See you Monday!
Join us at the Twin Cities DSA General Meeting on July 22nd at Brookdale Library. Check-in starts at 6:00pm. Everyone is welcome but only current dues-paying members of DSA can vote - join DSA at dsausa.org/join and if you're a new member, make sure to have your confirmation email handy at check-in! (Not sure if you're a member or if your membership has expired? Email us!)
In this meeting we will elect a co-chair (want to run? sign ups are here, and you can nominate yourself to run from the floor), talk about our hopes for the future of DSA and inform our delegates' decisions at the convention in August. Review the packet ahead of time here (there will be a limited number of printed copies available at check-in).
You can sign up to carpool here. Childcare requests and other questions or requests can be sent to [email protected].
See you soon!
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Join us for a summer dAnCe party and help us send off our crew to the National Convention! We will be fundraising travel expenses for 19 local delegates to attend the convention on August 2nd-4th in Atlanta, Georgia. Our fundraising goal is $4,000.
Entertainment provided by DJ Bleak Roses, a local indigenous non-binary artist.
Suggested base donation is $15 + options to donate more with locally designed, limited edition TCDSA swag as an incentive!
Can’t make it but want to contribute? tcdsa.org/atl2019 (pass this link along!)
RSVP & invite your friends on facebook!
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To become a dues paying member, please click here.
To check if you're a current dues paying member, please click here.
To make a donation to TCDSA, please click here.
To make a donation to or request aid from the Solidarity Fund, please click here.
To join the TCDSA Slack, please click here.
To grab some TCDSA stuff, please click here.
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Join an Action Camp to Stop Line 3
Line 3 is a fossil fuel infrastructure project that runs straight through Minnesota, threatening our watershed, Minnesotans' health, and Anishinaabe and Dakota land. In response, Anishinaabe leaders have put out a call to action. From August 16th to 19th there will be an action camp on Anishinaabe and Dakota land where preconstruction on the pipeline is already underway.
This camp is hosted by Native organizers on the frontlines, and TCDSA has been invited to show up in solidarity. Learn more and RSVP!
Curious about the Action Camp? Interested in attending, but you're not sure how you'll get there or what you'll need to bring?
On July 24th (6-8:30 pm, Minneapolis Central Library, Room 202), Ecosocialism Branch's Line 3 working group is hosting an info session for TCDSA members where you can ask questions, learn about how action camps work and what to expect, and get to know your comrades who are active in the Line 3 fight. Join us! (Please note that this event is restricted to verifiable TCDSA members only.)
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Stop. Anarcaucus Time.
The TCDSA-LSC is gathering to discuss the upcoming DSA national convention, at which we have a lot on the docket, and other more local and immediate Anarcaucus matters. Come one come all, Tuesday July 23rd at 7pm at Quixotic Coffee in St. Paul.
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Read Sci Fi with Feminists
Join the Socialist Feminists in reading this month's book club pick, The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K. Le Guin! Join us Wednesday, July 31, 6pm - 8pm at Mpls Central Library, room N-304.
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NEWS
You voted on who will represent you at the DSA national convention in Atlanta, August 1-4. Now it's time to get them there. Click here to donate to the cause, and share with your friends - we're going to need all the help we can get!
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Upcoming Events:
TCDSA July Membership Meeting
Mon, July 22, 6pm – 9pm
Brookdale Library ( map)
Libertarian Socialist Caucus quarterly meeting
Tue, July 23, 7pm – 9pm
Quixotic Coffee ( map)
TCDSA for Bernie Working Group
Tue, July 23, 7pm – 9pm
Mpls Central Library, N-304 ( map)
Line 3 Action Camp info session for TCDSA members
Weds, July 24, 6:00pm – 8:30pm
Mpls Central Library, N-202 ( map)
Housing Monthly Branch Meeting
Thurs, July 25, 6pm – 8pm
Mpls Central Library, N-402 ( map)
Thurs, July 25, 7pm – 8pm
Barnes & Noble ( map)
Pre-convention Fun🌹draiser Party
Fri, July 26, 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Honey ( map)
Electoral Branch Meeting
Sat, July 27, 11:30pm – 1:30pm
Mpls Central Library, N-202 ( map)
Prison Abolition in the Park
Sun, July 28, 2pm – 3pm
Powderhorn Recreation Center ( map)
Socialist Feminist Branch Meeting
Tue, July 30, 6pm – 7:30pm
Merriam Park Library, Room B ( map)
Socialist Feminist Reading Group
Weds, July 31, 6pm – 8pm
Mpls Central Library, N-304 ( map)
Mutual Aid WG Monthly Meeting
Tues, Aug 5, 6:15pm – 8pm
North Regional Library ( map)
Racial Justice Branch Meeting
Weds, Aug 7, 6:30pm – 8pm
Mpls Central Library, N-304 ( map)
Socialize with Ramsey County Branch
Mon, Aug 12, 7pm – 9pm
Black Hart of St Paul ( map)
TCDSA Reading Group
Sat, Aug 17, 11am – 12:30pm
Boneshaker Books ( map)
& keep an eye on our calendar for more events as they're scheduled
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Art by Vanessa Lemen, from The Left Hand Of Darkness Illustrated Edition
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Prison Abolition in the Park: The Role of Police
Sunday, July 28 at 2-3 PM
Powderhorn Park (3400 S 15th Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55407)
Meet outside of the recreation center!
