We are excited to announce our first federal endorsement for 2026!

Oliver Larkin is taking on one of the most war-mongering democrats in Congress, and DSA is proud to endorse him. Four Florida DSA chapters have already endorsed on the ground, canvassing and carrying petitions for Oliver. We will no longer allow billionaire-backed democrats to claim that we have to spend billions on war while healthcare is further decimated — we’re challenging them in the primaries with organized people who can’t be bought.

Oliver is part of a slate of candidates in the Socialist Cash Takes Out Capitalist Trash fundraising project!

Date: Sunday, April 19

Time: 12 pm – 3 pm PDT

Location:  The Open Book – The Oaks Mall

556 W Hillcrest Dr, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360

Join the DSA Ventura County book club for discussions about selected readings. If you love history, the written word, or the world around you, then you belong here!

This will be a friendly, inclusive event open to all, regardless of prior experiences or familiarity with the topic.

Date: Thursday, April 16, 2026 at 6pm PST

Online Only. RSVP for Zoom Link.

Monthly Steering Committee Meetings are open to members to observe but, generally, only Steering Committee members may vote and participate.

Date: Sunday, April 12 from 9:30 am til 11 AM

Location: Ragamuffin Coffee Roasters – 550 Collection Blvd Suite 130, Oxnard, CA 93036

Come join like-minded comrades for a cup of your favorite morning beverage. These gatherings offer a relaxed space to meet members and find out how to get involved, decompress, talk about the issues we face, and stay connected as we close out the year.

No RSVP needed!

Monday, April 13 at 6:30pm PST (Online)

Join DSA Ventura County’s Mutual Aid Working Group for a planning meeting focused on addressing unmet needs in Ventura County. Bring your big ideas, suggestions for coalition partners, and a desire to stand in solidarity with others. We are cookin’ up some ideas, and will post an agenda on our slack.

Sponsored by

April 2026 Newsletter

Music and the Movement: Sharing Songs

Since the start of the leftist movement, songs have been of paramount importance in lifting spirits and sharing stories of bravery, solidarity, and a better world.

Countless people have been moved in spirit and into action by Which Side are you On, Power in a Union, and the UK Labour Party anthem Bread and Roses. These songs can speak to us still. But many new artists are expressing the spirit of the working class.

So it is my privilege and joy to share my current playlist of modern Folk and Americana inspired songs: DSA Playlist - Recent Americana/Folk‍ ‍If you like Carsie Blanton, she will be performing in Earlville and Naples, NY in June and in Syracuse in October!

New songs that inspire with hip-hop vibes include Cure for Paranoia and DAMAG3.

Please share the songs that inspire you!

Send what inspires you to newsletter@syracusedsa.org for inclusion in next month’s Newsletter.

April 2026 Newsletter

Labor Movement Hero: Mother Jones

by Comrade Alex R

In the midst of a growing nation that was reaching the peak of its industrial development, prosperity, capital gains, and expansion was the projection of American society to the world in the late 19th and early 20th century. Manufacturing, industrialization, and technological advancements characterized the country at this time. However, a vast majority of the country was not benefiting from or living within the prosperity that was advertised. Instead, what was on the forefront of the daily life of workers was the conspicuous wealth inequality, the minimal amount of workers’ rights, unsafe working conditions, and horrid living conditions. In order to be exploited further, many workers were ostracized for organizing, kept largely uneducated, and were purposefully limited in their material possessions to keep them dependent on their employer. 

The time was ripe for an awakening of the working class and for someone to fearlessly lead them in their fight. As Mary Jones stated, “[These] were the days of sacrifice for the cause of labor (Jones, pg. 14).” Mary Harris Jones (well known as Mother Jones) took on this challenge and has become renowned for major contributions to the labor movement. Among her accomplishments are massively expanding the United Mine Workers of America, helping to eliminate child labor, and co-founding the Industrial Workers of the World (Jones). This does not even touch on the vast number of strikes and demonstrations she led or the countless number of workers she helped unionize. Beyond her renowned fiery speech and relentless toughness, her ability to draw from her own experience and her dedication to fighting for her class molded her into the labor hero she has become.

