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Week of July 26, 2021 |
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ANNOUNCEMENTS |
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DSA-LA presents National Convention Town Hall and Debate |
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Wednesday, July 28 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm |
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Instead of a chapter meeting this month, we're hosting a town hall on WEDNESDAY at 7pm -- so that socialists in Los Angeles can learn about and discuss some of the national issues that will be voted on in 2 weeks at our national convention!
In addition to hearing from Maikiko James and Sydney Ghazarian, the two members that our chapter has nominated to run for national leadership, we'll be discussing the proposals related to four sets of topics:
RSVP now and we'll see you there! |
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NIGHT SCHOOL – Lost Angles Special Event: Salt of the Earth |
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(TODAY) Monday, July 26 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm |
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“Whose neck shall I stand on to make me feel superior, and what will I have out of it? I don’t want anything lower than I am. I am low enough already. I want to rise and to push everything up with me as I go.” In anticipation of our Lost Angles discussion of Red Hollywood on July 29th, we are holding a special screening of the 1954 film Salt of the Earth. The fictionalized account of the 1951 Empire Zinc mine strike depicts Anglo- and Mexican-American workers as they challenge their bosses and join forces with the women in their community to fight for equality and their dignity. The film was made by several blacklisted filmmakers and the unbelievable story of its production and distribution stands as a testament to resilience in the face of capital interests. Come enjoy the movie with comrades and learn more about the history and legacy of the project itself. *Due to recent changes in local health guidance, this event will be held online. A link will be provided before the event for everyone who RSVPs.* Remember to join the DSA-LA Political Education Committee for our third class of the Political Education Committee’s 5-Part Night School Series: Lost Angles Red Hollywood on July 29th at 6PM. Each session features a brief, informal presentation followed by facilitated discussion designed to engage all levels and connect current events to foundational socialist concepts and debates. |
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CALENDAR |
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The following list is only a highlight of what's happening this week with DSA-LA. Please check out our online calendar for full list of committee meetings & chapter events! Be sure to also follow our Instagram & Twitter for real-time announcements and calls-to-action! |
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Mutual Aid Committee Meeting |
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(TODAY) Monday, July 26 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm |
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Join the Mutual Aid Committee for our twice-monthly committee meeting, where we’ll be discussing ongoing and upcoming committee work, as well as helping folks get plugged into other work throughout the city. New members always welcome! Mutual Aid Committee meetings are held on the second and fourth Monday of each month. |
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Hollywood Assistant Working Group Meeting |
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Tuesday, July 27 @ 8:00 am - 9:00 pm |
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If you’re an assistant in Hollywood, you know how hard it can be to work in this industry: from the mailroom to an exec’s desk, the life of an assistant is underpaid, overworked, and underrepresented. If you’re interested in changing that, make sure to RSVP to this event, where we’ll discuss the current state of the industry for assistants, the obstacles assistants have towards equitable employment, and what can be done to organize around fair wages and working conditions. |
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Palms & Culver City Neighborhood Meeting |
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Tuesday, July 27 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm |
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Neighborhood Meetings are part of DSA-LA’s Neighborhood Solidarity Program—our chapter’s campaign to strengthen and grow socialist organization by uniting with our neighbors through tenant organizing, mutual aid work, and political study. This and all other Palms/Culver City Neighborhood Meetings are open to new and long-time comrades who live in Palms & Culver City. Our fifth Palms & Culver City Neighborhood Meeting will build on discussions and projects outlined in last meeting — including our ongoing community tabling and canvassing efforts dedicated to the benefits available through (and the failings of) the American Recovery Act. Continuing our study of Class Struggle and Socialist Strategy across different terrains, our study topic for this meeting will be Socialist Propaganda and Consciousness Raising. Short recommended readings to ground the discussion are included below.
