Hollywood Labor, candidate events, discussion groups, and more!
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Week of April 18, 2022
 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

GET READY! DSA-LA AT MAY DAY 2022

On Sunday, May 1, DSA-Los Angeles honors the contributions of workers, immigrants, and all those who fight for a socialist Los Angeles. This year’s theme will be “Essential & United for Justice” and we will focus on lifting up the work we have been doing throughout the pandemic: from supporting immigrants, to unionization efforts, to fighting evictions, all of us united in solidarity as the working class.

DSA-LA will be participating in a march and rally to lift up our solidarity alongside community, faith, immigrant rights, LGBTQ+, labor and community organizations, who continue to stand strong with one another in the face of our current challenges.

March alongside DSA-LA and wear your Red Shirts!!

Stoked about May Day? Help us turn out more members by participating in a May Day Phonebank! The next one is tonight, Tuesday April 19 at 6:00pm. RSVP here: https://dsa-la.org/event/may-day-phonebanking-3/

GND4PS LA Public Education Town Hall Series – The Fight to Defend Public Education in LA

TODAY! Tuesday, April 19 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm

DSA-LA’s Green New Deal for Public Schools LA campaign is hosting a 3-part public education town hall series (via Zoom) that gets at the core of the fight to defend and fully fund our public schools.

If we want to win a robust Green New Deal for LA public schools, we must ensure that our schools are well resourced, fully staffed, and protected from capitalist forces that seek to privatize and siphon funding from public schools that serve the majority BIPOC working class communities of LA County.

The final installation of our town hall series is “The Fight to Defend Public Education in LA”. In this town hall, we will discuss the current state of LA schools and how we organize and fight to defend and transform public education in LA

We will be joined by guest speakers Dr. Rocío Rivas, Eastside Public Education Advocate, and Hugo Soto-Martinez, DSA-LA endorsed candidate for City Council District 13.

To prepare for this town hall we have a shortlist of readings for attendees to review in advance. We highly recommend reading the articles listed below as they will contribute to a collective discussion of the issues facing our public schools and how we can organize to build the schools students deserve.

Readings for the town hall:

Never Trust a Billionaire’s Antiracism – by Eric Blanc

UTLA’s Beyond Recovery Platform

We look forward to your participation in this town hall conversation, and to working together to build stronger public schools!

CALENDAR

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!

NIGHT SCHOOL – Black Leftist Thought Part 2: Black Nationalism and Self-Determination

TODAY! Tuesday, April 19 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm

Join the DSA-LA Political Education Committee for our second class of the Political Education Committee’s 7-Part Night School: Study Series on Black Leftist Thought Black Nationalism and Self-Determination on Tuesday, April 19th at 6PM.

The effects of the African Diaspora in the United States posed a unique challenge to socialists and thinkers on the left. For a movement that is grounded in a material analysis of history, how does it develop an understanding of those descended from slavery when their past had been all but erased? And what tools can be used to help chart a way forward towards liberation for those still disaffected by societal structures upholding the racialized order enshrined by slavery?

In the early twentieth century, the Communist Party attempted to develop an understanding of the plight of black US workers – the Black Belt Thesis. This understanding of the US black population constituted an independent nation that deserves the right to autonomy, would help impact left-wing discussions of race for generations to come. In this module we will explore that legacy, starting with communist Harry Haywood’s writings from the first half of the twentieth century leading all the way to the work of Cooperation Jackson in the new millennium.

Click the RSVP link below to find the readings for tonight.

Phonebanks for Fatima!

Tuesday, April 19 @ 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Thursday, April 21 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Sunday, April 24 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Happy Hour Meet & Greet with Eunisses Hernandez!

Thursday, April 21 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Are you curious about Eunisses Hernandez’s vision to reimagine and transform LA?  Are you interested in learning more about her platform to address the needs of working class people in Council District 1?  Join your fellow DSA-LA members for drinks and to hear from Eunisses!  We will discuss the political dynamics of City Council, what it will take to win, and ways for you to plug in.