Mother Jones’ background is a major factor as to why she was such a prominent figure in the labor movement. The trials she faced throughout her life prior to work in the labor movement hardened and emboldened her. As a first generation immigrant from Ireland, Jones witnessed the toil and struggle of her people who had to work to earn passage to North America. Upon arriving, she experienced discrimination based on her heritage and witnessed the toil of her father who worked on the railroads. Additionally, soon after marrying, her husband (a member of the Iron Moulders’ Union) and four children died of yellow fever in the epidemic of 1867 (Jones, pg. 13). This was one of the first moments that Jones has noted as stirring her to action. A startling observation she made was that the victims of this epidemic were “mainly among the poor and the workers [as] the rich and well-to-do” had the means to leave the disease ridden city (Jones, pg. 12). This experience riled her to action as a nurse for her sickly neighbors. Following this, in her work as a dressmaker, she was appalled by the gross discrepancy in wealth as she saw the “poor, shivering wretches, jobless and hungry” next to the apathetic “tropical comfort” and “luxury and extravagance” of the upper class (Jones, pg. 13). Soon after much of her life was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire and she found herself in the labor movement as a frustrated, hardworking individual with a rising class consciousness. Mother Jones leaned on the trials and lessons she learned throughout her life and used them to formulate a clear worldview that relied on equity, fairness, and justice for the working class. 

Another central tenet of Mother Jones’ work was acknowledging the difference in the experiences of the socioeconomic classes of the time. Rather than turning a blind eye, she embraced these differences and approached the burgeoning labor movement from this lens. Her contempt and vitriol for the wealthy and their government lackeys was inherent to her approach. Speaking largely to groups with limited education and limited social safety nets (including health care, child care, social services, etc.), she was ruthless in calling out career politicians who were clearly bought by the wealthy and passed legislation for their causes. At one demonstration, she expounded about the “prosperity of the rich” being “wrung from the poor and helpless” all while chastising the “legislators [who] in one hour pass three bills the relief of the railways” while bills on labor go untouched (Jones, pg. 80-81). Jones attacked the newspapers who limited coverage of the movement because “mill owners had stock in the papers (Jones, pg. 70).” Intimidation was not an option for Jones and loudly proclaiming her criticisms of the upper class helped to fuel the class solidarity necessary for labor movements to succeed. Beyond this, she confronted many of the top politicians in the country, confronted mine owners, police officials, and every proxy of the upper class without trepidation. All the while, she injected a class consciousness and educated the working class on how to succeed through solidarity.

The principles and beliefs that Mother Jones proclaimed to the masses were essential to her role as a prominent figure in labor history; however, her true impact was not her speeches. It was that she lived her beliefs, fortified the labor movement with more class consciousness, and built solidarity among workers. She engaged in the very labor struggles she spoke passionately about, fought side by side with striking workers, organized all that were willing (and many who were hesitant and reluctant), and wore her label as an “agitator” proudly. The model of Mother Jones is one that teaches us to live our struggle, get our hands dirty, fight in the name of class solidarity, and to stand with our fellow worker in the face of adversity. She reminds us that “there are no limits to which powers of privilege will not go to keep the workers in slavery (Jones, pg. 27)” and to be “not afraid to face any thing if facing it may bring relief to the class that [you] belong to (Jones, pg. 87).”

Jones, Mother. The Autobiography of Mother Jones. Edited by Mary Field Parton, Charles H. Kerr & Company, 1925.

The entirety of Mother Jones’ Autobiography can be read for free here. Thanks Alex!

Send your creative work to newsletter@syracusedsa.org for inclusion in next month’s Newsletter.

