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Friend
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It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our
member Lisa Kennedy on March 10th. Lisa was a proud librarian,
educator and union member.
Lisa was the media specialist at Wilde Elementary and shared
her love of reading with the students. Additionally, she
worked for the Sterling Heights Public Library and helped run the
summer youth programs there. As a Warren Education Association union
representative, she participated in the protests against anti-union
"right to work" legislation.
Later, she and her son snuck behind police lines to protest
then-Governor Snyder's cuts to public education funding at a campaign
event. In 2019, at her son's urging, she became a card carrying DSA
member. Lisa was a longtime supporter of progressive causes and she
will be missed.
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On March 8, City Council began
holding its departmental budget hearings as part of the yearly city
budget process. These hearings are our last chance to put pressure on
City Council to defund the police and refund Detroit before the
Council proposes changes and votes on the budget for next fiscal
year.
We’re continuing our weekly phone
banks to talk to Detroiters and ask them to turn out for the final
public hearing. We need all hands on deck to pressure Detroit City
Council to vote NO in April against any austerity budget that leaves
too many low-income and working class Detroiters sick and stuck in the
cold. Sign up for one of the remaining two events:
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At the recent District
Community Budget Forums, the top two
priorities of Detroiters based on the public comments were
Housing (40 comments) and Defunding the
Police (34 comments). In his budget proposal presentation on
March 5, Mayor Duggan did not even
acknowledge these priorities. We have to tell him and the Council
again and again that we want our budget to divest from the Police
Department and its racist, militarized surveillance machine and
reinvest in housing, healthcare, and the
environment - all things that improve the material
conditions for ourselves and our community.
Sign up to join us in doing so at
the LAST and FINAL budget public hearing on Monday, March 29th at 5PM
before City Council ultimately votes on the budget:
Can't make it? Here are some other
ways you can take action:
• Email the Budget
Office and your city council member. Demand that they defund the
police and refund Detroiters. Click here for some talking points.
• Sign our Action Network
Petition.
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Kali Akuno, our special guest for next
week's Socialist Night School, is one of the founders of
Cooperation Jackson. Originally launched on May Day
in 2014, Cooperation Jackson seeks to develop a network of
worker co-ops in Jackson, Mississippi. Their economic model
is built on equity, cooperation, worker democracy, and environmental
sustainability to provide meaningful living wage jobs, reduce racial
inequities, and build community wealth.
Click the image above to learn more about
Cooperation Jackson and be sure you don't miss our Night
School on Tuesday, March 23rd to learn
more from Kali about the incredible work they're doing in Mississippi
and how we can implement it right here in Detroit!
🌹 UPCOMING EVENTS 🌹
All the Left Questions: Ladies to the Front
Saturday,
March 20th 7PM-9PM
Please join us in supporting Landis4BOPC, while having fun
and celebrating Women’s History Month!
Do you miss stepping out with some
friends to a local pub for some merrymaking and trivia? Are you
itching to socialize with comrades and stretch your brain muscles? Did
you regretfully miss the last trivia night that had everyone
talking?!
Well… you’re in luck!
Join us for the next fundraiser for
the Landis4BOPC campaign -- All the Left Questions:
Ladies to the Front.
It’s Women’s History Month and we want to celebrate some Leftist
Ladies, have some fun, and maybe even learn something!
Tickets are $10 per person, with
all proceeds going to the campaign to elect Landis Spencer to the
Board of Police Commissioners in District 6. Join us for a little
competition and a lot of comradery on Saturday, March 20 at 7
PM!
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Socialist Discussion Night: DSA & The Unions
Sunday, March
21st 6PM-8PM
Join us for a vibrant discussion on the relationship between
socialists and unions, and what we should do about it! The 30 minute
panel will feature DSA members Jess Newman and Hussein Beydoun,
followed by an open discussion with the audience. All are welcome and
encouraged to join!
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Socialist Night School: Lessons from Mississippi - What We Can
Learn From Cooperaton Jackson
Tuesday, March 23
6:30PM-8PM
Kali Akuno, co-author of Jackson Rising, explores the lessons
that can be drawn from the experience of organizing grassroots efforts
for over a decade in Jackson, Mississippi. Learn about the organizing
projects they envisioned, electoral and beyond, to grow a stronger
city and a New South.
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Detroit DSA Does PRO Act Phone Bank
Saturday, March 27th,
6PM
Join National DSA and our chapter comrades for a phone bank to let
voters in key states know how important it is that they pressure their
elected officials to support the PRO Act - it's a key piece of
legislation that will go a long way to strengthen unions and allow
workers to organize on the job and help fight for The Green New
Deal!
Labor and the City
Budget
Sunday, March 28th 2PM
The DDSA Labor Working Group along with local union members
and leaders will discuss the upcoming city budget and its impact on
workers. Join us to learn how funding transportation, housing, and
union jobs could transform our workplaces and our
communities.
This week in...
"If you are introverted
like me, there may be some growing pains when it comes to canvassing.
But I hope my experiences show that it is still possible to
succeed."
"Canvassing
Tips from an Introvert", by Will Froberg
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"Detroit occupies a central place in the African American
experience, from the city’s earliest days as a French colony to the
first stirrings of abolitionism to the pioneering of civil rights and
up to the present. Black Detroit: A People’s History of
Self-Determination chronicles this history through an
eminently readable narrative that combines extensive primary and
secondary sources, as well as personal memoir."
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"Shortly after
noon on Friday, March 5, Detroit DSA held a press conference in front
of the Spirit of Detroit downtown to voice opposition to the proposed
2022 fiscal year municipal budget Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan has
submitted to City Council"
"Community
Representatives Voice Opposition to City of Detroit Budget
Priorities", by Vince Carducci
Detroit DSA is a 1200+ member funded
organization. We receive no money from outside sources so we can say
things like "Defund the Police" and "Abolish ICE" without losing
funding, and we will always act democratically in the interests of our
members and the working class! If you're able to, we ask that you make monthly
contributions as they more directly benefit our chapter. Thank you for
whatever amount you're able to contribute!
If you're ready to join us in our fight go
here: dsausa.org/join
Send your dues receipt to [email protected] and
we'll get you plugged in!
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In
solidarity,
🌹 Detroit
DSA
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