Hi everyone,

Well, it's here - Election Day! We don't know what will happen this week, but there are some things we do know. We know that thousands of people have already stood in line for hours and hours waiting to vote, which is the direct result of policies of intimidation and violence intended to suppress the voices of Black and brown voters. We know that Trump has indicated he may try to declare an early victory, and we know that this fight might drag on for the next month. And we know that there are many other critically important down-ballot decisions that will be made tomorrow, including local judicial races and state constitutional amendments.

We also know that our community is hurting -- months of quarantine, mass unemployment, and a seemingly endless hurricane season have taken their toll.. But when things look rough, we look to our comrades for support. Tomorrow, we'll stand together and we'll stand strong, and we'll carry that solidarity into the coming year. No matter how tomorrow goes, we have to stay ready to fight. Let's hope we are fighting to drag a Biden administration to the left, but let's be prepared to fight to stop Trump from stealing the election.

To that end, tomorrow, we'll need folks to be on standby in case there are long lines at polling stations. If there are, we'll be dispatching our members to provide snacks, water bottles, and other poll support. Sign up here to get involved with that effort. On Wednesday at 12 PM, we'll be in the streets, marching alongside our comrades at Renter's Rights Assembly, UNITE Here!, Southern Solidarity, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Real Name Campaign NOLA, Step Up Louisiana, and Orleans Parish Prison Reform coalition to demand that every vote gets counted. RSVP to the Facebook event here for updates.

And lastly, goes without saying but: don't forget to vote! Check out our voter guide here for more information about what will be on your ballot.

Solidarity,

DSA New Orleans Local Council

P.S. New to DSA? Check out our chapter's new member resources here. You can also always email [email protected] with questions about how to get involved or about the work our chapter is doing. And if you aren't a dues-paying member of DSA yet, join here!

New Orleans DSA Upcoming Events

Local Council Monthly Meeting. Monthly meeting of the Local Council, our chapter's elected leadership body. Everyone is welcome to attend these meetings. If you have questions, or want to submit agenda items for consideration by the Local Council, please email [email protected]. Register for the call here. Monday, November 2nd @ 6 PM.

Election Night Livestream. DSA members hosting watch parties are linking up via zoom and we'll livestream the whole thing! Come hang with us election night as the results begin to come in! Register for the call here. Monday, October 26th @ 5:30 PM

Call a Comrade: DSA 100K Recruitment Drive. We are in the midst of a recruitment drive to get to 100,000 members by 2021. So far, our organization has recruited almost 5000 new members, but we still have a long ways to go before we get to 100K. Not only that, but we want to recruit people with intentionality - we want to grow to a mass multiracial, working class organization. Want to help? During this phonebank, we'll be calling our whole membership and asking them to take the 100K pledge to recruit 3 new members to DSA. Everyone is welcome to join! With just a few volunteers, we could call our whole membership in no time. Register for the phonebank here. Wednesday, November 4th from 5 PM to 6 PM.

Direct Service Committee: Mutual Aid + Neighborhood Organizing. Every other Wednesday, our Direct Service Committee will be meeting to discuss ongoing mutual aid and neighborhood organizing projects, including our Brake Light Clinics. Everyone is welcome to join! Register for the call here. Wednesday, November 4th @ 6:30 PM.

DSA Free Food Distribution. Come join us every Friday afternoon just outside the Southern Rep theatre in MidCity to distribute food, register folks to vote and offer information about the DSA! Or come to pick up a meal if you'd like! Drive through or walk up, because there is such a thing as a free lunch. 2541 Bayou Rd. Friday, October 30th @ 4 PM.

DSA: How We're Fighting! Not sure where to plug in to our organizing? New to DSA? Have you heard about us through our coalition partners but not sure what we're about? This is our weekly check-in call. We'll get brief updates about campaigns and projects. We'll hear from our coalition partners about what they're working on, and we'll have open discussion about different political questions. Register for the call here. Saturday, November 7th @ 2 PM.

Political Education Planning Call. Whether you're new to DSA or have been around for years, one thing's for sure: the learning never stops! Join us to help develop a political education program for the chapter so we can better apply lessons from history and theory to our contemporary lives and organizing work (and vice-versa!). Register for this recurring call here. Sunday, November 8th @ 11 AM.

Electoral Working Group Meeting. Join us for a discussion of electoral organizing within our DSA chapter. Register for the call here. Sunday, November 8th @ 2 PM.

National DSA Upcoming Events

DSA Socialist and Distanced Election Night Livestream. Don't get stuck at home doom-scrolling Election Night, stay with up the socialists! DSA will be holding a national livestream packed full of socialist commentary, victorious left candidates, rousing calls to action, and more. The livestream will begin at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT and run until 1 am ET/10 pm PT. You can join us via Zoom webinar (RSVP here), the DSA Facebook page (facebook.com/demsocialists), or the DSA YouTube channel (youtube.com/c/DSAEventLivestream). Tuesday, November 3rd @ 7 PM CST.

DSA Q+A. Interested in DSA but haven’t joined yet? Looking to get involved in the fights to stop evictions, win Medicare for All, or defund the police, but unsure how to get started? Frustrated with the limited possibilities of national, top-down politics and looking for an alternative? Join DSA leaders from across the country to talk about how organizing as socialists and engaging in mass, bottom-up movement struggle is the best path forward to winning our demands and building a better future, together. RSVP here. Saturday, November 7th @ 7 PM CST.

DSA4USPS: Black Postal Lives Matter. The Democratic Socialist Labor Commission's DSA4USPS subcommittee is planning a series of educational webinars on the United States Postal Service. This webinar will explore the significance of Black postal workers and Black liberation struggles to struggles at the post office, including the 1970 postal strike. We'll hear from Mack Julion, National Association of Letter Carriers, President, Chicago; Courtney (CJ) Jenkins, American Postal Workers Union, Organization/Legislation director, Baltimore; Ajamu Dillahunt, APWU retired, Black Workers for Justice, Raleigh; Philip Rubio, former letter carrier, author "There's Always Work at the Post Office: African American Postal Workers and the Fight for Jobs, Justice, and Equality" (2010 UNC Press) & “Undelivered: From the Great Postal Strike of 1970 to the Manufactured Crisis of the U.S. Postal Service" (2020 UNC Press). Bianca Cunningham, DSA Afro-Socialist Caucus & Labor Notes staff, will be the MC. RSVP here. Sunday, November 8th @ 5 PM CST.

National DSA Post-Election Call. No one knows what will happen on November 3rd. It certainly feels like we're in the fight of our lives with ongoing police violence, climate disasters, a raging pandemic, and high levels of unemployment and housing insecurity. Post-Election Day, we will need every one of our more than 75,000 members to plug into ongoing efforts to count every vote, keep each other safe, and demand democracy. Register for our National Post-Election Call to discuss what socialists can do in 2020 and 2021. We know, that no matter what happens, socialism is the only real solution and we need to organize to win! RSVP here. Sunday, November 8th @ 8 PM CST.