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!

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Paid for by Metro DC DSA (mdcdsa.org). Not authorized by any candidate or committee.

UP FRONT

Locals planning mass testimony against ICE raids at Council hearing on public safety — Thursday, December 4, starting at 9am

Months of federal occupation — orchestrated by the Mad King Donald Trump — have dragged down the life and liberty of the Washington’s working people. The assault has been coordinated by federal forces who have subordinated the Metropolitan Police Department to birth a wicked police state. Despite hours of testimony provided at a public roundtable in the DC Council last month, there has been no movement on halting this occupation. residents’ demands to stop MPD’s illegal collaboration with ICE and other federal forces.

In an attempt to placate the people of Washington, Councilmember Brooke Pinto has directed residents to testify in a Council hearing on December 4, which is set to tackle five separate bills, including the Juvenile Curfew Amendment Act of 2025 — flattening the nuance required to deliver real public safety into a “catch-all” topic. This is a clear move by the councilmember to obscure the vital relationship between MPD and the imperial occupation faced by the people of DC.

A coalition of locals — calling themselves the Families Not Feds campaign — will be appearing and testifying at the hearing on Thursday, December 4th. Their mission is to clarify the illegal collaboration between MPD and ICE and Mayor Bowser’s and the Council’s complicity in allowing masked squads to terrorize the District. The Coalition will be releasing a toolkit on their Instagram account in the coming days to guide residents in testimony, but the demands are clear:

End MPD collaboration with ICE.
Host a hearing to hold MPD accountable for their illegal collaboration.
Share all the data and information that MPD and other government agencies have given out to ICE.

The hearing will begin at 9am on December 4. All residents opposed to the occupation and terror campaign wrought on the people of Washington are encouraged to attend; and all are invited to testify in person at the Wilson Building, virtually, or submit written testimony. Register to testify on the DC Council website by December 2.

Mayor Bowser announces she will not run for reelection in culmination of failed neoliberal agenda

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser announced this week that she will not run for a fourth term as mayor, a seismic decision that arrives after months of complicity in Trump’s fascist takeover of the District. Following the announcement, locals flocked to social media to announce their excitement over the end of Bowser’s nihilistic, directionless Administration.

Much attention will (rightfully) be paid to the last several months of Bowser’s mayoralty, defined by her capitulation to the Trump administration, her unwillingness to stand up for District residents, and her refusal to rein in the Metropolitan Police Department’s violence and collaboration with federal forces. But Bowser’s failure extends to all three terms in office. The Bowser years will be remembered for the neoliberal political program she pursued with abandon: the mass sale of public land at bargain prices to corporate developers, the privatization of city services, overturning ballot initiatives that would have raised wages for thousands, austere budget cuts, fighting modest tax increases on the wealthy tooth and nail, ignoring calls for deeper police accountability, and gutting tenants’ rights. Fittingly, Bowser’s final legislative “achievements” include the devastating RENTAL Act — which seized tenant rights for thousands in the city — and the corporate giveaway that is the Washington Commanders stadium deal.

Time will tell how the upcoming mayoral race will play out. Metro DC DSA member Janeese Lewis George has all but publicly confirmed to be launching a bid. Rumors are also swirling around corporate backed Councilmember Kenyon McDuffie’s potential candidacy. Regardless of who the next Mayor, only a mass movement of working people will be capable of uniting the city against Trump’s wicked assault, delivering statehood and recapturing the city from corporate control. The coalition summoned must be one that fights clearly to defend the rights and interests of working Washingtonians: labor rights, tenants’ rights, publicly controlled utilities, fast and free transit, migrant justice, bodily autonomy, and beyond. DC residents deserve a mayor that will meet this moment with courage and conviction; and only a mayor that will use their office to protect and cultivate the working masses will be capable of governing effectively.

DC’s Democratic Socialists will be discussing intervention into the hotly contested DC Council races at their December convention. For those enthused by the potential of ushering a Washington for the Working Class, consider joining the DSA today.

