Many of us have misconceptions about Black history in amerika… Among the most common lies are that Lincoln freed the slaves, that the Civil War was fought to free the slaves, and that the history of Black people in amerika has consisted of slow but steady progress, that things have gotten better, bit by bit. Belief in these myths can cause us to make serious mistakes in analyzing our current situation and in planning future action.

– Assata Olugbala Shakur

On June 19, 1865, two full years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas and announced the freedom of 250,000 Black people still held in bondage. The freed people named this day Juneteenth, and it has served as a celebration of the emancipation and liberty of African Americans. 

Unfortunately, the end of slavery did not bring equality to the formerly enslaved. Instead, Reconstruction was steered away from its liberatory potential. Four hundred years of slavery was followed by another century of lynchings and Jim Crow segregation. Legal forms of discrimination were outlawed by the Civil Rights Act, but the legacy of slavery continues, limiting Black communities’ access to equitable employment, housing, healthcare, legal and political representation to this day.

The white capitalist class has maintained the exploitation and control of Black workers through economic control and an expanded prison system. Today, the United States has the largest prison population in the world, with a highly disproportionate level of Black prisoners. California was a central part of the massive expansion of the US prison system, at one point embarking on what Ruth Wilson Gilmore described as “the largest prison building program in the history of the world.” Just a few years ago, Californians voted to allow forced labor to continue in prisons.

Here in San Francisco, slavery’s legacy of racial capitalism remains stark as well. The destruction of the Fillmore through so-called “urban renewal” which continues to displace thousands of Black residents and businesses. The brutality of homelessness that falls hardest on Black residents, especially Black women, many of whom have been displaced. The ongoing radiation crises at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard and on Treasure Island in historically Black neighborhoods. The Black men and women who are killed by SFPD with impunity. Across the city, Black San Franciscans continue to bear the cost of policies that prioritize profits over people.

From the Haitian Revolution’s victory in 1804, to Juneteenth in 1865, through to today, the fight for Black liberation continues. Juneteenth is a reminder to recommit to the struggle for self-determination for Black communities in this country and around the world. This commitment is all the more urgent today, under the emboldened aggression from white supremacist movements. A better world is possible and it is our duty to win. 

Join DSA.

Resources/recommended reading:

• DSA National Abolition Working Group https://www.dsausa.org/working-groups/abolition-working-group/ and National Abolish ICE WG and local Immigrant Justice Working Group
• “Juneteenth: The Slave’s Cause, the Socialists’ Cause” by John Lewis (DSA NPC member) https://www.dsausa.org/blog/juneteenth-the-slaves-cause-the-socialists-cause/ 
• “Golden Gulag” by Ruth Wilson Gilmore
• “Assata: An Autobiography” by Assata Shakur
• “Black Reconstruction” by W. E. B. DuBois

DSA must navigate between race reductionism and “anti-woke” backlash to organize the diverse U.S. working class.

The post Socialist Multi-Racial Organizing, not Progressive Neoliberalism appeared first on Democratic Left.

By Victor A. Jiménez

January 23, 2005

I woke up on my aunt’s couch to 12.2 inches of snow and Saturday morning cartoons. Two hours later my grandmother went to another couch in the living room where my mother was sleeping to wake her up, and found her not breathing.

The ambulance came and pronounced her deceased around 12:00–1:00 a.m. At 11 years old, they told me that she had passed away “from a heart attack caused by depression.” In hindsight, that was their way of explaining to a child that she had died due to a drug overdose. Later in life as I saw others around me abuse prescription medication, I came to understand the truth of what had happened. She was depressed and abusing medication prior to the incident that led to her death. That night we were sleeping at my aunt’s house because the lights in our own home were shut off. My mom had struggled financially since my grandmother left for Mexico to retire. My grandmother was back in town specifically to help us find our footing.

April 3rd, 2026

This was my second year going vegan for Lent. I’m not a devout Catholic (I think like many Catholics I’m not great at it). My way of making up for it is going really hard for Lent. Luckily, the 21st century is the best time ever to be sober or vegan. There are a ton of options for me at the UFO Bar, where the Groundworks Caucus of Metro Detroit DSA held a social event. It was really well attended, big Metro Detroit DSA brass, with members from all caucuses present.