April 2026 Newsletter

Socialism in the News

Democratic Socialism has been in the news this year like never before. With the success of the Mamdani campaign national and local news organizations have taken notice of the DSA and our aims. We’re glad to have the attention!

Protest Coverage

Syracuse DSA and allied organizations taking part in protests in Syracuse. Keep showing up and making your voices heard, comrades!

Protesters gather in Syracuse to oppose U.S. strikes and capture of Venezuela’s president Syracuse.com - January 4, 2026

Dozens of protesters gather in downtown Syracuse to condemn U.S. actions against VenezuelaWAER Syracuse Public Media - January 8, 2026

Syracuse citizen groups plan large protest Monday against ICE raids after Minnesota killing WAER Syracuse Public Media - January 11, 2026

Syracuse activists plan anti-ICE protest and march on Monday Syracuse.com - January 11, 2026

More than 1,200 rally in Syracuse against Trump immigration crackdown, killing of Renee Good Syracuse.com - January 12, 2026

Hundreds of people protest ICE and Trump administration immigration policy in Syracuse WAER Syracuse Public Media - January 13, 2026

‘Ice Out of Everywhere’ protest draws crowd in Downtown Syracuse LocalSYR.com - January 30, 2026

Melt the Contracts/Mass Surveillance

Melt the Contracts is an initiative of the Syracuse DSA International Solidarity Committee. It seeks to ban the city from establishing new contracts with vendors that have direct involvement in illegal detainment by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This issue came to a head when the city switched from Flock to Axon for their license plate reading surveillance software.

Local advocates want to ‘melt’ Syracuse’s links to ICE. Will lawmakers listen? Central Current - January 14, 2026

Syracuse looks to a familiar company for replacing controversial license plate readers Syracuse.com - January 21, 2026

Syracuse lawmakers to urge governor, state legislature to enact ‘New York For All’Central Current - January 21, 2026

Activists want Ryan McMahon to stop ‘colluding’ with ICE. What’s that mean? Syracuse.com - January 23, 2026

Syracuse police to pitch lawmakers on switching license plate reader provider Central Current - February 5, 2026

ICE protesters removed from Syracuse council meeting amid vote on license plate readers Syracuse.com - February 9, 2026

Why Syracuse lawmakers’ voting session became a meltdown between activists and lawmakers Central Current - February 9, 2026

Syracuse lawmakers approve contract for Axon license plate readers, plan to block Flock Safety from city streets Central Current - February 9, 2026

Syracuse drivers are under corporate surveillance. Where’s the outrage? (Your Letters) Syracuse.com - February 14, 2026

Syracuse lawmakers ice out Flock Safety in favor of company contracting with ICECentral Current - March 23, 2026

Endorsed Candidates

Syracuse Democratic Socialists of America have endorsed Tammy Honeywell (County Legislative District 8), Maurice Brown (State Assembly District 129), and Jo Bennett (County Legislative District 15) as our Affordability Slate for Syracuse and Onondaga County!

Onondaga County legislator launches primary challenge to longtime state Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli for CNY seat Spectrum News 1 - February 20, 2026

Mo Brown launches primary bid to unseat Bill Magnarelli for NY Assembly seat in Syracuse Syracuse.com - February 20, 2026

Mo Brown launches primary campaign against Bill Magnarelli, a fixture of Syracuse politicsCentral Current - February 9, 2026

Onondaga County Legislature candidate trio launches Affordability Slate The Daily Orange - February 21, 2026

Democratic Socialist to primary ex-lawmaker in race for Mo Brown’s county legislature seat Syracuse.com - February 24, 2026

Other Stories

Syracuse Democratic Socialists say election wins by Mamdani & Ehrenreich can improve public policyWAER Syracuse Public Media - January 14, 2026 (scroll down for the full 25 minute interview)

Africa Initiative, SU’s Young Democratic Socialists denounce Project 2025 The Daily Orange - March 28, 2026

More views of Good Cause Eviction (Your Letters) Syracuse.com - February 18, 2026 (See second letter by Jo Bennett)

