September 29, 2023
CONTENTS
UP FRONT
MDC DSA Virtual October General Body Meeting — Sunday, October 1
Write testimony in opposition to “Secure” DC legislation being considered by DC Council — deadline for submissions October 1
- Sign up now: Big Tech and Capitalism: DC Walking Tour — Saturday, October 7
MDC DSA Virtual October General Body Meeting — Sunday, October 1
In light of the recent COVID surge, the Metro DC DSA Steering Committee has decided to make this Sunday’s October 1 General Body Meeting completely virtual. You can RSVP for the GBM, which will run from 2 to 4pm, here. Members, potential members and supporters alike are welcome to attend.
PLUS: Save the date for our chapter’s Local Convention! The MDC DSA Steering Committee has voted to set the dates for the 2023 Local Convention for Saturday, December 9 and Sunday, December 10, 2023. Local Convention is an opportunity for the full chapter to introduce, debate and vote live on general resolutions, bylaw amendments and other considerations for the chapter. The convention planning team is in the process of forming and will be headed by a few Steering members. The Steering election for the 2024 term will occur concurrently with convention and will be managed by a separately constituted internal election department. The convention will likely be in a hybrid format, pending any COVID or safety concerns.
Keep an eye out for an Action Network link to register and additional resources about the upcoming convention. If you are interested in following along with debate ahead of local convention, make sure to send your most recent dues receipt to slack@mdcdsa.org to join the Chapter slack. If you are interested in getting involved with convention planning, please reach out to steering-all@mdcdsa.org or on the #steering channel on Slack.
Write testimony in opposition to “Secure” DC legislation being considered by DC Council — deadline for submissions October 1
Councilmember Brooke Pinto (Ward 2) recently introduced a bill package that would hyper-criminalize life in DC, particularly by reinstating stop-and-frisk. This legislation is billed as “anti-crime,” though all it will do is expand powers of the police to violate civil rights and authorize racial profiling that will inflame tensions between police and communities across the city. One of the terrible proposals included in this legislative package would even allow the police to search parolees or those released on pre-trial detention anywhere, anytime, without a warrant. Two DC judges have already warned that parts of the bill appear to violate the Fourth Amendment.
Metro DC DSA and other activist and community networks across the city are urging residents to submit testimony against this legislation.
- Learn more about the proposal from this toolkit. In this detailed report, you can read what’s included in the proposals, why it needs to be stopped and what needs to be done to actually address cycles of violence in DC.
- DC residents and other interested parties are urged to submit testimony to the DC Council. Click here to access the prompt and submission toolkit, which includes instructions on how to submit testimony. Not sure what to write? Information in the Google form will help you craft testimony that is personal and meaningful. If you submit before October 1, members of the organizational coalition fighting this bill can submit the testimony on your behalf.
- Sign onto the city-wide letter, organized by Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, which is being sent to the full DC Council to demonstrate grassroots opposition to this proposal.
- Talk to friends and neighbors about what’s being considered by the Council. Relational organizing is crucial for dismantling and interrupting mass incarceration in America. Want to learn more? Check out this guide to relational organizing.
Members of Metro DC DSA can discuss and get organized around this issue and broader anti-carceral organizing projects by joining the #defund-the-police channel on the Metro DC DSA chapter Slack.
Sign up now: Big Tech and Capitalism: DC Walking Tour — Saturday, October 7
Everyone is invited to sign up in advance for the Big Tech and Capitalism: DC Walking Tour starting at 1pm on Saturday, October 7 in Farragut Square — and tell everyone they know about it. Walking Tours are great ways to learn about socialism, bring friends to DSA events, learn the geography of the area through radical education, start volunteering for events and get connected to local organizing. The Walking Tour will explore three sites in downtown DC connected to how tech firms undermined racial justice, used illegal lobbying to displace existing companies and used DC as a model to remake urban spaces around the world in Uber’s image over the last decade. There are lots of opportunities to volunteer before and during the tour too.
The Walking Tour will be led by three scholars on labor in the DC region: Katie Wells, Kafui Attoh and Declan Cullen, the authors of the new book Disrupting DC: The Rise of Uber and the Fall of the City, who will draw on material and research from the book. The tour will adjourn at 3pm, followed by a happy hour afterward at the outdoor tables at Penn Quarter Sports Tavern. Sign up here.
BRIEFS
Support UAW strikers in Winchester, Virginia
UAW workers are on strike against Stellantis in Winchester, Virginia. Comrades are working to mobilize Metro DC DSA members to support the workers on the picket line — please fill out this carpool form to help organize caravans to Winchester. Picketing is taking place every day from 6am to midnight.
Rally with workers at MOM’s Organic Market in College Park — Saturday, September 30
Workers at MOM’s Organic Market, along with elected officials and community leaders, will rally to protest the company’s efforts to dissuade organizing by discriminating against workers who are active in the union. RSVP for Saturday’s rally.
