PER THE RESOLUTION PASSED AT THE JULY 2018 GENERAL MEETING, the Middle Tennessee chapter of Democratic Socialists of America endorses the upcoming National Prison Strike called by incarcerated men and women. This strike, which begins on August 21 and extends through September 9, 2018, is a response to the April 2018 uprising at Lee Correctional Institution in South Carolina, during which seven men lost their lives.

Behind prison walls, individuals encounter brutality and exploitation that can only be understood by those who have shared in the experience. With roughly 5% of the world’s total population but 25% of the world’s total prison population, the United States incarcerates the highest number of people in the world in both absolute and relative terms. Mass incarceration perpetuates modern day slavery, and as socialists, we seek to dismantle this system of exploitation, dehumanization, and subjugation. We see that the true goal of the carceral state is not to rehabilitate or protect, but to deny humanity and further the rancid institution of slavery that undergirds this country in the name of profit.

We know that dehumanization through criminalization, which begins for many at a young age, haunts our neighborhoods and communities by stripping individuals of their autonomy and agency. In Middle Tennessee, we further recognize that gentrification exacerbates this phenomenon; North Nashville, a historically Black community that has been cyclically plundered and neglected by the ruling class of the city since former slaves settled here 150 years ago, and which is once again under assault from both developers and local government, experiences an incarceration rate of 14% — the highest in the nation. People who have lived in our communities for decades are being pushed out in the same way that the colonizers of this continent displaced indigenous tribes who inhabited these lands for generations. As before, those who refuse to move will have the boot of the state pressed on their neck.

Mass incarceration is not an aberration but rather the product of a system created with the express purpose of ensuring that those profiting from the exploitation of society’s most marginalized will continue to do so. This is a system built by the creators of the United States of America and maintained by the forces of both capital and the state. The alliance between capitalism and the state is on full display when CoreCivic, the largest private prison corporation in the world, headquartered in Nashville, pays both its shareholders and sympathetic politicians dividends extracted through the misery of imprisonment. These profiteers are the direct ideological descendants of the architects, benefactors, and overseers of the Atlantic slave trade.

We support the demands of this strike, which are:

1. Immediate improvements to the conditions of prisons and prison policies that recognize the humanity of imprisoned men and women.
2. An immediate end to prison slavery. All persons imprisoned in any place of detention under United States jurisdiction must be paid the prevailing wage in their state or territory for their labor.
3. The Prison Litigation Reform Act must be rescinded, allowing imprisoned humans a proper channel to address grievances and violations of their rights.
4. The Truth in Sentencing Act and the Sentencing Reform Act must be rescinded so that imprisoned humans have a possibility of rehabilitation and parole. No human shall be sentenced to Death by Incarceration or serve any sentence without the possibility of parole.
5. An immediate end to the racial overcharging, over-sentencing, and parole denials of Black and brown humans. Black humans shall no longer be denied parole because the victim of the crime was white, which is a particular problem in southern states.
6. An immediate end to racist gang enhancement laws targeting Black and brown humans.
7. No imprisoned human shall be denied access to rehabilitation programs at their place of detention because of their label as a violent offender.
8. State prisons must be funded specifically to offer more rehabilitation services.
9. Pell grants must be reinstated in all US states and territories.
10. The voting rights of all confined citizens serving prison sentences, pretrial detainees, and so-called “ex-felons” must be counted. Representation is demanded. All voices count.

We call for solidarity between those of us whose only chains are wage labor and the incarcerated individuals who will begin striking on August 21. Through solidarity we will support those caught in the snare of the prison industrial complex until and after they are free. Through solidarity we will break down the walls that the racist, classist, sexist bourgeoisie erected to separate us. Through solidarity alone will we create a future for all of us that exists without chains or bars.

 

The Middle Tennessee chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America encourages people to vote “No” on the upcoming Nashville Transit proposal.

Our chapter has voted by the slight majority of 52% to present a unified front opposed to the measure While on principle the chapter is strongly in favor of increased public transit, climate conscious governance, and an increase in union-backed jobs, this plan does not directly or equitably serve the citizens of Nashville that depend on transit the most.

Nashville faces not only a transit crisis, but also a crisis of gentrification and displacement on a monumental scale. Concrete issues such as transit deserts, rising housing costs, dependence on exploitative ridesharing services such as Lyft and Uber, and poor bus coverage all need to be addressed head-on by local government. The unfortunate fact that this transit plan lacks a community benefits agreement addressing any of these issues eliminates the possibility of a principled socialist endorsement.

Our chapter has publicly supported a local working class coalition called the People’s Alliance for Transit, Housing, and Employment (PATHE). We stand in solidarity with their demands which include 31,000 affordable homes by 2025, 24/7 bus service with expanded routes into transit deserts, and guaranteed living wage construction jobs.

