Capitalism cannot reform itself; it is doomed to
self-destruction. No universal selfishness can bring social good to
all.
-- W.E.B. DuBois
Comrades,
We're nearing the end of a historic year. None of its acute
crises
(https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/12/trump-electoral-fraud-bolivia-morales-coup-oas)
nor its existential questions
(https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/04/california-wildfire-rebuild-climate-crisis)
can be put behind us; none of their causes have been addressed.
COVID-19 is more widespread and deadly now than at its previous peak
(https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/12/02/world/covid-19-coronavirus/its-terrible-because-it-was-avoidable-us-virus-deaths-have-passed-the-spring-peak)
in the U.S.
These problems can't be pinned on a single year, nor even
on the last four years of Trump's spiteful presidency. The problem is
capitalism, and it can't be waited out or simply left behind. It has
to be torn down.
How? We're making plans in our last General Meeting of the
year
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1660/2020-12-06-december-virtual-general-meeting/)
. We'll vote on the M4A Committee's plan to organize for single-payer
healthcare in California and get an introduction to the Socialist
Housing Organizing Project, two urgent projects that will take power
away from capitalists and strengthen the working class.
We'll need that strength when we seize the whole
machine.
Solidarity.
News and Information
Here's some of the latest news and information from East
Bay Majority (https://eastbaymajority.com/) , East Bay DSA's news
source with a socialist perspective
** TEACHERS’ UNIONS SHOULD ENDORSE BERNIE SANDERS FOR LABOR
SECRETARY
------------------------------------------------------------
As Labor Secretary, Bernie Sanders could fight alongside
teachers’ unions to reign in Wall St. and ensure safe working
conditions for everyone.
Read more
(https://eastbaymajority.com/bernie-sanders-labor-secretary-teachers-unions/)
Featured Events
While we are still unable to meet face-to-face, events are
still going on that you can be a part of. RSVP below to stay updated.
You can also keep track on our Events page
(http://eastbaydsa.org/events/) .
** (NATIONAL DSA) ORGANIZING THE DIASPORA: THE U.S.-CHINA
CONFLICT, ANTI-ASIAN RACISM, AND TRANSNATIONAL SOLIDARITY
------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, December 4 | 4–6 p.m.
Online via Zoom – RSVP for info
(https://act.dsausa.org/survey/organizing-the-diaspora/)
♿
2020 has seen rising tensions at various pressure points
between the U.S. and China: political crises in Hong Kong and
Xinjiang; increased anti-Asian racism, specifically Sinophobia, with
the spread of COVID-19; and nationalist fearmongering on China from
establishment politicians across the aisle.
Caught between this crossfire are Asian workers and others
in the diaspora, from international students to long-time Chinatown
residents. We have also seen heroic struggles against these forms of
oppressions and have been inspired by the BLM uprising in the
US.
How can leftists of color and allies help connect
transnational solidarity to anti-racist movement-building at home?
What are some of the possibilities or pitfalls to anticipate with a
Biden administration in terms of building up Asian and Asian American
movements from China to Chinatowns abroad?
Speakers in this webinar will show the interconnections
between these aspects, addressing topics like the Chinese right wing,
pro-Beijing disinformation, Chinese international students’
organizing, and avenues for left-wing solidarity with movements in
Hong Kong and China against state repression while remaining vigilant
against the forces of U.S. imperialism.
This event hopes to stimulate organizing that concretely
gives shape to what connecting the transnational and local in the mass
movement and beyond can look like.
Speakers:
Tobita Chow, Justice is Global
Helena Wong, Chinese Student Activist Network
David Xu Borgonjon, International and Immigrant Student
Workers Alliance (IISWA)
Sharon Yam, Lausan Collective
JM Wong, Pacific Rim Solidarity Network
(Parisol)
This event is hosted through National DSA. RSVP below for
the Zoom Link!
