Seattle Democratic Socialists of America

This week saw a sigh of relief pass over the country as Joe Biden was inaugurated and quickly signed numerous executive orders to reverse some of his predecessor’s most egregious policies. As much as we are glad to be rid of Donald Trump, the hope of a new administration must be tempered by the reality that things cannot simply continue as they are. Biden’s first day closed with a pandemic still raging, concentration camps still in place at our borders, and the threat of climate collapse as real as it’s ever been. Our work continues, and our time, efforts and attention are just as necessary as they were before. But before we roll up our sleeves and get back to it, let’s recap This Week in DSA:

On Monday, the 39th annual Seattle MLK Jr. Day Rally was held and saw DSAers out and marching alongside activists and organizers from across the city in celebration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his legacy. Thank you to our members who attended this COVID-safe event and carried our banner. We are powerfully reminded of the history of Black activism in the Seattle area, and we are grateful for the time, energy, labor and love our BIPOC comrades give in our continuing fight to dismantle white supremacy. We encourage our members to find ways to express gratitude and solidarity through formal reparations initiatives as well as collective actions like the Black Action Coalition’s Saturday marches.

Wednesday’s inauguration was met, unlike rumors spread on social media, with peaceful protest. SDSA and Seattle Revolutionary Socialists led a demonstration urging that there be No Honeymoon for Biden, gathering in Columbia City to challenge the incoming administration’s much-touted return to status-quo. Between chants of “Hey hey / Hey Joe / the status-quo has got to go,” demonstrators demanded $2,000 monthly relief checks, a Green New Deal and Federal Jobs Guarantee, Medicare for All, and Reinvestment in BIPOC Communities.

Police violence was of renewed interest late Saturday when a Tacoma Police officer ran his cruiser into and through a crowd of pedestrians gathered at a street race, allegedly out of fear that the crowd was about to damage his windshield. The story has reached national news outlets, and disturbing eyewitness video itself is still circulating around social media. Sunday night saw DSAers mobilizing in Tacoma after cancelling planned actions elsewhere, and planning to attend the Tacoma CPAC meeting tonight at 6PM. We stand in solidarity with those marching in Tacoma, and condemn the cowardly and violent actions of Tacoma PD.

Today, we’re taking part in the International Day of Action on Yemen, and we encourage all members to join us to demand that Rep. Adam Smith, chair of the Armed Services Committee, take decisive action to help end this war. To take part, write a letter via ActionNetwork and boost this message on social media.

Socialist Night School will be in session again January 25th (tonight!) at 7PM on Zoom. Tonight’s topic is Socialism and the Family, where we’ll be discussing the myriad ways capitalism shapes family life, especially in a pandemic, and how we might develop alternatives to address the basic needs of working families.

Unite Here Local 8 (the hospitality and food workers’ union) will be gathering Saturday, January 30th at 12PM at the Amazon Spheres to demand extended and increased unemployment benefits and an extended eviction moratorium. Hospitality and food service workers were both hit hardest by the COVID-19 shutdown, and they need our support now more than ever!

Local Districts 2 and 3 are both planning to meet to discuss how to organize for what we need under the Biden administration; District 3’s meeting will be held Thursday, January 28th at 6:30 PM and District 2’s meeting will be on Saturday, January 30th at 3PM. Not sure what district you live in? Find your district here.

Finally, the Electoral Committee is looking for volunteers in District 3 to work on the Kshama Solidarity Campaign, specifically those willing to organize in their apartment complex or talk to their neighbors for a potential Decline to Sign Campaign in Coalition with Socialist Alternative. Check out the #local_district_3 channel in Slack for more information and details on how to sign up!

The Oval Office might be free of its Diet Coke button, and the United States may at last have rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement, but we cannot accept that as the best we can get. As socialists, we see the Biden/Harris promise of a “return to normal” for what it is: acquiescence to capitalism and the inequality that creates it, and a tacit refusal to reexamine, let alone dismantle the United States’ relationship to it. Seattle DSA is ready to take its place in the history of anti-racist and socialist organizing in this city. How will you get involved?

In Solidarity,

Seattle DSA