This was a month or so into my membership, and my new job. I left a start-up paid field firm to run the field program for a DSA candidate, and it was the best decision I made in a long time. I was so eager to be working on a team again and even more excited to be working on a real campaign.

I’d sat down with a comrade, and we had one of our first conversations. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon– I had my non-alcoholic beverage in hand and my onion rings were crunchy just like I like. I opened wide to chomp down on my vegan smash burger.

My fellow comrade chose that moment to ask me, “So Victor, what does being a socialist mean to you?” I totally froze. Partly because I was caught off guard, partly because the vegan smash burger was falling apart in my hands, but mostly because I hadn’t asked myself that question yet, or put much thought into my answer. Why was I a socialist? And why the hell was I so sure?

I’ve never studied economics, foreign affairs, sociology, or even politics to be honest; I was a communications major. I took a bite to give myself time to think on the fly, I think they could tell I panicked. I’m not known for my poker face. I was surprised because the little thought I’d put into the question before that point did not have any bearing on the conviction of my answer.

There is no reason why any basic human need should not be completely bought and paid for: water, power, internet, housing, healthcare, food, and education. All of these should be public goods, not just for those who need it most, but for everyone. That’s what it means to be a socialist to me.

Any other outcome is a choice by the rich and powerful oligarchy running this country. Who never has trouble finding money for war, or data centers, or warehouses to lock up our immigrant neighbors. After I washed down that first bite I gave a less eloquent version of that answer and we moved onto other subjects, but that question hasn’t left me since.

If this series was called “Why Am I Socialist?” I could just end it right there, but that’s not the question. Why this organization? Well, I’ve worked in campaigns for a while now and I’ve learned to discern a winning strategy from a losing strategy very quickly. I like playing for winning teams, especially when that team also has members who believe in the same principles and values as I do sitting in seats at the highest levels of government.

Progressive politics have always been important to me. I’ve been as selective as I can with my employers and I prefer to work for issues over politicians as often as I can. The quality of candidates that this organization has produced in recent years is undeniable and how they govern and show up for their communities has matched how they campaign through and through. Besides the candidates, the party itself is growing exponentially. The influx of new members is bringing new life and creating the opportunity for new initiatives, ideologies, and theories of change to take hold of the party in unexpected ways. This is an environment rife with energy, hope, and purpose; the perfect time to join an organization.

The best thing about DSA isn’t our politics. It’s the outcomes our politics produce. I’m 100% done with case studies and surveys. We know the air is bad and we know it’s because of heavy industry, we know that none of us can afford anything, there is no other way to interpret the rising cost of living and stagnant, undignified wages. There has never been a single survey nor case study needed to decide whether or not to build weapons for the military industrial complex which our tax dollars are propping up at rates which we will never know because the Pentagon has never passed an audit. From what I’ve seen our brand of politics is producing real outcomes, quickly, and unapologetically governing with the radical idea that basic human needs should be met for everyone in our society.

My answer to the question posed by this running series is simple: if DSA electeds made up a significant portion of officials in this country, at every level of government, we might actually live in a world where water, power, internet, housing, healthcare, food, and education were all public goods.

We might live in a world where our power wasn’t shut off in 2005 during the 12th heaviest snow storm in Detroit’s history and in that world my mother and millions of others who are no longer here due to the pain and trauma that capitalism burdens us with might still be here. All of this nonsense is a choice — we need people in office willing to choose differently.

Why I Joined DSA: For the Vegan Smash Burgers was originally published in The Detroit Socialist on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Enjoy your June National Political Committee (NPC) newsletter! Our NPC is an elected 27-person body (including both YDSA Co-Chairs) which functions as the board of directors of DSA. This month, get involved with labor organizing, learn how you can fight data centers, sign up for trainings, and more!

And to make sure you get our newsletters in your inbox, sign up here! Each one features action alerts, upcoming events, political education, and more.

