Hello comrades, and Happy Monday!
We're going to experiment with moving our weekly emails to earlier in the week. Hopefully this will help everyone plan out their weeks better.... Check out the list of events later in this email, and remember -- you don't hate Mondays, you hate capitalism!
#CloseTheCamps - This past Friday, the Lights for Liberty campaign held their vigils at hundreds of locations across the country. The Washington, D.C. vigil was enormously well-attended. It was organized by our allies from CASA de Maryland, and contingents from organizations such as the American Federation of Teachers and Indivisible attended. And, a number of us from MoCo DSA managed to find each other:
As always, we remind everyone that with ICE raids a constant threat, please follow these instructions if you catch wind of a raid.
Finally, please consider joining Never Again Action's direct action protest tomorrow to #ShutDownICE in D.C. Details in the "Upcoming Events" section.
MoCo Police Reform - The issue of police accountability is coming to a head in Montgomery County. On July 9, Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy pressed charges against MCPD Officer Kevin Moris for the act of brutal abuse he inflicted upon a man he had placed under arrest on July 3. This coincided with a press conference and hearing held for Montgomery County Councilmember Hans Reimer's (D-At Large) bill to create a civilian police advisory commission. The commission would be largely toothless, but this hasn't stopped the FOP from whining about the idea of being accountable to civilians. On July 12, MCPD also released the body camera footage of the so-called "White Oak incident," in which an MCPD officer used the N-word towards men the police were detaining for the horrible crime of waiting for their rides to work outside a McDonald's.
Our allies at SURJ MoCo and the Silver Spring Justice Coalition organized a protest on July 9 demanding real reform from the MCPD. Members of MoCo DSA leadership attended. We issued a statement agreeing with our allies that Riemer's existing bill does not go far enough -- any such commission needs real oversight authority. MoCo DSA also opposes the presence of the FOP on the commission.
Centrists vs Progressives - The controversy over Trump's immigrant concentration camps has exposed deep divisions within the national Democratic Party between capitalist centrists on one side and socialist and social-democratic progressives on the other.
In a July 6 interview with the New York Times, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi chose to publicly insult U.S. Representatives (and DSA members) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) for voting against funding for immigrant concentration camps (a Republican bill on which Pelosi had caved). AOC fought back, describing Pelosi's comments in the Washington Post as "the explicit singling out of newly elected women of color."
While Pelosi made a big show of calling for Democrats to keep internal fights behind closed doors, other centrist Dems retaliated by attacking AOC for her statements and began attacking the Justice Democrats (aligned with AOC) by falsely claiming Justice Dems are targeting black and Latinx lawmakers. The attacks on AOC in The Hill also included this shockingly racist quote from an anonymous "top Democratic aide."
On Saturday, several progressive organizations, including Indivisible, the Center for Popular Democracy, the Sunrise Movement, and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, issued a statement in solidarity with AOC and her "Squad" and calling on Pelosi to help close the camps.
Amazon Prime Strike - Remember, today is a strike day for Amazon Prime Day! Please don't cross that e-picket line today or tomorrow!
Solidarity Request - Our chapter is raising funds to help comrades attend the DSA National Convention in Atlanta next month. We're sending 41 delegates - including several from MoCo! Our low-income comrades need a hand, so please chip in if you can!
Protest Road Expansion & Privatization - Maryland Transit Opportunities Coalition is seeking volunteers to support a prolonged protest against District 39 State Senator Nancy King’s support for Gov. Hogan’s plan to have private investors build two new toll lanes in each direction on I-270. Volunteers will occupy exit ramps in King’s district each Wednesday afternoon until August. The coalition's petition is here, and interested volunteers should contact Dylan Shelton.
Upcoming events:
Tuesday, July 15 at 11:30 AM at the National Mall: Never Again Means #ShutDownICE in D.C.
Never Again Action has been some of the most dedicated and inspirational protesters against Trump's immigrant concentration camps. They are comprised of Jewish activists and their allies, putting their bodies on the line to shut down ICE and CBP facilities and disrupt the immigrant abuse machine. They're organizing a protest tomorrow. Please consider attending if you are able. Details here.
Tuesday, July 23 at 6:00 PM: Housing and Homelessness Roundtable at UDC
From the American Friends Service Committee: Please join us for a discussion on housing, homelessness and human rights on Tuesday, July 23 from 6:00-8:00pm at UDC Law School, Room 506, 4340 Connecticut Ave NW. Your input will be shared in DC’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Report to be sent to the United Nations by the American Friends Service Committee and the United Nations Association. Speaker: Eric Tars, Legal Director at the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty.
Saturday, July 20 at 3:00 PM: "Plans to Prosper You: Reflections of Black Resistance and Resilience in Montgomery County’s Potomac River Valley" at the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center.
From the organizers: The exhibition title takes its name from Bible verse Jeremiah 29:11 to echo the central role of the Black church in bringing communities together, inspiring hope, and acting as a vector for social change. The goal of this exhibition is to offer a space of learning and meditation that highlights the Black history of Montgomery County and western Washington, DC. Details here.
Saturday, July 27 at 12:00 PM: A Trip to Red Emma's!
Red Emma's is a well-known lefty bookstore in Baltimore that is also a worker-owned co-op! Join us for lunch there and a discussion with worker-owners about how the co-op works. Details here.
Wednesday, August 14 at 7:00 PM: Socialist Night School - Prison and Police Abolition
Join Montgomery County DSA and MDC DSA's Socialist Night School for a discussion on the politics of police and prison abolition, situated in the context of our community and the larger region. At Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center. Details here.
Good Reads:
From the Washington Post: "A Gay Politician Pushed for Pride Events in a Maryland Suburb — and Was Targeted by Hate." Cisheterosexism is alive and well in MoCo.
From Arizona Central: "Protest Against ICE Roundups Spills into Streets of Phoenix."
From the Chicago Sun-Times: "Volunteers Stood Ready to Disrupt, but ICE Deportation Raids Did Not Materialize in City."
From the Detroit Metro Times: "Detroit Cops Arrest Police Commissioner, Protester at Raucous Public Meeting." Police Commissioner Willie Burton complained at a meeting of the Board of Police Commissioners that the Board was holding illegal, secret meetings without his presence to approve the use of invasive and racist facial recognition technology. The Board didn't like this. So the Board had him arrested. Totally normal democracy we live in!
In solidarity,