Take action for migrant justice in NoVa
Join NoVA Migrant Justice in attending tonight’s ICE Out of Arlington event, which promises to be a powerful evening dedicated to understanding the harms of criminalization and the importance of removing section 7 from the Trust Policy in Arlington. Speakers from El Salvador and Guatemala will share stories of the impact of criminalization and forced migration. More info here. Then, make calls, write emails and sign the petition to shut down ICA-Farmville Detention Center before September 30 (tomorrow). On September 13, under pressure from more than 80 community members, the Farmville Town Council voted unanimously to investigate the impact of withdrawing from their contract with ICE. Yet, they signed an extension to the contract until at least September 30, which gives time for ICA and ICE to extend it further. The Free Them All VA coalition is asking people to keep up the pressure so we can end the contract for good.
After the Storm is tabling at Art All Night in Mt Pleasant — TONIGHT, September 29
Metro DC DSA’s hope punk magazine After the Storm will be tabling at Mt Pleasant’s Art All Night tonight, September 29 from 5:30 to 10pm. The table will be located on Mt Pleasant St on the sidewalk in front of DC Credit Union. Copies of the publication’s anthology Storms of the Revolution will be available for sale along with merch, free zines, anticapitalist writing prompts and more.
Canvass with the Social Housing working group at Georgia Avenue Open Streets — Saturday, October 7
Have you told your DC Councilmembers that we need a strong Green New Deal for Housing Act yet? Sign the petition and then join us to canvass at the Georgia Avenue Open Streets event on October 7th, starting at 10am. Meet up at the statue by Petworth Metro station — RSVP here. And visit our campaign homepage for educational materials and all upcoming meetings and canvasses. Email us at social.housing.wg@gmail.com to get in touch.
New Metro DC DSA 101 training session and series — Starts Thursday, October 12
Have you ever wondered how the chapter is structured, what kinds of work we are pushing forward and what steps you can take to get more involved? Sign up to attend the first session in our new Nuts and Bolts training series to learn more about the everyday details of how the chapter functions — and how you can navigate it. You’ll learn how the chapter and its formations are structured, how debate happens and decisions get made and get familiar with some of the tools and procedures that we use on a regular basis. There will be plentiful opportunities for questions, and we hope you will come away ready to get involved in one of the many exciting areas of work the chapter is pursuing. This is the first session of six in the Nuts and Bolts training series, which will meet on Thursdays in October and November, with all sessions providing practical training designed to empower people to organize better within the chapter. Make sure to sign up here for this first session or others in the series.
DC Free Brake Light POSTPONED to October 14
Metro DC DSA’s Brake Light Clinic event — originally scheduled for last weekend — has been POSTPONED to October 14.
At the DSA’s brake light clinics, socialist mechanics fix people’s tail and brake lights for free to educate the public on removing police from traffic enforcement. Need a repair or know someone who does? Fill out this form so mechanics know what to plan for. The process for fixing brake lights is simple, but will help in reducing community interactions with police and help educate the community on legislation that activists are interested in passing in DC in the near future. DSA members, neighbors or anyone in need of a repair are invited to attend. If you would like to request a repair for the October 14th event or would like to volunteer to learn about the process, follow through to the appropriate link on this form.
Montgomery County Decriminalization Coalition Relaunches — launch event on Sunday, October 22
Since 2020, Montgomery County DSA has organized in coalition with other social and racial justice organizations to get police out of Montgomery County Public Schools and to end the practice of treating students — especially Black and Brown students — as criminals. That coalition is relaunching as the Montgomery County Decriminalization Coalition, and you are invited to the launch party. Join the new coalition on Sunday, October 22 at 3pm at Gene Lynch Urban Park in Silver Spring (8410 Colesville Rd) to learn about what we can do together to forge a path towards safer traffic enforcement, a fairer education system and a community where all residents can live and thrive without criminalization.
If you are unable to make this event but interested in policing and abolition work in Montgomery County, email montgomerycountydsa@gmail.com.
INFO ACCESS
MDC DSA Publications Schedule: The October Washington Socialist appears with the Update next Friday, October 6. Article deadline for October’s newsletter is TOMORROW, September 30. Please send article submissions to washingtonsocialist@mdcdsa.org.
Would you like to participate in MDC DSA’s publications? We write, we edit, we design, we do the tech — there are so many ways your hand could lighten the load. Check us out on #publications and let us know what you would like to write, or write about, or …?.
If you would like to see something included in the Update, suggestions can be submitted to the tip line.
Quick reference links for MDC DSA:
- Metro DC DSA chapter’s website
- Our local structure — campaigns, working groups, etc.
- Capsule introduction to the chapter including our branches covering the DMV
- A home-grown history of our local chapter
- Archive of the Washington Socialist
- Archive of our MDC DSA Socialist Night School
- National DSA’s website
- DSA Feed, an RSS feed that aggregates multiple DSA publications — including our own Washington Socialist — in one convenient place. More from the National Tech Committee here.