• From the National Political Committee — Hot Socialist Summer
• Volunteer for the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC)!
• Learn New Skills! Sign Up for a Growth and Development Committee Training Starting Saturday 6/20
• Sign Up for Housing Justice Commission General Meeting Saturday 6/20
• Sunday 6/21 — RSVP for “Whose Power? The Ecosocialist Fight Over Data Centers and Corporate Power”
• Religion and Socialism Working Group Meeting Monday 6/22 — and Sign Up for Our Black Liberation Theology Book Study Group!
• RSVP for Strategic Mutual Aid Training Monday 6/29
• Help Support DSA — RSVP for Growth and Development Phonebanks Starting Thursday 7/2
• Saturday 7/11 — Sign Up for Fundraising Committee Training
• Labor, Labor, Read All About It! New Labor Herald June Issue Out Now!
• National Political Education Commission Applications are Open!
• Congratulations to New DSA Chapters and Organizing Committees — Plus New YDSA Chapters

From the National Political Committee — Hot Socialist Summer

This June, another hot socialist summer is underway, and the contradictions are high as ever. Janeese Lewis George’s win in Washington DC’s primary election this week puts us on track to win a democratic socialist mayor of our nation’s political capital, joining Zohran Mamdani as mayor of the economic capital of capitalism in New York City and adding to our scoreboard in a breakout year for the left. In the same week, Elon Musk just became the world’s first trillionaire. The median American family would take 12,000,000 years to accrue that much wealth.

Trillionaires should not exist, and workers deserve so much more! We have a massive opening to show millions of people what democratic socialism means, and how we can organize to win it together.

On this Juneteenth weekend, we reflect on the enormous struggle it took to achieve the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States after the Civil War — and how the project of Reconstruction was suppressed and remains unfinished to this day. The far right and ruling class have a long-term plan to roll back hard-won civil rights victories like the Voting Rights Act, with recent Supreme Court decisions like Louisiana v. Callais aiming to take us back to the days of Jim Crow and worse. 

They’re working this hard to suppress organized people because we’re building so much momentum on our side. Socialists have a long history of organizing to build Black political power. And the stakes are high for us to defend democracy and deepen our power at every level we can. All across the country, DSA is demonstrating how to organize solidarity across identity differences, around our shared class interests — and win! 

Janeese’s win is a breakthrough in DC because she won every part of the district, except affluent white homeowners, and ran up the numbers in majority black working class neighborhoods. That’s a major shift away from decades of racial polarization fueled by the ruling class, and toward a left mass politics that’s based on the reality of class conflict, as Metro DC DSA helped lay bare. In Atlanta, Mathewos Samson won State House District 58 as a Black DSA cadre candidate in a majority Black district in the heart of the political establishment’s base. That builds on last month’s exciting wins, when Chris Rabb won the deepest blue Democratic district in the country in Philadelphia with unapologetic socialist demands for Black power, and Louisville DSA’s Robert Bell won a Kentucky state house primary. In the weeks ahead, DSA chapters from NYC to St Louis are throwing down to keep racking up big wins and expand working class power against AIPAC, ICE and corporate control of our society.

This month also marks one year of ICE raids since June 6, 2025, when ICE began terrorizing Los Angeles. From LA to Minneapolis to Delaney Hall in New Jersey, in cities across the country, DSA chapters have been among the many grassroots organizations mobilizing everyday people in our communities to stand with our neighbors and keep ICE out. Support for abolishing ICE hit record highs over the past year, and we must keep organizing to make it happen.  

Our greatest tool to win the world we all deserve is organized labor — and on that front, DSA is organizing to rebuild a strong and vibrant labor movement in the United States. At the Labor Notes conference in Chicago last weekend, DSA showed up powerfully with hundreds of members who are organizing their workplaces. DSA members led over 100 panels and workshops. The building trades meetup was led by DSA members leading their reform project, and DSA members participated in the largest gathering of Amazon workers organizing to date. 