Did we miss anything? Please send any additions, corrections or updates to newsletter@syracusedsa.org

April 2026 Newsletter

April 1st - Wednesday - Mutual Aid Committee meeting at 601 Allen and on Zoom. See #mutual-aid-committee on Slack

April 4th and 5th - Saturday & Sunday - Affordability Slate Canvassing - Sign up here

April 6th - Monday - Organizing Committee meeting on Zoom. See #organizing-committee on Slack

April 8th - Wednesday - International Solidarity Committee meeting at 601 Allen and Zoom. See #international-solidarity-committee on Slack

April 11th and 12th - Saturday & Sunday - Affordability Slate Canvassing - Sign up here

April 12th - Sunday - Syracuse DSA Reading Group - Topic: Municipal Socialism - See details here

April 15th - Wednesday - Mutual Aid Committee meeting at 601 Allen and on Zoom. See #mutual-aid-committee on Slack

April 18th - Allied Event - Building Beloved Community Beyond the Binary Conference

April 18th and 19th - Saturday & Sunday - Affordability Slate Canvassing - Sign up here

April 20th - Monday - Organizing Committee meeting on Zoom. See #organizing-committee on Slack

April 22nd - Wednesday - International Solidarity Committee meeting at 601 Allen and Zoom. See #international-solidarity-committee on Slack

April 25th and 26th - Saturday & Sunday - Affordability Slate Canvassing - Sign up here

April 26th - Sunday - First Socialist Sunday Social at TBD - 6 to 8 PM (Request to RSVP coming soon!)

April 28th - Tuesday - Steering Committee Meeting

Did we miss anything? Please send any additions, corrections or updates to newsletter@syracusedsa.org

April 2026 Newsletter

International Solidarity (ISC)

The International Solidarity Committee has been busy! We have multiple projects working currently.

We are continuing to put pressure on the Syracuse Common Council to introduce our Melt the Contracts resolution. It is looking very likely that we will have an update this month. We will be putting out calls for members to show solidarity at Council meetings as more details solidify.

We are looking for volunteers for 4th Amendment Workplace trainings, please contact committee co-chairs if you are interested.

A chapter-wide ICE Watch training will be taking place in April. Details will follow but a Know Your Rights training must be completed first along with filling out the SIRDN interest form here.

We are still in the process of getting our CNY-BDS coalition off the ground. We are looking for members willing to initiate conversations with businesses, help with designing materials, and help participating businesses determine products on the BDS list.

Mutual Aid

The Mutual Aid Committee this month reviewed the success of the free store hosted with Muslim Mosaic at the Ramadan Festival. We discussed improvements that can be made to ensure cultural sensitivity and community support.

We are working on a Event/Project proposal form to be utilized for projects so we can better organize and see them through to completion!

We hosted a Marshaling training to educate community members on police abolitionist aligned tactics that ensure safety at protests, demonstrations, and other events. This will help support increased community actions and marshal capacity.

We are also looking to do other skill shares in the future regarding a variety of topics so be on the look-out for those!

Overall, we are set up to continue our outreach and involvement in providing community support and to build the presence of mutual aid in Syracuse and surrounding areas.

Engagement

After a brief hiatus the Engagement Committee is taking shape as a working group until we are ready to launch again as a fully-fledged committee.

Engagement will lean into contributing to the Newsletter and making an audio version of the Newsletter for the Podcast.

New projects include planning more social events and starting a DSA 101 course in May.

Electoral & Labor

Electoral and Labor committees are on a brief hiatus due to membership becoming engaged in the campaigns of our endorsed candidates. These committees will be revamped and relaunched during the Spring as social and networking groups and will reform into committees as participation requires. Please contact Mike P on Slack or labor@syracusedsa.org if you'd like to be a part of this effort.

Did we miss anything? Please send any additions, corrections or updates to newsletter@syracusedsa.org