What could a world free from prisons look like? What are ways we can build a world that heals, instead of punishes? The Prison Abolition in the Park summer series focuses on a future without prisons, the way the carceral system contributes to systemic racism, and steps we can take toward abolition -- all with a socialist lens.
Our July conversation will be led by guest facilitator Michelle from Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB)! In this conversation, we will be discussing the role police play in upholding the carceral state, including the levels of “crimes” in Minnesota, cash bail and probable cause. We will also discuss ways we can fight back against this cycle of exploitation and what communities could look like without a police presence.
Meet us outside the Powderhorn Park Recreation Center. In case of rain, we will relocate to the Minneapolis Central Library, room N-402.
For more info & updates, check out the Facebook event.
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Strike at Amazon on Prime Day
Despite intense pressure from Amazon management at the sprawling Shakopee, MN warehouse, several dozen Amazon workers went on strike and rallied outside the building on Amazon Prime Day. They were joined by 200 union and community supporters in a spirited picket line and rally. (Read More...)
- Kip H
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Racial Justice Branch Update
The Racial Justice (RJ) branch has had a busy summer! From our Prison Abolition in the Park series to new connections with local police accountability organizations (and even a birthday party by the lake!), we can’t believe the summer is already half-over! But organizing isn’t seasonal, and we know there is still more work to do. We invite you to join us in any of our projects with whatever capacity you can give. Here’s an update of our work this summer: (Read More...)
- Amy T
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TCDSA Participates in Lights for Liberty
On July 12, a nationwide vigil was held around sundown at ICE detention sites or offices in most states under the name Lights for Liberty. There were TCDSA members present at at least two Minnesota vigils. (Read More...)
- Deb R
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Twin Cities Clinic Defense Against Predatory Crisis Pregnacny Centers
The last week of June was a busy one for Twin Cities Clinic Defense - a coalition including some of our TC DSA socfems. We participated in DSA National Socialist Feminist working group’s call for a National Day of Action for Reproductive Justice. (Read More...)
- MacKenzie B
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Report Back from Socialism Conference 2019
Two weeks ago, around 25 comrades made the trip home to the Twin Cities from Chicago, many dollars poorer (from having bought too many books), but so much richer in knowledge. (Read More...)
- Meg B
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Socialism 101
This month, on Saturday 13 July, our chapter hosted a double session of Socialism 101. Attendees at both classes were at least 2/3rds people brand new to DSA and most of them stated they heard about the course through DSA activities in support of the Bernie 2020 Campaign. (Read More...)
- Anders B
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Ed note: Special and extremely heartfelt thanks go to Matt M. and Calvin M. for their help with editing newsletter pieces this week! (Is that something you can do? Let us know, and join us at the next Ops meeting!)
- Anne B
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Do you have opinions? Hot takes? Cool things you've been doing with DSA or our allies? Write for us!
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For Further Review
With so many great podcasts, articles, books and videos coming out, it's easy to miss something great. Here's a few things we've found and loved recently.
"We're Workers, Not Robots"
Our very own Dave K with yet another (extremely good) TCDSA take on the Amazon strike. (Read Kip's piece, too!) - ARB
Just Keep Going North
Here is an extremely long and in-depth piece of first-person reportage by William T. Vollman from Mexico and Arizona on the border situation. This is a rich resource from Harper's magazine for anyone who wants to dive deep into immigration issues. It reveals that the "border crisis" is largely a manufactured political/media phenomenon and not a real thing caused by migrant behavior or criminal gangs. - DR
Cybergothic Acid Communism Now
Sarah Jaffe reviews the new Mark Fisher collection, a big ol’ doorstop that I almost bought last week and now wish I had. “The urgent need now is for a working-class politics that doesn’t love work.” - TMW
Beyond Prisons: Abolition Is A Horizon feat. Sarah K. Tyson
A really excellent interview on becoming a prison abolitionist and organizing for a future that's hard to see. - ARB
The Organizer: Official Organ of the Minneapolis Teamsters Local 547
MM retweeted a friend sharing this, who said " Due to the anti-worker bias of the local papers covering the summer strikes, the Teamsters local 574 founded their own paper to report on the city, 'The Organizer.' Which makes me think of the importance of independent movement journalism in this moment." Happy anniversary of the radical 1934 Minneapolis strike! - ARB (but really MM/BF)
Spadework
Did you get around to reading this the last time it came highly recommended in the newsletter? Well, ES posted it in the #linkroundup channel on slack this week, saying that "it is Good" & "belongs in the newsletter imo" and he is absolutely right. -ARB (but really ES this time)
If you find something that should be shared, post to the #linkroundup channel on slack, submit to this form, or reply to this email.
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as always, socialism can't be solitary: what do you think about the newsletter? do you want to help? want to create or suggest some #content for next time? please do!
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