Metro DC DSA Local Convention updates — amendment submission period open

Metro DC DSA’s Local Convention is approaching on December 6 from 12pm to 6pm and December 7 from 3pm to 8pm. The convention will be hybrid, hosted online and at physical locations. The submission period for Bylaw Amendments and General Resolutions has closed. The submission period for amendments to proposed Bylaw Amendments and General Resolutions is now open. Upcoming deadlines:

Priority campaign resolutions due November 30 — proposals for priority campaigns must be submitted to the chapter’s elected campaigns coordinator by reaching out in #2025-local-convention no later than November 30 at 11:59pm.
The submitted bylaw amendments and resolutions are available to view in the #2025-local-convention channel in the chapter Slack. Members are encouraged to read over the proposals and submit any suggested amendments via the form linked in Slack (members in good standing should also have received an email with this information and links). All amendments require at least one sponsor and three cosponsors to be considered by convention; socializing them beforehand is highly recommended, by talking to fellow comrades, the sponsors of the original proposal, posting them in #2025-local-convention, or any other way to get the word out to fellow members. Amendments must be submitted by Monday, December 1 at 11:59pm Eastern.
This year, Metro DC DSA is asking delegates to rank items they want to see debated, as well as items they want to see passed but don’t think warrant debate (rank items using the form linked in #2025-local-convention). The Steering Committee will use the results of this poll to potentially create a consent agenda where items can be voted on at once without debate, and to decide the order of debate at convention. The order of debate form is the same as the form for amendments, so it also closes on Monday, December 1 at 11:59pm Eastern.

BRIEFS

Write for the Washington Socialist — submission deadline December 19

In the midst of the fascist Trump regime’s ongoing assault on the DMV, and in the wake of socialist electoral victories — from Zohran Mamdani in New York City to Frankie Santos Fritz in Greenbelt — Metro DC DSA members and working-class people continue to organize for a better world. From supporting striking Starbucks workers to organizing for an apartheid-free DC, whether hosting free brake light clinics or distributing abortion access education materials, in fights against Pepco and struggles against area slumlords, socialists are doing the work.

Now, fellow tenants, workers, left-wingers, organizers, and agitators need to hear about it. Any readers of this newsletter interested in writing or reading about the theory and practice that Metro DC DSA members and allies demonstrate daily: this is your call to contribute to the long, vibrant history of local left media in the DMV by writing for the Washington Socialist. Experienced scribes, first-time writers, locals with the seeds of an idea — all are invited to submit for the upcoming winter issue. The submission deadline is December 19; email submissions, questions, ideas, etc. to [email protected].

DC Spanish Club for Socialists holding weekly meetup in Adams Morgan — Monday, December 1 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, December 1 from 7 – 8:30pm at Potter’s House (1658 Columbia Rd NW). Sign up here for calendar updates and conversation guides.

Food assistance provision to DMV’s striking Starbucks workers — help feed strikers and join workers on the picket line

The Metro DC DSA Labor Working Group has approved dedicating the balance of the working group’s priority funding to provide striking Starbucks workers in the DMV with food assistance.This will be a big lift, and community contributions are needed. If you have the means, please consider donating to help provide striking baristas with meals on picket lines. The working group will also apply for a grant from DSA’s National Labor Commission for donations to be matched dollar-for-dollar. You can donate here.

PLUS: join Metro DC DSA at the Wheaton, MD Starbucks on Friday, November 28 from 9:30am to 11:30pm to inform customers of Starbucks management’s bad faith bargaining and collect No Contract No Coffee pledge signatures so unionized baristas know that the community has their backs.

Northern Virginia Mutual Aid preparing for a busy December

The Northern Virginia Mutual Aid Working Group (NoVA MAWG) is planning to hold their next working group meeting on Thursday, December 4, at 7pm. Among the tentative agenda items are a debrief of the November distribution, planning for the December distribution, and the potential adoption of their bylaws. There will also be a fiber arts meeting on Thursday, December 6th at Bull Run Regional Library in Virginia, where where the first day of Metro DC DSA's Local Convention will be streamed.