RSVP
(https://act.dsausa.org/survey/organizing-the-diaspora/)
** (NATIONAL DSA) BUILDING A LEFT WING THAT CAN FIGHT AND
WIN
------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, December 4 | 5–7 p.m.
Online via Zoom – RSVP for info
(https://act.dsausa.org/survey/building-a-left-that-can-fight-and-win/)
♿️
The results of the elections are in: Donald Trump narrowly
lost and the Democrats under-performed against all expectations in
Congress. And while measures such as raising the minimum wage and
legalizing marijuana were more popular than either candidate, over 72
million voted for Trump. Socialists must take a hard look at the
underlying trends in American political life: the dangerous growth of
an assertive, white-supremacist Right and the weakness of declining
centrist liberalism. In this continuing period of political
instability we need an active, organized socialist movement accessible
to people from across the broad, multi-racial working
class.
What lessons can we draw from the election? What are the
opportunities and challenges ahead for working class and socialist
organizing? How do we fight the rise of the right? Join us for a panel
of DSA labor organizers and leaders from our National Political
Committee, Democratic Socialist Labor Commission, and the
AfroSocialist and Socialists of Color Caucus to discuss their
assessment of the election, the political terrain ahead of us, and
what DSA needs to do to build a durable and winning Left that can
defeat the Right and create a better world.
Featuring: Keon Liberato, Rebecca Garelli, Robert Cuffy and
Kevin Prosen in conversation with Marianela D’Aprile.
This event is hosted through National DSA. RSVP below for
the Zoom Link!
RSVP
(https://act.dsausa.org/survey/building-a-left-that-can-fight-and-win/)
** MASKS FOR ALL! MASK BUILD AND DISTRIBUTION
------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, December 5 | 1–4 p.m.
Bushrod Park, Racine St & 61st St, Oakland
♿
Join the Green New Deal committee for a physically
distanced mask assembly party. COVID cases are surging and one key way
to slow the spread is by wearing a well-fitting mask. We have a recipe
and supplies to make hundreds of $0.75 KN95 masks, all we need is your
help! We’re gonna be setting up in Bushrod Park by the southside
picnic benches. This is a great event for new members to attend.
Training, materials and PPE provided.
Pro Tip 💡: Good PPE goes over your nose and under your
chin. Make sure to wear your mask to the build. You'll get to take
some extras home for friends and family.
We will be close to the parking lot. We will be standing or
sitting on a grassy surface, so please dress warmly.
RSVP
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1666/2020-12-05-masks-for-all-mask-build-and-distribution/)
** DECEMBER VIRTUAL GENERAL MEETING
------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, December 6 | 1–2:30 p.m.
Online via Zoom
(https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88197589947?pwd=eDJvajZYdUF1VlRxd1loRGI0QThBdz09)
♿
Join us for a voting General Meeting of East Bay DSA! This
month, we will hear a resolution to approve a campaign plan as we
launch our push for a California single-payer system, and hear how to
get involved with some of our chapter’s new organizing
projects.
The full agenda is available here
(https://docs.google.com/document/d/1V4CHHnTmTJ8meJlWCougJcSXooEd20JzqpDkq1Vsddk/edit?usp=sharing)
.
RSVP
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1660/2020-12-06-december-virtual-general-meeting/)
** GREEN NEW DEAL FOR TRANSIT CAMPAIGN MEETING
------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, December 7 | 7–9 p.m.
Online via Zoom – RSVP for info
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1362/2020-12-07-green-new-deal-for-transit-campaign-meeting/)
♿
Join us to win power for:
* Free Public Transit
* Greatly expanded service, accessibility, and
schedule
* Protection of union workers and expansion of union
jobs
* Social equity to overcome transportation
discrimination
* Conversion of Public Transit to Zero Emissions
vehicles
RSVP
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1362/2020-12-07-green-new-deal-for-transit-campaign-meeting/)
** (NATIONAL DSA) DSA MEDICARE-FOR-ALL NATIONAL CAMPAIGN
KICKOFF
------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, December 8 | 5–7 p.m.
