Last week we bid goodbye to 2020, a difficult year for so many of us. The changing of the calendar year offers the promise of a fresh start, a new beginning. But the problems that made 2020 so miserable—racist violence from state and non-state actors; an economic depression and economic precarity; the threat of losing housing, medical care and food; feelings of loneliness, disconnection and helplessness; record-setting ecological catastrophes including hurricanes and wildfires—all had their groundwork laid well before 2020, and will not magically disappear with a new calendar or a Democratic president. Racial capitalism lies at the root of the crises we face—with the Democrats and Republicans both as defenders of big business and the wealthy. Indeed, the new year was ushered in with the bipartisan defeat of the desperately needed $2,000 stimulus checks and the looming end of too-weak eviction protections, while a more aggressive strain of the coronavirus looms large. It can all feel pretty bleak.
But in the words of The Lorax, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
And we need a lot of Someones to get it done. The only way 2020’s crises become surmountable is if we organize together to radically change how our society operates: for all people and the natural world, not for profit.
The good news is that there are many ways to get involved and fight for the world we want to live in! Come to our General Membership Meeting this Tuesday, January 5th from 7 - 9PM to vote on resolutions that will shape what our chapter prioritizes in 2021. We’ll be discussing resolutions to prioritize DSA’s Green New Deal campaign and a Socialist Program for the 2021 elections. This is a members-only meeting. If you’re a member, please don’t forget to register for the meeting. If you're not yet a member but you’re ready to make the connection, you can join here!
If you want to organize to build working class power in the electoral field, join our electoral group meeting this Thursday, January 7th at 6PM. Special guest is Rebecca Parson, who challenged Derek Kilmer for US Congress last cycle and leads Tacoma Housing Now, which turned an unoccupied Travelodge into emergency housing on December 24!
And speaking of Someones, shout out to the Someones who hurt Seattle Police Officers’ Guild’s feelings so badly that they had to build a wall out of stolen bicycle barriers to keep out some cardboard signs.
In solidarity,
Seattle DSA
Check out our upcoming events:
Time: January 4 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Venue: Online
DSA's caucus of Afrosocialists and Socialists of Color (AFROSOC) brings DSA’s Black, indigenous and members of color together to educate ourselves and organize our campaigns. We are doing the work of cultivating coalitions as communities of color to help build a multiracial working-class base -- the only viable strategy for securing a socialist future. Through public and internal education [Read More]
Time: January 5 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Venue: Online
Join Seattle DSA for our monthly General Membership Meeting! This meeting will be a business meeting. We will discuss two member-submitted resolutions. The resolutions have been sent to members via email and are available on Slack. If you are a member and can’t find the resolutions, please email [email protected]. Members in good standing are eligible to vote at the meeting. This is a [Read More]
Time: January 6 @ 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Venue: Online (Zoom Call)
The Housing Collective is a group of Seattle area tenants who meet every month to learn and teach each other concrete, effective organizing skills to build power at home. If you're worried about an eviction, maintenance issues that are going unaddressed, or general mistreatment from your landlord, this meeting is for you. This month we will be having a presentation about eviction defense [Read More]
Time: January 6 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Venue: Online
Due to coronavirus, we'll be meeting online. Join us on Google Hangouts Are you frustrated that you don't have a voice at work? Are you a freelancer who rarely gets paid on time? Are you working 2 or 3 gigs just to make rent? You're not alone. The Workplace Organizing Collective is a group of Seattle DSA members, including experienced labor organizers, who meet every week to teach each [Read More]
Time: January 9 @ 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Venue: Online (Zoom Call)
Join the District 4 reading group January 9th at 3pm to read the classic “The Wretched of the Earth” by Frantz Fanon — https://grattoncourses.files.wordpress.com/2019/12/frantz-fanon-richard-philcox-jean-paul-sartre-homi-k.-bhabha-the-wretched-of-the-earth-grove-press-2011.pdf. We will be reading the chapter “Grandeur and Weakness of Spontaneity". This event is open to DSA members and anyone [Read More]
Time: January 10 @ 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Venue: Online (Zoom Call)
President-elect Biden has made clear from the moment he was elected that he plans to oversee a neoliberal, racist, business-as-usual agenda during his term. If we let this do-nothing agenda go unchallenged, we can be certain we will be facing a Trump 2.0 situation in four years. Seattle DSA will be organizing an Inauguration Day (or week) event [Read More]
Time: January 10 @ 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Venue: Online
Join us for reading and discussion. Check back for topic which is tbd. Zoom info: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86416563477?pwd=NUtSUjFLU1hTdzZITllvbG9UcW1HZz09 By phone: 253 215 8782 Meeting ID: 864 1656 3477 Passcode: 591429 [Read More]
