If man is to be liberated to enjoy more leisure, he
must also be prepared to enjoy this leisure fully and
creatively.
-- Eleanor Roosevelt
Comrades,
Happy winter holidays from East Bay DSA.
You may already be feeling, or at least have considered,
how the end of this year is different than others. We may be farther
from family and friends, forgoing close company and shared foods even
where we live. Some of the usual bright lights may seem a little
dimmer, or at least farther away. But given that these holidays are
always bittersweet, maybe we can be spared some of the bitterness,
too. We hope you can enjoy some peace in not travelling and grace in
sending cards and making calls instead of looking for perfect
gifts.
And we hope you do not spend any additional time this month
reflecting on whether you lived the past year to the fullest, or if
you wish you had spent a few moments differently. You got that part
done early. So what to do instead? Well, the best time to start a New
Year's resolution is before the new year.
If 2020 made you want to fix America's broken and brazenly
racist
(https://eastbaymajority.com/ahs-highland-covid-racism-sexism-work-from-home/)
health care system, or just to learn more history, join our screening
tonight of Power to Heal: Medicare and the Civil Rights Revolution
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1694/2020-12-17-power-to-heal-medicare-and-the-civil-rights-revolution-screening/)
. If you've been learning about the critical importance of Indigenous
struggles to climate action and you’re ready to get involved, join our
Green New Deal reading group
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1695/2020-12-23-green-new-deal-reading-group-our-history-is-the-future-by-nick-estes-part-ii/)
for Nick Estes’s Our History Is The Future, or tune in to hear Estes
and other Indigenous leaders
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1673/2020-12-17-national-dsa-indigenous-resistance-in-a-world-on-fire/)
speak on a National DSA panel today at 5! If you want to help build
the nation's largest socialist
organization, or just make some new friends, join our
Member Engagement Committee
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1434/2020-12-28-membership-engagement-committee-monthly-meeting/)
or our Mobilizer Team (https://forms.gle/Cg9aZA3trDegqG9R8)
.
The end of the year may be the perfect time to start
something new, whether in learning, organizing, or
activism.
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
** WAKING UP A "SLEEPING GIANT": AN INTERVIEW WITH TRANSIT
UNION LEADER ROGER MARENCO
------------------------------------------------------------
"We have been a sleeping giant for the past decades.
Nothing happens without the Muni transit operators in this
city."
Read more
(https://eastbaymajority.com/twu-muni-mta-transit-union-election-roger-marenco/)
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) STRUCTURED ORGANIZING CONVERSATIONS
DURING SOCIAL DISTANCING
------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, December 17 | 5–7 p.m.
Online via Zoom – RSVP for info
(https://actionnetwork.org/events/structured-organizing-conversations-during-social-distancing/)
♿
Although social distancing due to COVID-19 is drastically
interrupting our standard organizing practices, we must find ways to
make the most of technology and what contact we can have with one
another via video conferencing and phone calls so that we can build
working class power to fight against a repeat of the corporate
bailouts of 2008 and demand real solutions to the struggles facing the
working class during these difficult times.
Structured organizing conversations, while usually done in
person, are a key skill that every organizer must learn and continue
to practice in order to effectively build capacity in our work and
teach others to find their own power and use it in shared struggle for
change. While many of us are staying home for our own safety and are
unable to meet in person, we are seeing that the ruling class is using
their power to protect Wall Street while millions live in insecurity
due to the effects of coronavirus and capitalism. The working class
must continue to organize and use our power as well.
This training will be useful as we demand Medicare for All,
Medical and Student Debt forgiveness, cessation of evictions, an end
to cash bail, and more. We will need all hands on deck, and this
training will help us to effectively talk with others about standing
up to the ruling class and demanding that everyone’s needs are met,
not just those of the wealthy.
This event is hosted through National DSA. RSVP below for
the Zoom link!
RSVP
(https://actionnetwork.org/events/structured-organizing-conversations-during-social-distancing/)
** (NATIONAL DSA) INDIGENOUS RESISTANCE IN A WORLD ON
FIRE
------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, December 17 | 5–7 p.m.
Online via Zoom – RSVP for info
(https://act.dsausa.org/survey/indigenous-resistance-in-a-world-on-fire/)
♿️
Indigenous communities are fighting for their survival and
for self-determination. But what is the relationship between their
struggle to the broader class struggle and the fight for a socialist
future?
The DSA National Political Education Committee and
International Committee are co-hosting an international panel
featuring Indigenous leaders from the U.S, Brazil, and Bolivia.
Drawing on the long legacy of Indigenous movements, and with an
emphasis on environmental justice and class struggle the speakers will
discuss indigenous protection of the environment in the Americas and
the role their resistance plays within the struggle against capitalism
and the extractivist state.
For info on this event’s amazing speakers, click the RSVP
link below.
This event is hosted by National DSA. RSVP below for the
Zoom link!
RSVP
(https://act.dsausa.org/survey/indigenous-resistance-in-a-world-on-fire/)
** "POWER TO HEAL: MEDICARE AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS
REVOLUTION" SCREENING
------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, December 17 | 7:15–9:15 p.m.
Online via Zoom
(https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83792221558?pwd=aGx1S0k3eGJ3WXBvaitxdjdUYkdVdz09)
♿
The Medicare for All Committee and Racial Solidarity
Committee will be co-hosting night school with a screening of “Power
To Heal: Medicare And The Civil Rights Revolution.” This is a
60-minute documentary that exposes the history of Medicare in the USA,
and how it helped desegregate hospitals around the
nation.
RSVP
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1694/2020-12-17-power-to-heal-medicare-and-the-civil-rights-revolution-screening/)
Attend on Zoom
(https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83792221558?pwd=aGx1S0k3eGJ3WXBvaitxdjdUYkdVdz09)
** DIRECT ACTION TRAINING SERIES
------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday and Sunday, December 19–20 | 10
a.m.–noon
Online via Zoom – register in advance below ♿
Do you want to learn effective techniques to intervene in
an unjust world? Do you want to plan effective and powerful direct
actions?
East Bay DSA’s Direct Action Working Group is excited to
continue our Direct Action Training series this weekend! The training
will take place on Zoom from 10 a.m.–noon on Saturday and Sunday.
Attending both days is highly recommended. This training will cover
the same ground as the previous Direct Action training which was very
well received.
As racist violence, unemployment, evictions, and climate
chaos keep increasing, we need to expand our capacity to leverage our
collective power. This training series will introduce creative ways to
escalate ongoing campaigns, participate in mass uprisings, and keep
each other safe in our confrontations with capital and the
state.
The training is 4 hours spread across two days. Please
attend both days. For both days’ agendas, click the RSVP links
below.
RSVP for Day 1
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1668/2020-12-19-direct-action-training-series/)
RSVP for Day 2
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1669/2020-12-20-direct-action-training-series/)
** New Member Event: How to Win the Holidays
------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, December 19 | 6–7:30 p.m.
Online via Zoom — RSVP for info
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1714/2020-12-19-new-member-event-how-to-win-the-holidays/)
♿️
If you’re already preparing to gather around a table or
zoom call this holiday season, don’t settle for being the sulky
socialist in the corner. Be the sulky socialist in the corner who gets
their relatives to fight for a political revolution—or at least watch
an AOC video after dinner.
Join us for a cozy (virtual) event to practice our friendly
persuasion skills!
🌱 Talking Green New Deal with Grandma
🏥 Getting Uncle Bruce to support Medicare For
All
🚨 Walking Mom through Defunding the Police
We’ll break into small groups and discuss different ways to
respond to common talking points. Have you been stumped by a family
member before? We can workshop a response together! Plus we’ll talk
about picking our battles and how best to engage in these types of
conversations.
This will be on zoom, but feel free to bring your dinner or
a drink — and wear your favorite holiday sweater.
This is a great event for new members to meet other members
and get connected with East Bay DSA — but longtime members are welcome
too! Invite all your union friends and the
socialism-curious!
⬇️ RSVP below for the zoom link! ⬇️
RSVP
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1714/2020-12-19-new-member-event-how-to-win-the-holidays/)
** LABOR FILM SCREENING: "THE KILLING FLOOR"
------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, December 20 | 6–9 p.m.
Online via Zoom – RSVP for info
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1710/2020-12-20-labor-film-screening-the-killing-floor/)
♿
The Labor Ed Study Series: Lessons from the 1930s for the
2020s presents a film screening of The Killing Floor, which highlights
the plight of workers fighting to build an interracial union in the
meatpacking industry in the years leading up to the Chicago race riot
of 1919.
The screening is open to everyone. Participants of our
Labor reading groups are encouraged to join and reflect on this period
leading up to the Great Depression, as we currently read about Black
workers and the fight against racism in the 30s. We'll host a short
discussion after the film for those who stick around.
RSVP
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1710/2020-12-20-labor-film-screening-the-killing-floor/)
** RACIAL SOLIDARITY COMMITTEE MONTHLY MEETING
------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, December 21 | 7–9 p.m.
Join the Racial Solidarity Committee for our monthly
meeting!
The Racial Solidarity Committee (RSC) is dedicated to
fighting for the rights of BIPOC communities here in the Bay Area as
well as around the world. We are committed to building a multiracial
democratic socialist organization that reflects the diversity of the
Bay Area working class. Our work ranges from immigration justice and
open borders to workers' rights and access to fully-funded public
education. In our general meetings, we hold political discussions and
report on upcoming RSC campaigns and events. Join us and become a part
of the fight for Racial Solidarity!
Racial Solidarity Committee is open to all, and we
especially welcome self-identified BIPOC folx. BIPOC facilitators take
progressive stack, and we maintain community agreements.
RSVP
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1675/2020-12-21-racial-solidarity-committee-monthly-meeting/)
** VIRTUAL MASK BUILD
------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, December 22 | 7–9 p.m.
