Seattle Democratic Socialists of America

Last night, police in Kenosha, Wisconsin shot 7 bullets into the back of another Black man, Jacob Blake, as his children watched from his car. Blake is hospitalized and fighting for his life. Protests in Kenosha erupted after the shooting.

It’s been three months of non-stop protests since Minneapolis police killed George Floyd, and Black people continue to be killed, terrorized, and brutalized by police. The fight against state violence and police brutality continues, and it requires all of us. It’s long past time to defund the police.

In Seattle, Mayor Durkan vetoed the City Council’s budget proposals to begin scaling back the police department, the first time in recent history that the police budget has been decreased, not increased. It’s time to get back out on the streets and tell Mayor Durkan: we won’t stand for this.

The EveryDay March (EDM), formerly the Black Femmes March, has been protesting for over 60 days. They have a morning march at 8AM and an evening march at 7PM—every single day! Make sure to follow them on Instagram here and here for location updates as they change daily.

EDM has marched to the homes of City Councilmembers Lorena Gonzalez, Lisa Herbold, Deborah Juarez, Teresa Mosqueda, Alex Pederson, and Dan Strauss, as well as King County Executive Dow Constantine and members of The King County Council.

Their demands are:

Defund SPD by 50% at least

Reinvest those funds into Black communities

Amnesty for all protestors

No new youth jail

Mayor Durkan must resign

End Qualified Immunity

Here’s a report from one of our members:

On Saturday, August 23rd EDM hosted a peaceful march on The Governor's Mansion in Olympia to tell Jay Inslee that Black Lives Matter and to end qualified immunity. Over 200 people marched onto the State Capitol lawn, singing The Black national anthem ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’, and leaving our message there for Jay Inslee since he was unwilling to speak with us and we were blocked by police from marching to his mansion. No one was injured or arrested. We ended in solidarity with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers hosting their own rally for hazard pay, regular COVID testing, PPE, and paid sick leave. EDM is calling for more people to come out to these marches, so that people who have been pushing can take a needed break. “If Black Lives Matter, Prove It”!

Climate Catastrophe and the Green New Deal

On August 10, a derecho, a massive windstorm, hit Iowa, destroying countless homes and wiping out an estimated 43% of the state’s corn crop. The Trump administration sent only 1% of the aid requested by the state. Over the past two days, tropical storm Laura has swept through Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti, leaving at least 8 people dead as it makes its way to Louisiana, along with tropical storm Marco. And over the past week, wildfires have ravaged central and northern California and they continue to grow, ranking among the state’s largest on record. Prisoners who are usually forced to fight off California’s wildfires, earning an average of $3.63 per day, have been hit hard by COVID-19.

None of these disasters were inevitable. They were caused by the growth and plunder of fossil fuel industries, logging industries, automobile industries—in short, capitalism’s violent and insatiable search for capital accumulation, and its total disregard for nature and the earth. The disasters over the past month make clear the urgent need for a Green New Deal, and for a mass socialist movement to transform society.

Join the fight for a Green New Deal with us: this Sunday at 3:30PM, join our Green New Deal and Ecosocialist group to talk about DSA’s national Green New Deal campaign and discuss state-level and local-level updates.

It’s official: Biden vs. Trump

Last week, the Democratic National Convention nominated Joe Biden as the Democratic Party nominee, despite credible sexual assault allegations against him. The convention featured many Republican speakers, including John Kasich, the anti-abortion former Governor of Ohio, and Colin Powell, the secretary of state under George W Bush who helped sell the war in Iraq that devasted the lives of millions of people. Speakers described Biden as a man of family values, faith, and decency. Kasich even addressed people who might be wary that Biden would “turn sharp left and leave them behind,” continuing, “I don’t believe that. I know the measure of the man.”

In contrast, Bernie Sanders’ speech was the only one that contained real policy, and he talked about a national $15 minimum wage, affordable childcare, and Medicare for All. But he also unfortunately sowed seeds of illusion in a Biden administration, saying, “I know that Joe Biden will begin that fight on day one.” But we know that Joe Biden is beholden to corporate interests, not working people, and that his administration will do as little as possible to advance a working class or left wing political agenda.

Trump must be defeated, but so must the conditions that led to his rise—the devastating effects of neoliberal policies over the past decades, which Joe Biden epitomizes. As DSA’s National Political Committee writes, “we believe that the only way to beat the radical right once and for all is through a socialist movement that draws millions of disillusioned working-class people, here and abroad, into the political arena.”

To join us in building that socialist movement in Seattle, see events this week below. The future of that movement depends on building a mass working class political organization to challenge the big business dominated Democratic party. On Thursday at 6PM, join our comrades in District 2 for the (postponed) Zoom meeting, “A Third Party for the Working Class: Not If but When,” on the prospects for an independent working-class political party.

Join Seattle DSA!

Not a member yet? Join the largest socialist organization in the US here!

Are you a new member and unsure where to start? Come out to our New Member Orientation this Thursday to learn about Seattle DSA, meet some comrades, and decide how to get involved.

Do you want to join our Slack, where most of our communication takes place? Just send your DSA welcome email from Maria Svart to [email protected] and we’ll plug you in.

In solidarity,

Seattle DSA

Here are upcoming events: