In moments of historical consequence, everyday people can rise as a chorus that shakes the foundations of power–or be intimidated into silence. Today, we stand at such a crossroads. The pillars of democracy tremble not from natural disaster but from calculated erosion. This is not politics as usual but the dimming of lights that have guided our journey toward justice.

When power concentrates in fewer hands, when dissent becomes dangerous, when truth bends to serve the powerful—these warning signs demand our attention. Democracy dies in silence, withering through a thousand small concessions, each seemingly reasonable alone, catastrophic together.

The Democratic Socialists of America represent a vision where power rests with the many, not the few. In this critical moment, this vision becomes necessary. We offer a framework for resistance that is both principled and practical, understanding that true freedom requires both political rights and material security.

Participating in resistance means recognizing democracy is not a spectator sport. Voting is just the beginning of our civic responsibility. True democratic participation happens in community meetings, mutual aid networks, labor organizing, public demonstrations, and countless daily acts of solidarity. Democracy is a thing that becomes real when we engage in it.

When we join DSA chapters, we declare our commitment to a democracy that works for all. We assert that healthcare, housing, education, and dignified work are not commodities to be rationed by the wealthy but human rights to be guaranteed by society. These rights are not privileges to be granted or withheld at the whims of parasitic wealth extractors and bloodless billionaires.

Collective action transforms fear into courage. Alone, we feel overwhelmed by state and corporate power. Together, we know that no system of control can withstand the sustained resistance of ordinary people determined to live in dignity.

The path forward requires courage to stand firm when intimidated, to speak truth when lies become policy, to protect the vulnerable when targeted. It requires care to build relationships across differences and create spaces where democracy is practiced.

In joining DSA, you become part of a living tradition stretching from abolitionists to suffragists, from labor movements to civil rights struggles, from environmental justice to queer liberation.

The question isn’t whether history will judge our actions—it already is. The question is whether we’ll tell our children that when democracy was in peril, we did more than watch. That we stood with our neighbors. That we chose solidarity over cynicism. That we helped bend history toward justice.

The time for that choice is now. Join us.

The chaos induced by Musk and friends is already causing mass outrage. Millions of ordinary people affected can become allies of workers and unions. Here's how to join the fight.

The post How Federal Workers Can Organize for Defense Against DOGE appeared first on EWOC.

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, March 4 (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.): DSA Board Game Night (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Wednesday, March 5 (6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.): New Member Happy Hour (In person at Zeitgeist, 199 Valencia)

Thursday, March 6 (5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.): Palestine Solidarity and Anti Imperialist Working Group (Zoom)

Thursday, March 6 (7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Immigration Justice Priority Working Group (Zoom)

Friday, March 7 (12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.): Office Hours (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Saturday, March 8 (1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.): Homelessness Working Group Training & Outreach (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Sunday, March 9 (10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.): Chapter Local Vision and Strategy Meeting (In person TBD)

Monday, March 10 (6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Tenderloin Healing Circle (In person at Kelly Cullen Community, 220 Golden Gate)

Monday, March 10 (6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.): Ecosocialist Bi-Weekly Meeting (Zoom)

Monday, March 10 (6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.): Electoral Board Meeting (Zoom)

Monday, March 10 (7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Labor Board Meeting (Zoom)

Wednesday, March 12 (6:45 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.): March General Meeting (In person at Kelly Cullen Community, 220 Golden Gate)

Friday, March 14 (4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.): Education Board Open Meeting (Zoom)

Saturday, March 15 (1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.): Palestine Solidarity and Anti Imperialism Reading Group: Ten Myths About Israel (Zoom)

Sunday, March 16 (1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.): DSA SF Socialist Job Fair (In person at 215 Golden Gate)

Monday, March 17 (6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Homelessness Working Group Regular Meeting (Zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

Check out https://dsasf.org/events for more events and updates.

Events & Actions

Board Game Night

We’re hosting board game night! Come get to know your comrades while playing some board games. All are welcome. We’ll be at 1916 McAllister 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. tonight, March 4 with some games, snacks, and drinks to share. 