Online via Zoom – sign up in advance to have materials
delivered
(https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSenNC1kKJKt02aSkftQWlhqe6o-dhDXlaN3B-XNlAnm_VPhDg/viewform?gxids=7628)
♿
Join the Green New Deal committee for a virtual mask
assembly party! The COVID-19 pandemic will intensify over the coming
months, with the recently surpassed death toll of 250,000 potentially
doubling by March, and the U.S. continues to experience PPE shortages,
especially of high-grade face masks.
We will be assembling hundreds of no-sew, submicron "N85"
masks for distribution with community partners. All we need is your
help!
This is a great event for new members to attend. Training
and materials are provided, no experience necessary. During the build,
we'll hang out on an online call together to talk about mutual aid,
socialism, and whatever else you'd like to!
Please RSVP below several days before the build so we
provide materials via a touchless kit drop-off at your
door!
Sign up here
(https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSenNC1kKJKt02aSkftQWlhqe6o-dhDXlaN3B-XNlAnm_VPhDg/viewform?gxids=7628)
** GREEN NEW DEAL READING GROUP: OUR HISTORY IS THE FUTURE
BY NICK ESTES PART II
------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, December 23 | 7–9 p.m.
Online via Zoom
(https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87001162200?pwd=VW9LUHhORzRlQ3JLMm45ZkFOL0d1dz09)
♿
We will be reading the second and third chapters ahead of
this meeting. Anyone interested in learning and discussing with others
is welcome to join us. (If you missed the first meeting, catch up and
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/1695/2020-12-23-green-new-deal-reading-group-our-history-is-the-future-by-nick-estes-part-ii/)
Attend on Zoom
(https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87001162200?pwd=VW9LUHhORzRlQ3JLMm45ZkFOL0d1dz09)
** LABOR COMMITTEE MEETING
------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, December 27 | 6–8 p.m.
Online via Zoom – RSVP for info
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1646/2020-12-27-labor-committee-meeting/)
♿
Please join the East Bay DSA Labor Committee for our
regular monthly meeting. It's open to all DSA members who are
interested in getting involved in labor work with their comrades!
Learn more about how to get involved in the committee, our ongoing
projects, and upcoming solidarity actions! If you'd like to submit an
item for the agenda, please email [email protected]
(mailto:[email protected]) .
RSVP
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1646/2020-12-27-labor-committee-meeting/)
** MEMBER ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE MONTHLY MEETING
------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, December 28 | 7–9 p.m.
Online via Zoom – RSVP for info
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1434/2020-12-28-membership-engagement-committee-monthly-meeting/)
♿
We need your help building a strong and active chapter!
Join our next Member Engagement Committee monthly meeting and learn
how you can put your skills to work or grow new ones you never knew
you had!
The Member Engagement Committee was created for the purpose
of initiating and sustaining our members' active and healthy
participation in the chapter's work. We cannot grow our movement
without engaging and fostering growth within our current membership.
We strive to grow confident organizers and leaders as well as strong
relationships between comrades in our chapter by supporting all
committees in their work and creating spaces for learning and
camaraderie.
Our committee builds and maintains projects such as (but
not limited to) our mobilizers program, planning and execution of
chapter socials, new member events, and Organizer's Toolbox Trainings,
as well as managing the onboarding of new members. As our chapter
grows we need to grow our efforts with it and would love to welcome
new members to our committee.
RSVP
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1434/2020-12-28-membership-engagement-committee-monthly-meeting/)
Upcoming Events
** MOBILIZER TEAM PHONEBANKING
------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, December 29 | 6–8 p.m.
Online via Zoom – RSVP for info
(https://www.eastbaydsa.org/events/1414/2020-12-29-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/1414/2020-12-29-mobilizer-team-phonebanking/)
** VIRTUAL MASK BUILD
------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, December 29 | 7–9 p.m.
Online via Zoom – sign up here to receive materials in
advance
(https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSenNC1kKJKt02aSkftQWlhqe6o-dhDXlaN3B-XNlAnm_VPhDg/viewform?gxids=7628)
♿
See details for the Dec. 22 event above. Training and
materials are provided, no experience necessary.
Please RSVP below several days before the build so we
provide materials via a touchless kit drop-off at your
door!
RSVP
(https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSenNC1kKJKt02aSkftQWlhqe6o-dhDXlaN3B-XNlAnm_VPhDg/viewform?gxids=7628)
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.
Announcements
LET'S MOBILIZE OUR NEW MEMBERS!
With new members pouring into our chapter, it's time to get
them activated and plugged into the long-term project of building
socialism. That's where our mobilizers team comes in. Our mobilizers
meet with new members one-on-one, talk through what brought them to
DSA and guide their next steps in our chapter.
Our mobilizers team is currently recruiting so we can
mobilize the hundreds of new members of our chapter that have joined
in the past months.
Fill out the form linked below to volunteer and help with
this effort. This is a great way to get more involved if you've been a
member watching from the sidelines for a while.
Sign up to mobilize
(https://forms.gle/mK7qgaHQrC1YA5Uq9)
For myself, I want no advantage over my fellow man, and if
he is weaker than I, all the more is it my duty to help
him.
-- Eugene Debs
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