Online via Zoom – RSVP for info
(https://act.dsausa.org/survey/DSA-Medicare-for-All-National-Campaign-Kickoff/)
♿
As a result of COVID, millions of workers are losing their
jobs and their insurance. Even those with insurance struggle to afford
the cost of hospital treatment (in some cases tens of thousands of
dollars). The communities hit hardest by the coronavirus, such as the
undocumented, largely do not have any health insurance coverage at
all. If we want to save lives and beat COVID, we must put patients and
healthcare workers over the profits of insurance and drug companies.
Our government must ensure that everyone, regardless of employment,
immigration, or insurance status, has access to the healthcare they
need — including free testing and treatment.
In order to get politicians to buck their donors and side
with the majority they are supposed to represent, we have to threaten
them with a mass, popularly-based political movement. The movement of
the kind we need to achieve Medicare for All will only be built
through connecting with millions of people across the country, in
their neighborhoods, town halls and workplaces.
Join the Democratic Socialists of America as we launch the
next round of our campaign to win Medicare for All. Hear from
healthcare workers, essential workers, and legislators why this fight
is so important and how we are going to win it. Connect with other DSA
organizers to build strategic campaigns in your chapters and
coordinate throughout your region. Learn what resources are available
to get your campaigns off the ground. Build the working-class movement
to win a piece of real democratic socialism!
This event is hosted through National DSA. RSVP below for
the Zoom Link!
RSVP
(https://act.dsausa.org/survey/DSA-Medicare-for-All-National-Campaign-Kickoff/)
** GREEN NEW DEAL READING GROUP: OUR HISTORY IS THE FUTURE
BY NICK ESTES
------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, December 8 | 7–9 p.m.
Online via Zoom
(https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87512638918?pwd=a0V3eHZlaFU2Z2lJL0tHaHpUVlNiUT09)
♿️
We will be reading the prologue and the first chapter ahead
of this meeting. Anyone interested in learning and discussing with
others is welcome to join us.
The book is about how two centuries of Indigenous
resistance created the movement proclaiming "Water is life." In Our
History Is the Future, Nick Estes traces traditions of Indigenous
resistance that led to the #NoDAPL movement. Our History Is the Future
is at once a work of history, a manifesto, and an intergenerational
story of resistance.
RSVP
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1659/2020-12-08-green-new-deal-reading-group-our-history-is-the-future-by-nick-estes/)
** GREEN NEW DEAL COMMITTEE MONTHLY MEETING
(VIRTUAL)
------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, December 9 | 6:45–8:45 p.m.
Online via Zoom – email
(mailto:[email protected]) or RSVP for info
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1353/2020-12-09-green-new-deal-committee-monthly-meeting-virtual/)
♿
Our Green New Deal Committee meets on the second Wednesday
each month. We will discuss eco-socialist issues, upcoming events and
actions, committee priorities, and campaigns. All are welcome! Please
RSVP to receive the URL to the meeting or email
[email protected].
RSVP
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1353/2020-12-09-green-new-deal-committee-monthly-meeting-virtual/)
** MEDICARE FOR ALL COMMITTEE MEETING
------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, December 10 | 6–8 p.m.
Online via Zoom
(https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81235048894?pwd=RDZHcnRDQ0FpV3ZndzdUenVJZ3JaZz09)
♿
Join us for a special reconvening of the Medicare for All
Committee! With the pandemic and its multiple, intersecting crises,
and the polling popularity of Medicare for All, our commitment to the
movement is more important than ever. This will relaunch our work as a
chapter committee. Come learn about our committee's efforts, as well
as local, state, and national initiatives around Medicare for All and
single-payer healthcare. All are welcome!
RSVP
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1624/2020-12-10-medicare-for-all-committee-meeting/)
** RALLY FOR A PEOPLE’S RECOVERY
------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, December 12 | noon–2 p.m.