Dirty money is heavily involved on both sides of the issue, with reactionary Koch-backed groups fighting the plan and reprehensible actors such as CoreCivic supporting its passage. We seek to distance ourselves from all corrupt interests and focus on the concrete, material impact this particular plan will have on our communities.

While any group that supports the general welfare of the people in Nashville should advocate for increased transit access, this plan serves only to maintain the status quo and accelerate the destructive forces of capitalist development in the area. We urge our members and supporters to vote against the Transit plan on May 1st and to join other working class efforts to create a better, equitable future for Nashville’s transit. This fight does not end when the ballot box closes

  The list of current DSA Long Beach committees. The purposes of each will be added in the future.

The post List of Committees appeared first on DSA-LB.

Memphis-based singer-songwriter Julien Baker's star is rising in the music world. She also identifies as queer, Christian, socialist — like our host, Sarah Ngu. There have been high-profile interviews with her by the New York Times, NPR, etc. mostly focusing on her music. But we wanted to focus on religion. This far-reaching interview explores the early influence of Christian hardcore and church groups, how she thinks about Acts and makes ethical purchasing decisions for herself and her crew, and her conversations with Trump-supporting family members in Appalachia. If you're a fan of Religious Socialism, please visit our Patreon page and support our podcast. We will also be posting the full, unedited 2-hour interview as an exclusive for our patrons. For each according to their ability, or give what you can! https://www.patreon.com/religioussocialismpodcast

Juan Carlos Ruiz is co-founder of the New Sanctuary Movement, a network of churches and synagogues that offer resources to undocumented immigrants in New York City. He began his career as a Catholic priest, but was excommunicated after getting involved with leftist politics in the Catholic Worker Movement. In this far-reaching interview, he discusses his work with immigrants in the Trump era, the effect that US intervention coupled with corporate interests have had on Mexico and Honduras, and the role that history should play in our discourse around immigrant rights. If you're interested in what Ruiz has to say, also check out his op-ed in The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/may/17/undocumented-immigration-stories-human-rights-mexico-how-i-got-here Also, if you’re a fan of Religious Socialism, please visit our Patreon page and support our podcast. From each according to their ability, or give us what you can! https://www.patreon.com/religioussocialismpodcast

February 6, 2018   Members of the Long Beach City Council Mayor of the City of Long Beach 333 W Ocean Blvd Long Beach, CA 90802   Dear Mayor Garcia... Read more »

The post Letter to Long Beach City Council on “8 by 28” Olympic Development Initiative appeared first on DSA-LB.

Avi Garelick wears many hats: he runs a Hebrew school associated with the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York city, he is active in Northern Manhattan is Not For Sale, an anti-gentrification group focused on Washington Heights and Inwood, and he's a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. In this interview, Garelick describes participating in a rent strike when his landlord turned off the heat, how his socialist philosophy informs his role as a manager at his job and how the Jewish concept of redemption guides his social justice activism. Photo by Noah Benus.

We are the Snohomish County chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America

Everett DSA is a local of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). We are a political and activist organization, not a party; through campus and community-based chapters DSA members use a variety of tactics, from legislative to direct action, to fight for reforms that empower working people.

The Democratic Socialists of America is the largest socialist organization in the United States, founded originally in 1982. DSA’s members are building progressive movements for social change while establishing an openly democratic socialist presence in American communities and politics.

At the root of our socialism is a profound commitment to democracy, as means and end. As we are unlikely to see an immediate end to capitalism tomorrow, DSA fights for reforms today that will weaken the power of corporations and increase the power of working people. For example, we support reforms that:

• decrease the influence of money in politics
• empower ordinary people in workplaces and the economy
• restructure gender and cultural relationships to be more equitable.

We are activists committed to democracy as not simply one of our political values but our means of restructuring society. Our vision is of a society in which people have a real voice in the choices and relationships that affect the entirety of our lives. We call this vision democratic socialism — a vision of a more free, democratic and humane society.

You can find us on Twitter and Facebook.

Dr. Debbie Almontaser is a Yemeni-American and Muslim community leader and activist, founder of the Bridging Cultures Group and the Khalil Gibran International Academy, a New York public school with an English and Arabic bi-lingual program. Almontaser discusses growing up in a largely white neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, rediscovering her Muslim faith in her 20s and making the decision to wear the hijab, the controversy that led to her resigning as head of Khalil Gibran Academy, and winning her ensuing wrongful termination lawsuit against the Department of Education. She also discusses how the aftermath of 9/11 prepared the Muslim community for the election of Donald Trump, and why she finds being called a "moderate Muslim" offensive. Photo cred from Twitter.

Join WSDSA and CDSA for a Medicare for all Strategy Session with Tim Faust on October 14th at 7pm!