
possible changes to its processes and structures necessary to meet the
moment. Socialists are strongly encouraged to attend both events as a
way to deepen their participation in DSA’s collective democracy and help
influence the direction of the socialist movement under the second
Trump regime.
Socialist surge in Prince George’s County and Montgomery County — plug into canvasses this weekend to get more socialists elected
There are just three weekends left to knock doors for Metro
DC DSA-endorsed candidates Frankie Fritz and Omodamola Williams. Frankie
and Omo are fighting to support working-class families in Greenbelt and
Gaithersburg, respectively. Socialists are mobilizing to get the word
out ahead of election day on November 4:
Omo’s team is kicking off canvasses this Saturday at 10am and at 2pm, as well as Sunday at 10am and at 2pm at Gaithersburg High School, 101 Education Blvd, Gaithersburg, MD. Carpool is available from Shady Grove Metro — organizers have asked members to reach out for a ride if needed on RSVP.
BRIEFS
Results of Metro DC DSA internal resolution votes
Results are in for two resolutions recently voted on by the full Metro DC DSA membership. Ballots were circulated to eligible members via Opavote and tallied on Monday, October 13th. The results are as follows:
- Reso 2025-06-GR07: For Ranked Choice Voting in MDC DSA PASSED with 91% of the vote: 159-15, with 25 abstentions. This resolution is updated to comply with national DSA requirements for RCV in delegate elections.
- Reso 2025-09-GR02-AMENDED: Invest in Party Infrastructure PASSED with 55% of the vote: 107-85, with 8 abstentions. This resolutions directs the MDC DSA steering committee to assemble a hiring committee to explore hiring of a temporary staff, earmarking ~$26k of chapter funds.
Chapter members can check the #announcement channel on the chapter slack to see larger breakdowns, and can direct questions in the #steering channel.
Rally TODAY in solidarity with FEMA workers — October 17 at 12pm
At a time when disasters are on the rise and the Trump administration is
decimating FEMA’s capabilities, workers and supporters are rallying in
response at 500 C St. SW on Friday, October 17 from 12pm – 1pm. Socialists and labor allies are attending to show support for current FEMA staff
and those impacted by this administration’s cuts.
Ghouls Just Want Abortion Access — October 18 at 8pm
Join the Metro DC DSA Bodily Autonomy Working Group at As You Are for a
fundraiser for the DC Abortion Fund (DCAF) and a kick-off for the
working group’s Abortion Access Sheet. Come dressed in costume for a
dance party with As You Are’s very own DJ Byte Back, BAWG’s
block-printed merch, and more. Tickets are $7, and 100% of the proceeds
will go to DCAF. Masking is required for this event. Get your tickets here.
Spread the word about upcoming events with the Abolition Working Group — Sunday, October 19 and Saturday, October 25
The Abolition Working Group is working to meet the material needs of DMV residents and needs help in getting the word out. RSVP here
to wheatpaste for its upcoming free coat giveaway on Sunday, October 29
from 1 – 3pm — meet at the Southern Ave Metro Station and wear
comfortable shoes. RSVP here
to wheatpaste for the working group’s upcoming brake light clinic on
Saturday, October 25 from 1 – 4pm — meet outside the AutoZone at 955
Longfellow St NW.
Stomp Out Slumlords meeting and tenant organizing workshop — October 25 at 2 pm
Stomp Out Slumlords will have an all hands meeting and tenant organizing
workshop on Saturday, October 25, 2pm at Mount Pleasant Library. Join
tenants and organizers to talk through organizing strategy, get help
working through issues in your building, or find advice for starting a
tenants union. This meeting is for everyone whether you are already a
member of a tenants union or are brand new to SOS. RSVP here. If you are interested in tenant organizing, fill out this interest form.
The Socialists' Labor Working Group holds monthly meeting — working group elections underway
On Tuesday, October 14, the Metro DC DSA Labor Working Group (LWG) held its monthly general member meeting. The Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC) is in need of more leaders to organize workers. The committee will be tabling at No Kings on October 18, and then holding a Federal Workers Circle at Malcolm X Park on Sunday, October 19 from 12 – 2:30pm. A worker circle is a
labor-oriented roundtable for workers to discuss their situations and
support each other in organizing through sharing skills, knowledge,
experiences, and common struggles. RSVP here.