Mutual Aid Book Club: Stone Butch Blues Pt. 4

Thursday, April 21 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

[CONTENT WARNING]

This session will touch on themes of the oppression and violence queer women, transgender people, nonbinary people, and people of color face under patriarchal society.

Mutual Aid is graduating to book three in our four book series on Alienation Under Capitalism. Stone Butch Blues, Leslie Feinberg’s 1993 first novel, is widely considered in and outside the U.S. to be a groundbreaking work about the complexities of gender. Feinberg was the first theorist to advance a Marxist concept of “transgender liberation.” Sold by the hundreds of thousands of copies and also passed from hand-to-hand inside prisons.

This fourth of five sessions will cover chapters 17-21. Reading is not required for participation however you can download a free copy of Feinberg’s Book here: https://www.lesliefeinberg.net/

Please RSVP to this event to get connection information. The Mutual Aid Book Club meets on the first and third Thursday of every month.

Champagne Socialism: A Leftist Hollywood Drinks Night!

Friday, April 22 @ 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm

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!

Hollywood Labor April Meeting

Saturday, April 23 @ 11:00 am - 12:30 pm

Come join DSA-LA’s Hollywood Labor for their April General Meeting! We’ll review the latest updates in labor news in Hollywood, discuss our next steps, and plan how we’re going to keep building worker power in Hollywood! If you’re a new or non-member, come learn more about us!

Canvass for Hugo!

Student-led Canvass: Saturday, April 23 @ 9:30 am - 1:00 pm

Canvass with Immigration Justice and the Nonprofit Workers Circle: Sunday, April 24 @ 4:00 pm - 7:30 pm

Hugo Soto-Martínez’s candidacy is an incredible opportunity to elect a longtime socialist union organizer and core chapter member; to activate hundreds of our members in a diverse, renter-heavy district; and to keep building coalitions with labor and broad social justice campaigns across Los Angeles.

On Saturday, April 23rd Students for Hugo are putting their efforts together to co-sponsor a canvass! We’ll be meeting in Elysian park at 9:30!

On Sunday April 24th, the Immigration Justice Committee and Non-Profit Workers Circle are putting their efforts together to co-sponsor a canvass! We’ll be meeting in Elysian park at 4:00!

If you’ve never canvassed before: we will provide you with a thorough training, pair you up with someone experienced/confident, and make sure you are comfortable going out. Don’t worry — we got you!

Paid for by Hugo Soto-Martinez For City Council 2022 16633 Ventura Blvd #1008 Los Angeles, CA 91436

Central Branch Meeting & Social

Sunday, April 24 @ 11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Join Central branch leaders, organizers, and new members for our next branch meeting, which will include an organizing training on how to have one on one conversations and discussion on opportunities to apply these skills in exciting on the ground work in the chapter — from Childcare for All to Hugo for City Council to neighborhood organizing.

 

We’ll also carve out some time just to hang out and get to know our socialist neighbors across Central LA!

 

Note: Since this meeting will be held indoors, masks will be required. We will have extra for those that need them.

 

Not sure if this is your branch? Neighborhoods in Central LA include: Atwater Village, Arlington Heights, Chinatown, Downtown, East Hollywood, Echo Park, Elysian Park, Elysian Valley, Fairfax, Hancock Park, Harvard Heights, Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, Koreatown, Larchmont Village, Los Feliz, Mid-City, Mid-Wilshire, Pico-Union, Silver Lake, Westlake, and Windsor Square.

Open & Participatory San Fernando Valley Branch Organizing Committee Meeting

Sunday, April 24 @ 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Join us for our open and participatory Branch Organizing Committee for the San Fernando Valley Branch of DSA-LA. We will be discussing short and long term goals, objectives, duties, and tasks for the many facets of branch organizing and mobilizing, such as electoral work, labor work, mutual aid, and other actions. Feel free to join us and openly discuss as well as transparently participate in our own future as a branch together! Zoom link will be provided after RSVP.