Socialists in Office Hours

Socialists in Office Hours will be 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. this Friday, March 7 instead of our usual 3:00 p.m. time! Join us to look ahead at Jackie Fielder’s hearing on the ‘Four Pillars’ and other Supervisors’ anti-harm reduction solutions to the drug crisis. Does this sound like jargon to you? No worries! Join us to find out and ask questions, no experience required.

Behind the Scenes

The Chapter Coordination Committee (CCC) regularly rotates duties among chapter members. This allows us to train new members in key duties that help keep the chapter running like organizing chapter meetings, keeping records updated, office cleanup, updating the DSA SF website and newsletter, etc. Members can view current CCC rotations.

To help with the day-to-day tasks that keep the chapter running, fill out the CCC help form.

Depending on where you work, you may be covered by the NLRA or other federal or state laws. See what covers you and how to use it.

The post Am I covered by the NLRA? appeared first on EWOC.

Every year the chapter conducts a census of the members and creates a report on how the dynamics of the chapter function along with vital information about demographics. Read the report here.

The post 2024 CNJ DSA Chapter Census appeared first on Central NJ DSA.

Monthly Newsletter of the Rochester Chapter of Democratic Socialists of America

ROC DSA is stepping into 2025 with the same momentum that has been steadily building our movement. Our membership continues to grow, as the realization sets in that we must do more than vote every four years to make the world a better place. Without the unified action of the working class, the gains that have been won from their struggle—through strikes, protests, and resistance—are eroded and overturned.

The post Rochester Red Star | March 2025 (Issue 11) first appeared on Rochester Red Star.

By Jean Allen

At the December General meeting, in a breakout group talking about what to do with a second Trump administration, comrade Lara (who wrote “Post-Election Reds” for our December issue) said something to the effect that under a political atmosphere that degrades any concrete interaction with reality, that degrades the truth itself, that socialists need to stand for the truth. I’ve been thinking about that since, because it’s such a lovely phrase. And so I’ve had it rolling through my head even though my reaction was initially dismissive. 

Earlier last year, at our May Day Picnic, I had a speech talking about the way the state used the Haymarket bombings to make martyrs of a group of largely unrelated anarchists. How, despite the target of the Haymarket bombing being a rally of the Labor movement, anarchists were targeted because they posed a threat to the state, which was what made the Haymarket Martyrs figures which unified the whole world’s socialist movement. I summed up the speech saying that “the capitalists have their truth, and we have ours”. 

I was thirteen when the United States invaded Iraq, starting a war for reasons that were found to be totally spurious on year 1 of 17. Since then things have only gotten worse, so when I hear that we need to stand for the truth it’s hard to believe in. What is the truth? My whole political life has been defined by lies and falsehoods in pursuit of the naked aims of power. They have their truth, and we have ours.

But for us to have our truth, we do need to stand for it. Something that is beautiful about having a truly democratic culture, which we need to constantly fight for and renew, is that by working together, as equals, and by talking to each other, we are striving to arrive at a kind of collective truth. A friend of mine and I were talking together last year about some personal conflict, and they said that people want to skip the process and work that’s required of a radical, and just be immediately Correct. That in this post-truth world, people cling to facts that make them feel good about themselves. This results in an odd feeling I’ve had multiple times this year, when the truth of the genocidal offensive that the Israeli Defense Army has undertaken in Palestine has been turned into a muddled media narrative, where people brush off facts that don’t feel right to them because they have associated their ego with their beliefs.  

This is, to some degree, always true, it is part of why I’ve advocated for socialists to be emotionally intelligent agitators for years. But accepting that, we still need to struggle with each other and hold each other to the truth. It is very easy to keep fuzzy beliefs that allow us to feel smart and correct, but we need to investigate, need to make sure what we’re saying is true, need to hold each other to account. Truth is the heart of a working democracy, and how are to be a democratic organization if we don’t stand for the truth?

The post Stand for the Truth first appeared on Rochester Red Star.