Solidarity with organized workers is the backbone of all the great social movement gains of the past century. We reflect on this as part of Pride month. Many DSA chapters celebrate by watching the excellent 2014 film “Pride,” about gay and lesbian activists organizing common cause with striking mineworkers against neoliberalism in the UK in the 1980s. This year, miners in Durham County, England stood in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community when Reform UK threatened local pride celebrations’ funding. This has powerful resonance for us here as trans and queer rights are under attack. DSA is proud to be the one of the largest organizations of transgender people in the country, and we’re organizing solidarity everywhere for a world where all of us are free to be ourselves and take care of each other.

All this and more is why DSA chapters are growing quickly everywhere from Kansas City, Missouri, to Sonoma County, California. People all over the country want to protect ourselves, our families, and our neighbors. We can do that through the power of our democratic mass organization. We must keep organizing to bring more of our friends, coworkers, and neighbors as DSA members, scale up our work, and build the power to win what we all deserve!

Solidarity,

Ashik Siddique and Megan Romer
DSA National Co-Chairs

Volunteer for the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC)!

Do you have workplace organizing experience? Do you want to help workers connect with their coworkers, build power, fight the boss, and unionize? Well, the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC) needs YOU!

Every summer EWOC hears from hundreds of workers who are fed up with the status quo. We need organizers who can coach them as they build relationships, organizing committees, and campaigns. Is that you? Sign up today!

Learn New Skills! Sign Up for a Growth and Development Committee Training Starting Saturday 6/20

Check out the Growth and Development Committee’s upcoming trainings! Our core curriculum of trainings spans topics from meeting facilitation to membership engagement.

And are you interested in taking on a leadership role in your DSA chapter? Already in a position of leadership. but looking to up your game? Attend the June Leadership Intensive Saturday 9/12–Sunday 9/13. RSVP today.

Sign Up for Housing Justice Commission General Meeting Saturday 6/20

RSVP for the Housing Justice Commission (HJC) General Meeting Saturday 6/20 at 2pm ET/1pm CT/12pm MT/11am PT! In this meeting, we’ll cover the HJC Steering Committee elections, the HJC Liaisons program, and the Summer Emergency Tenant Organizing Committee (ETOC) training. Join us!

Sunday 6/21 — RSVP for “Whose Power? The Ecosocialist Fight Over Data Centers & Corporate Power”

Join the Ecosocialism Transition Committee, DSA organizers and Special Guests Astra Taylor and DSA elected Kristen Gonzalez Sunday 6/21 at 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/5pm PT to discuss the fight for a working class ecosocialism!

This call will address the deeply felt and growing opposition to data centers, and DSA’s current chapter work on the issue. Hear speakers and a panel of chapter organizers on the common roadblocks, tactics, and strategies this work shares with other vital areas of DSA’s Ecosocialist chapter work — like resistance to polluting and community-destroying industries, base-building initiatives, and building green infrastructure under the ongoing Building For Power Campaign!

And in July, we’ll have a discussion-based call on the broad sweep of DSA’s Ecosocialist work, the formation and goals of the Ecosocialism Commission, and becoming a member. Stay tuned for more details!

Religion and Socialism Working Group Meeting Monday 6/22 — and Sign Up for Our Black Liberation Theology Book Study Group!

The monthly meet-up of the DSA Religion and Socialism Working Group will be Monday 6/22 at 8:30pm ET/7:30pm CT/6:30pm MT/5:30pm PT. Sign up here to find out what your comrades of faith are doing and how you can be part of our project.

Starting in July, the Black Liberation Theologians group will launch an 8-session study of “Sisters in the Wilderness” by womanist theologian Delores Williams. This text centers the story of Hagar as a lens for Black women’s survival, God-talk, and liberation.

Because this text speaks from and to a particular community, this space is being held specifically for Black members. We’ll wrestle with questions such as: What does the cross mean for people who have been forced to carry it for others? Who is God to the woman in the wilderness? What does survival demand of us theologically? Fill out the form here to sign up.