AND “live from our studio,” Why You Should Join DSA/New Member Orientation with live Q&A on Wednesday October 11, 8 to 9pm,
followed on Thursday, October 12 with the first in our Nuts & Bolts series, 7 to 8:45pm | MDC DSA 101 — How to do things in the chapter
DSA CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Friday, September 29
6:30 – 9pm | ICE out of Arlington at Arlington Mill Community Center
Sunday, October 1
1 – 3pm | Wheatpasting for Big Tech and Capitalism: DC Walking Tour
2 – 4pm | MDC DSA General Body Meeting (virtual only)
7 – 8pm | NoVA Electoral Working Group Meeting
Monday, October 2
7 – 9pm | MDC DSA Labor Working Group Meeting
Tuesday, October 3
7pm | Defund MPD Working Group Biweekly Meeting
6 – 7pm | NoVA Migrant Justice Working Group Meeting
6 – 7pm | NoVA Medicare for All Working Group Meeting
Wednesday, October 4
7 – 8pm | Defund NoVA Police Working Group Meeting
Thursday, October 5
6:30 – 7:30pm | Social Housing Organizing Meeting
7 – 8:30 pm | Defund MPD Working Group Mini Phone Bank
Friday, October 6
6:30pm | NoVA Gamenite at The Board Room
Saturday, October 7
10am – 3pm | Canvass for Social Housing
1 – 3pm | Big Tech and Capitalism: DC Walking Tour
9am – 8pm | VA-DSA Statewide Social Gathering of Comrades
Wednesday, October 11
8 – 9pm | Why You Should Join DSA/New Member Orientation
Thursday, October 12
6:15 – 7:30pm | NoVA Branch Monthly Organizing Meeting
7 – 8:45pm | MDC DSA 101 — How to do things in the chapter
COMMUNITY BULLETIN
Art All Night registrations open | Congress Heights Arts & Culture Center (CHACC)
The MLK Corridor in SE DC will be alive all night (and into the morning!) on Saturday, September 30 with arts and cultural events, including the CHACC party at 3200 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE. From 6pm to 2am, CHACC is bringing over 40 vendors to Art All Night, along with live painting, live music, free workshops, a dynamite kids zone and so much more.
Volunteer on the Farm | Byrds Nest Box
Local farmer and AfroEcologist Falani Spivey is looking for volunteers at her farm, Byrds Nest Box (501 Watkins Park Dr. Largo, MD), this Saturday, September 30 from 11am to 3pm. Volunteers will work with Falani to get collard seedlings and fall cover crops into the earth. Please wear long sleeves and comfortable clothing, the farm will provide gloves, water and snacks.
Takoma Park Street Festival | Takoma Park Farmers Market
Sunday, October 1 from 10am to 5pm head north to enjoy the annual Takoma Park Street Festival on Carroll Ave NW! Enjoy a full day of music, local makers and vendors, community groups and kids activities. You can also pick up some fresh goodies from the Takoma Park Farmers Market, which will run during its normal hours, from 10am to 2pm. Organizers recommend that you walk or Metro as congestion may be high and parking limited.
Antiracist Reading/Action Groups | Showing Up for Racial Justice DC
SURJ DC is launching antiracist reading groups to discuss racial justice by creating safe spaces for people to learn, develop skills and build capacity for organizing against white supremacy. If you are interested in participating in a group, please sign up here by October 6. Please note that reading groups are in person or virtual.
GOOD READS / ESSENTIAL TRAFFIC
The Wages of No Wages — Only the richest 20% of Americans have any pandemic-era savings left while everyone else has less cash than in 2019, according to new data [from a Fed report]. “The figures point to dwindling firepower available for US consumers, whose resilience has kept the economy growing at a rapid clip this year and staved off the recession that many expected. Some analysts warn a downturn is still in the cards as households run low on spare cash.” Bloomberg via Reddit
High interest/mortgage rates suppress home building, allow rents to skyrocket — Landlords can freely raise rental rates and still stay under the current ceiling for most home buyers. Slumlords wallowing. From Stateline Daily
What America Can Learn From Canada’s New ‘$10 a Day’ Child Care System — Canada’s launch of a national child care system shows what it takes to improve child care across a country. The Hechinger Report via Portside
The Hollywood writers strike is finally over after 148 days. Leaders of the Writers Guild of America have unanimously voted to authorize its members to return to work following the tentative agreement reached Sunday between union negotiators and Hollywood’s studios and streaming services, effectively ending the months-long strike that has paralyzed the industry. “The WGAW Board and WGAE Council also voted to … allow writers to return to work during the ratification process,” CNN reported Wednesday. PLUS SAG-AFTRA has X-blasted to members Thursday that “SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP [bosses] will meet for bargaining on Monday, Oct. 2. Several executives from AMPTP member companies will be in attendance. …”
The flame of thought, the magnificence of art, the wonder of discovery, and the audacity of invention all belong to revolutionary periods when humanity, tired of the chains of its restrictions, shatters them, and stops inebriated to breathe the breeze of a vaster and freer horizon.
—Virgilia D’Andrea