Jon
Irvine, labor activist leader for 25 years, also addressed the labor working group this week, providing invaluable insight and inspiration on organizing to attendees.
Some key takeaways were: power is not only what you have but what the
opposition thinks you have, the best tactics are collective, set goals
for involvement, don’t abandon effort, good strategies can escalate from
low to high intensity, and celebrate everything — win or lose.
Finally,
fall means election season, and LWG is no different. Metro DC DSA Labor
Committee elections are underway for multiple positions, and members
can nominate themselves or a fellow comrade. Those seeking to run or nominate others can click here for the nomination form, which contains the full election
timeline and breakdown of roles and their responsibilities. Nominations
are open from until October 28, so act fast.
Transit Working Group building public pressure for effective regional transit
The Metro DC DSA Transit Working Group is fighting back
against a failure to deliver better transit for riders across the DC
area. Eighteen months after local leaders started their DMV Moves initiative
to make once-in-a-generation progress to improve transit, those same
leaders are about to make our transit status quo even worse than it
already is. With no commitment to a secure source of operations funding,
no expansion of bus rapid transit, no consolidation of regional bus
lines, and no rail expansion, DMV Moves is committing the region to
future decades of a stagnant, ineffective transit system that does not
meet the needs of the public.
The Metro DC DSA Transit Working
Group is mobilizing in advance of the upcoming DMV Moves meeting on
October 29 to pressure DMV Moves to reconsider the impacts of this
disappointing plan. To get involved in the ongoing campaign check out
the Transit Working Group Action Network page.
DC Spanish Club for Socialists holding weekly meetup in Adams Morgan — Monday, October 20 at 7pm
Spanish Club for Socialists, a project of multiple area socialist and
mutual aid organizations (including Metro DC DSA) is a free weekly event
where organizers meet up to practice their Spanish. The event is about
90 minutes long and is split into beginner, intermediate, and advanced
groups, so learners of all levels should feel welcome. The next session
is scheduled for Monday, October 20 from 7 – 8:30pm at Potter’s House
(1658 Columbia Rd NW). Sign up here for calendar updates and conversation guides.
Apartheid Free DC canvass training — Wednesday, October 29 at 6:30pm
Metro DC DSA’s Internationalism Working Group is sponsoring a canvass
training for the Apartheid Free DC campaign to invite businesses and
institutions to boycott Israeli goods and be part of a community-based
network of solidarity with Palestine. Food will be provided. RSVP here.
DC Make Polluters Pay campaign launch — Wednesday, October 22 at 7pm
Climate change-fueled extreme weather is getting worse in the DMV, and
residents are feeling it in the District through extreme heat and more
intense flooding. Unfortunately, there’s worse to come. With the
dismantling of federal aid like FEMA, it’s more clear than ever that the
District needs to be ready for “once-in-a-lifetime” disasters. Metro DC
DSA is joining a coalition of organizations across DC to launch a
campaign to make the fossil fuel companies that create climate change
pay to clean up their mess. Join the coalition’s launch webinar at 7pm
on October 22 to learn more about the campaign to make Big Oil and Gas
cover the check for climate damages. RSVP here.
INFO ACCESS
The DMV continues to be under siege by militarist authoritarians. 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 and their captive politicians.
The next session of MDC DSA’s “Why You Should Join DSA/New Member Orientation” is a virtual version Wednesday, October 22 with another virtual encounter Wednesday, November 19.
Anytime, you can learn about the Metro DC chapter — branches, working
groups, campaigns, current activities, and enduring values — 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; part one of the Fall 2025 issue is available now. Check out the Socialist’s topic-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]. Members,
look in on us or join at #publications on Slack.
DMV LEFT COMMUNITY BULLETIN
Copaganda Book Signing and Discussion Tonight | DC Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression
Author and former public defender Alex Karakatsanis will be discussing his book Copaganda,
a rigorous analysis of the vast array of tools the police have at their
disposal to try and control nearly every aspect of the narrative around
what they do and don’t do in our communities. Join the DC AARP, Claudia
Jones School, and more tonight at Sankofa. RSVP here.