MAWG's next planned monthly distribution is set for December 14, at 11am in Crystal City, and (at least) every second Sunday for the near future. The November distribution was a huge success and the working group was able to hand out an increased amount of free food and hygienic supplies to the at-need community in Crystal City. Unfortunately, this means that the majority of NoVA MAWG’s donations have been dispersed. NoVA MAWG has assembled a wish list to help meet specific community needs, and one-time donations will go towards the purchase of bulk wholesale goods. Meanwhile, recurring donations help properly scale (and hopefully increase the frequency of) these distributions. Volunteers are also appreciated; specific needs include people to pick up donations from area food banks, store donations between distributions, transport donations to/from the distribution, and table at the distribution itself (especially Spanish speakers).

INFO ACCESS

The DMV continues to be under siege by militarism-fueled 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. MDC DSA’s chapter spans NoVA, DC, and the big Maryland suburbs — yep, the “heart of empire.” Further info: start with an in-person session of “Why You Should Join DSA/New Member Orientation” December 10. There’s organizational info on our Metro DC chapter — DMV branches, working groups, campaigns, current activities, and enduring values — right 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.

Stay current with MDC DSA — Weekly Updates, like the one you are reading, are sent every Friday; current and past Updates are available anytime on our website. 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 Fall 2025 issue is available now and (see above) winter issue articles are solicited. 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

Thankstaking on November 29 | 411 Collective
The 411 Collective presents a potluck, anti-imperialist panel, wheatpaste wall, and direct action film montage. Join them on Saturday, November 29, from 5 – 9pm at Treehouse in DC. Bring a dish, stay for the information and good times. Find more info on Instagram.

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.

Horizons of Youth Liberation
“Children—and the fevered imaginings that curdle in right-wing minds around their upbringing, their future, their innocence, their corruption, and the purported threats to their safety—are a major ideological pivot point, a fulcrum for political projects that defend a hierarchical status quo. The grounding notions of these phantasias tap into and fortify what Madeline Lane-McKinley [author of Solidarity with Children] describes as “adult supremacy.” This names a real culture of systematic, naturalized domination over children, and a repertoire of ideas about why their subordination is justified. Such a regime keeps children confined to education in carceral, punitive, and unstimulating schools, trapped in circumstances of abuse both parental and institutional, and, worse still, subjected in many places (including U.S. agriculture and certain workplaces) to a subservient early life of exploitation.” Protean

We Don’t Know Where We Will End Up…
An essay on overcoming the lassitude that can sometimes assail us under not-quite-explicit fascism. “We need leaders [she says if you don’t like the term, try “‘guides’] calling us to a standard in excess of the prescribed pragmatism of these times. We need to be encouraged to take some big swings with others, and that means we will make mistakes. The current construct seeks to limit our imaginations. Who will remind us to shoot for a place beyond the moon? The status quo is unrealistic and impractical. In fact, for most of the planet, it is oppressive and death-making. We want life; we want livingness for all.” Mariame Kaba in her Prisons, Prose & Protest Substack

Raising taxes on the ultrarich: A necessary first step to restore faith in American democracy and the public sector
The public has supported raising taxes on the ultrarich and corporations for years, but policymakers have not responded. Small increases in taxes on the rich that were instituted during times of Democratic control of Congress and the White House have been consistently swamped by larger tax cuts passed during times of Republican control. Politically, targeting the ultrarich and corporations as sources of the first tranche of this needed new revenue can restore faith in the broader public that policymakers can force the rich and powerful to make a fair contribution. Economic Policy Institute report

Republicans Will Never Find a Health Care ‘Replacement’
“The GOP is too wedded to free markets and scornful of the welfare state to ever make anything in health care work. Republicans don’t have a ‘health care plan’ per se because this is their plan: to take your health care funding and give it to Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and the rest of the fascist billionaire class.” American Prospect via Portside

DSA CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Monday, December 1

7 – 8pm | Trans/Queer Liberation Biweekly Meeting

Tuesday, December 2

7 – 8pm | NoVA Medicare for All Working Group Meeting

Wednesday, December 3

7:30 – 8:30pm | We Power DC General Circle Meeting

Thursday, December 4

6:30pm | NoVA Labor Working Group Interest Meeting
7pm | NoVA Electoral December Monthly Social
7pm | NoVA Mutual Aid Working Group Monthly Meeting

Saturday, December 6

11am – 12:30pm | NoVA Fiber Arts Group
12 – 6pm | Local Convention Day 1

Sunday, December 7

3 – 8pm | Local Convention Day 2

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