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NIGHT SCHOOL – Lost Angles Part 3: Red Hollywood |
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Thursday, July 29 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm |
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“Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist Party?” After the Russian Revolution of 1917, a wave of anti-communist hysteria took hold of the United States. Many across the US feared that a second Bolshevik revolution was imminent, one that would sweep away the cherished institutions of the West – “Church, home, marriage, civility, and the American way of Life.” This was the first Red Scare. It led to massive wartime strikes, deportations, and a sustained, brutal crackdown on the political freedoms of the left, including the newly formed Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA). The Second Red Scare began after World War II. Anti-communism, now a product of the Cold War, was back on the menu. And while no aspect of society remained free from its suffocating grip, a Los Angeles neighborhood known as Hollywood became the site of one of its most infamous expressions – the blacklist. The CPUSA, which since the 1930s had established a small but growing membership in Hollywood, was the prime target. In this class, we’ll take a look at the real radicals whose lives were shaped and, in many cases, ruined by the blacklist and the pitched labor battles they engaged in to expand and protect the rights of labor in Hollywood. Join the DSA-LA Political Education Committee for our third class of the Political Education Committee’s 5-Part Night School Series: Lost Angles Red Hollywood on Thursday, July 29 at 6PM. Each session features a brief, informal presentation followed by facilitated discussion designed to engage all levels and connect current events to foundational socialist concepts and debates. Comrades are encouraged (but not required) to review recommended readings linked in the class reader aligned with session topic found here. Check out more classes in this series:
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Champagne Socialism: A Leftist Hollywood Drinks Night! |
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Friday, July 30 @ 8:00 pm - 9:30 pm |
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DSA-LA Hollywood Labor is proud to present Champagne Socialism: a Leftist Hollywood Drinks Night! Join workers from across the industry for a fun, low-key space to discuss the worker’s struggle in Hollywood! Whether you’re new to DSA, a longtime member, or have literally never heard of us before, if you’re interested in making a Hollywood that works for its workers–and meeting other leftists in the industry–this is the event for you! PLEASE NOTE: Due to this thing you may have heard about called the novel coronavirus, we may or may not be doing this in person–we will communicate with attendees the week of the 26th depending on the case situation in LA. Though we are all vaccinated, we want to make sure everyone is comfortable with attending, and that risk is as low as possible. Hollywood Labor is a group within DSA-LA and DSA-LA’s Labor Committee that focuses on issues pertaining to the entertainment industry in Los Angeles. We fight for a Hollywood that works for all workers to fight for a more fair and equitable industry. If you’d like to get involved, please sign up on our intake survey here! Come join us for a discussion of how to continue our work – and if you’re a new member, learn more about us! Any questions? Feel free to email us at [email protected] |
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Keep The Promise Rally: Healthcare for Every Californian |
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Saturday, July 31 @ 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm |
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Single payer & Medicare For All advocates call on Governor Newsom to Keep The Promise with a rally in Los Angeles at 2:00 pm on July 31st, 2021 at 300 S. Spring Street in DTLA. In California, and across the country, the devastation caused by COVID-19 exposed and exacerbated the inequities of our for-profit healthcare system, disproportionately impacting low-income people and communities of color. In the wake of the pandemic, it’s even more abundantly clear that the only way to protect everyone’s health is to make health care a human right. We’re proud to join with allies across the state on July 31 in calling on Governor Newsom to fulfill his pledge to build a single-payer healthcare system that guarantees every Californian an equal right to quality health care. The Keep The Promise event has been endorsed by DSA-LA’s Healthcare Justice Committee, PNHP CA, Progressive Democrats of America-CA, NUHW, PANA, Pilipino Workers Center, Healthy California Now, and others. This event will take place on July 31st at 2:00pm at the California State Building at 300 S. Spring Street in Downtown Los Angeles. Attendees are encouraged to wear all black and to bring a token that represents someone that they have lost due to lack of adequate or affordable healthcare. |
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Palestine: A Socialist Introduction- Reading Group Part 1 |
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Sunday, August 1 @ 11:00 am - 1:00 pm |
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DSA-LA BDS and the Black Liberation Task Force are excited to announce a reading group of Palestine: A Socialist Introduction. We are lucky to have some of the authors and editors of the book participating in the reading group with us! We will also be joined by comrades from around the country and world. We will be reading the book in a four part series, so be sure to check back for the later dates. This is a perfect opportunity for everyone of any knowledge or engagement level! The first of these sessions is August 1 at 11am PST. It will cover part 1 of the book, Circumstances Given and Transmitted from the Past (pg. 15-78 hard copy and pg. 31-132 Ebook). The book is currently 40% off at Haymarket Books: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1558-palestine-a-socialist-introduction |
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Mutual Aid’s “Give Red” Project Proposal Discussion |
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Sunday, August 1 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm |
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Join the Mutual Aid Committee in a discussion of our Give Red project proposal. As proposed, this project has two aims: to provide regular blood donations that save countless lives across our city, and to build strategic coalitions and partnerships to put pressure on institutions to get rid of the FDA’s arbitrary and homophobic and transphobic blood donation restrictions. But to do any of this, we need your help! This project is in its very early stages, and every aspect of it is up for discussion. We will be trying to reach consensus on the shape of this project to propose for official committee support. Input from all comrades is beyond welcome — it’s critical! At this meeting we will be discussing some updates regarding some action items that were discussed at the previous meeting on 07-11-21. Specifically, we will be establishing a consensus of how to reach out to some specific organizations which we are interested in establishing a relationship with to form a strategic coalition. To view our past meeting notes from 07-11-21, please see here You can see the current proposal here. |
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DSA-LA Neighborhood Council BBQ Celebration |
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Sunday, August 1 @ 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm |
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The DSA-LA Neighborhood Council organizers are getting together to grill, chill and talk socialist Los Angeles. Come hang! RSVP HERE so we know how much food to buy and to get location! |
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