DMV Leftist Writers Social | Sudhouse DC, October 18
Solidarity and community building are essential to fighting fascism.
Every step counts, so come out to meet others who want a better future
for all! After The Storm, a local anticapitalist magazine and writers
collective, is hosting a social event on Saturday, October 18, from 3 –
5pm at Sudhouse DC on U Street. RSVP here.
Reel and Meal | The New Deal Café Monday, October 20
The Reel and Meal at the New Deal Café presents new short films to inspire us to action. Projecting Protest depicts the protest tactic of projecting words onto city walls; Not a Token Bill
is a humorous look at two Colorado congressmen who dig into the new
Digital Token Act — and uncover a web of power and deceit. Excerpts from
Citizen Ruth: Environmental Warrior follow the environmental
work of Ruth Wright, who reshaped Colorado’s landscapes. A short message
by Robert Reich, who calls for policies to restore accountability in
our democracy, follows. The films are screened in-house at the New Deal
Café, 113 Centerway in the Roosevelt Center, Greenbelt, and on Zoom.
Join us Monday, October 20, starting at 6:30pm. Anyone attending online
should pre-register here.
Community care and connection | Freedom Healers DC
Join Freedom Healers DC in the immaculate Temperance Alley Garden on
Saturday, October 25, 3 – 7pm, for an afternoon of rejuvenating
community care and connection. Organizers especially encourage you to
come if you’ve been impacted by ICE abductions or other grief, anxiety,
and violence inflicted by the federal occupation of DC; or if you’re
feeling the complex grief of the most recent ceasefire in Gaza. Freedom
Healers will have reiki, facilitated journaling, guided stretching,
massage, and more. Please bring a friend or two, especially anyone you
know who has trouble making space to care for themselves. Register 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.
DSA Graphic History: Learning From Our Past
Why, among all socialist organizations, is DSA the one that has grown so dramatically? A
new graphic history frames the features that have made it the nation’s
foremost radical formation. “The past is prologue.” A review in
Stansbury Forum by our local comrade Kurt Stand, via Portside.
Mitchell Palmer, the Palmer Raids, and parallels to the foam-flecked Stephen Miller era
MSM-level
analysis, for sure, but a useful account of how hate and ignorance
flourished at the official (and electoral) level, then failed, a century
ago. “Eventually, the Wilson administration overreached, and the Palmer
raids came to be seen as folly. Only about 800 of the more than 4,000
people detained were deported. The raids failed to achieve their main
law-enforcement goal. The F.B.I.’s own history of the episode refers to them as a ‘nightmare.’ In short, America was here before — and has come to regret it.” NYT
Veterans especially upset about military’s assignments to support ICE
US
military veterans increasingly face arrest and injury amid protests
over Donald Trump’s deportation campaign and his push to deploy National
Guard members to an ever-widening number of American cities. Jose
Vasquez, a former US army staff sergeant and executive director of the
progressive veterans’ organization Common Defense, said: “What drives so
many veterans into action is not only the injustice faced by immigrants
and protesters, but also the larger threat to democracy rooted in
government brutality and militarization… The disturbing escalation in
arrests and violence signals that the basic freedoms we once swore to
protect are under attack.” The Guardian
The little-noticed “third front” in Israel’s unending war on the Palestinians
”…
amid the prospects of a lasting cease-fire and Palestinian
self-determination, there must also be pressure to end the unsparing
detention of the thousands of Palestinians
who continue to be held in Israel’s prisons, many under conditions that
defy international laws mandating humane treatment of detainees. Under
the hostage-prisoner exchange agreement of the cease-fire plan, Israel
released about 2,000 prisoners and detainees this week. They represent
only a small fraction of the total number of Palestinians held in
Israeli facilities. The vast majority are being left to rot.” NYT
DSA CALENDAR OF EVENTS
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.
Want to fight fascism from the heart of the empire? Join
DSA and fight to build socialism!
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