Oakland Federal Building, 1301 Clay St, Oakland
♿
In the face of multiple crises - COVID-19, massive
unemployment, climate chaos, systemic racism - DSA chapters around the
country are rising up with #FightForOurLives. The Biden administration
will pursue austerity unless we unite and pressure them to help the
multi-racial working class instead.
Join us on December 12 as we raise 5 key demands for
federal action:
✔️ A Federal Jobs Guarantee Act
✔️ The Health Care Emergency Guarantee Act
✔️ The Protect the Right to Organize Act
✔️ The #ClimatePresident Action Plan
✔️ Stop the Wars at Home and Abroad
We'll convene at the Oakland Federal Building (1301 Clay
St.) starting at noon to rally for the programs we urgently need and
deserve. We will wear masks and practice physical
distancing.
Bring banners, picket signs, noisemakers, musical
instruments, and high spirits, because now's the time to
#FightForOurLives!
RSVP
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1661/2020-12-12-rally-for-a-people-s-recovery/)
Upcoming Events
** (NATIONAL DSA) DSA Q&A
------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, December 14 | 5–7 p.m.
Online via Zoom – RSVP for info
(https://act.dsausa.org/signup/QA_about_DSA_12_14/) ♿️
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.
This event is hosted through National DSA. RSVP below for
the Zoom Link!
RSVP
(https://act.dsausa.org/signup/QA_about_DSA_12_14/)
** MOBILIZER TEAM PHONEBANKING
------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, December 15 | 6–8 p.m.
Online via Zoom – RSVP for info
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1412/2020-12-15-mobilizer-team-phonebanking/)
♿️
The Mobilizer team's mission is to build the personal
connections that help DSA members get more involved in our chapter and
politically active. We have one on one conversations with both new
members and existing members of our chapter where we learn about what
drew them to the struggle for socialism and help them think about how
they want to take the next step to get more engaged. In this weekly
phone bank, we call our members and train new Mobilizers how to make
calls. Come help us build a strong chapter and movement while having
great conversations!
RSVP
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1412/2020-12-15-mobilizer-team-phonebanking/)
** LET'S OWN PG&E CAMPAIGN
------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, December 16 | 6:45–8:15 p.m.
Online via Zoom – RSVP for info
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1347/2020-12-16-let-s-own-pg-e-campaign/)
♿
Learn about why a for-profit PG&E will never work for
the people or the planet and be a part of winning a Community-owned,
Community-controlled PG&E.
RSVP
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1347/2020-12-16-let-s-own-pg-e-campaign/)
** SOCIAL HOUSING COMMITTEE MONTHLY MEETING
------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, December 16 | 7–8:30 p.m.
Online via Zoom
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1338/2020-12-16-social-housing-committee-monthly-meeting/)
♿
Our Social Housing Committee meets on the third Wednesday
each month. The first half of the meeting is dedicated to learning
together about social housing and about the broader housing justice
movement. In the second part of the meeting, we discuss campaigns and
working group updates. All are welcome!
Please RSVP for the Zoom URL &
instructions.
RSVP
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1338/2020-12-16-social-housing-committee-monthly-meeting/)
Catch up on Socialist Night School
CATCH UP ON NIGHT SCHOOL
With social distancing guidelines still in place, now's as
good a time as any to catch up on our Socialist Night
School.
Catch up on past night school readings and videos
below.
Watch past Night School videos
(https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeMYhhCCTFq1jGdOt6lcF8l7HQJwnJndD)
Catch up on Night School readings
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/night-school/)
Not a Member Yet? Let's Fix That.
DSA now has 85,000 members nationally, and we're still
growing. There's never been a better time to get involved than right
now! Join our national organization by clicking below and become an
official socialist organizer.
Join DSA
(http://dsausa.org/join?source=East%20Bay)
Caucus Corner
Our caucuses organize events too! Check out the Caucus
Corner of our website (https://www.eastbaydsa.org/about/caucuses/) to
learn more about the activities of East Bay DSA caucuses and how to
participate.
Walk the street with us into history. Get off the
sidewalk.
-- Dolores Huerta
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