A new year is here, but the working class is still facing familiar problems. 2020 presented unique challenges—and these challenges have made it clear that the status quo isn't good enough anymore. Political leaders who worship at the altar of capitalism and the "free market" allowed millions of Americans to fall into despair and poverty in 2020. Many in Congress still can't quite decide if our lives are worth more than a one-time $600 stimulus payment.

Yet, despite the obvious challenges, there were also incredible moments of working class solidarity. The murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police led people to take to the streets in defense of black lives in one of the largest protest movements in American history. From coast to coast, we have witnessed workers organizing to protect each other from unsafe working conditions. Activists have stood in solidarity outside courthouses and refused to let people get evicted during this pandemic. Grassroots organizing helped lead to the election of democratic socialists like Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman, and Detroit DSA's Rashida Tlaib and Abraham Aiyash. Our victories show demands like Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and Defunding the Police are not snappy slogans...they are real policies that people are fighting for every day.

In 2021, the work continues in Detroit DSA. We have a labor working group committed to helping people organize at their jobs. We have members organizing around a Green New Deal. We continue to build stronger relationships with grassroots groups across Detroit. We have a Defund the Police campaign that is helping people reimagine what public safety looks like. We recently endorsed Detroit DSA's very own Landis Spencer for the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners, and we're excited to help him win. Through it all, we will keep finding ways to build deeper relationships between each other and our Detroit community.

As we saw yesterday, the fight at the heart of the socialist movement, the fight for democracy in our workplaces, in the streets, and at the ballot box, has never been more important. DSA fights against the ruling class and the bullies of the Right. Don't fight alone.

Love and solidarity,

Hussein & Nada
Co-chairs, Detroit DSA