RSVP for Strategic Mutual Aid Training Monday 6/29

Join DSA’s Mutual Aid Working Group (MAWG) Monday 6/29 at 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/5pm PT for a strategic mutual aid training. Hear answers to questions like:

• What makes a mutual aid project strategic for a chapter?
• How does mutual aid put socialist ideas into practice?
• How can we use mutual aid to integrate into our communities?

RSVP for our training and learn from the experience of the Mutual Aid Working Group!

Help Support DSA — RSVP for Growth and Development Phonebanks Starting Thursday 7/2

Join the Growth and Development Committee (GDC) for a July phonebank!

• Solidarity Dues phonebank Thursday 7/2 at 7pm ET/6pm CT/5pm MT/4pm PT
• Recommitment phonebank on Thursday 7/16 at 7pm ET/6pm CT/5pm MT/4pm PT
• Solidarity Dues phonebank on Sunday 7/19 at 5pm ET/4pm CT/3pm MT/2pm PT

Saturday 7/11 — Sign Up for Fundraising Committee Training

Join the Fundraising Committee on Saturday 7/11 at 5pm ET/4pm CT/3pm MT/2pm PT for a fundraising training on the basics of fundraising as a chapter.

Labor, Labor, Read All About It! New Labor Herald June Issue Out Now!

The June issue of the New Labor Herald, DSA’s National Labor Commission (NLC) bulletin, is out NOW!

In this issue, you’ll find a Q&A from two labor council delegates; a Democratic Left article on DSA’s Strike Ready campaign; a college professor’s breakdown of AI in the classroom; a reportback from the May Day Strong conference in St. Louis; and a book review of Walda Katz-Fishman and Jerome Scott’s Motown and the Making of Working-Class Revolutionaries. And get updates from NLC subcommittees and how you can get involved!

Please print and share the New Labor Herald in your chapter labor formations! And email nlc@dsacommittees.org, subject line “Bulletin Submissions,” to contribute as a writer or share comments with us.

National Political Education Commission Applications are Open!

DSA’s National Political Education Commission is becoming an open commission, which means all members in good standing can apply to join. If you educate, research, or write, apply NOW to help grow and improve DSA’s political education!

We’re aiming for a diverse commission, so we especially encourage non-men and comrades of color to join us. To participate in our first meeting and nominate or run for the steering committee, you must apply by Saturday, August 15.

Congratulations to New DSA Chapters and Organizing Committees — Plus New YDSA Chapters

A warm welcome to the latest DSA chapters and Organizing Committees!

New DSA Chapters

• Shasta County, California
• Fort Wayne, Indiana

New DSA Organizing Committees: 

• North Mississippi, Mississippi
• Shenandoah Valley, Virginia
• Bowling Green, Ohio
• Skagit County, Washington
• Heart of Iowa, Iowa
• Evansville Riverbend, Indiana

New YDSA Chapters

• University of Texas Austin
• University of Tennessee Knoxville
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Massachusetts
• Cerritos College, California
• Evanston Township High School, Illinois
• North Dakota State University

The post Your National Political Committee Newsletter — Hot Socialist Summer appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

by Serge S

(Note: This is a corrected version of a previous post.)

Cleveland joined several communities nationwide who are changing their stance on Flock surveillance technology. 

During the Cleveland City Council Public Safety Committee’s June 17 meeting, members voted 3 to 1 against renewing their Flock “Safety” surveillance contract which expires on June 29. 

Voting against were Stephanie Howse-Jones, Niki Hudson, and Kevin Conwell, leaving Committee Chair Mike Polensek as the sole member to vote for the agreement. 

According to News 5 Cleveland, council members, police administrators, Public Safety Director Wayne Drummond, fifteen community members and more than two dozen people from Flock No were involved in the discussion, which lasted nearly two hours. 

Flock cameras were first installed in Cleveland during the summer of 2023 and have spread to nearby communities including Euclid, Richmond Heights, Willoughby Hills. 

The $250,000 contract would have extended the system for another year. 

The fight isn’t over. Although the safety committee declined to renew the contract this time, another council committee may take up the legislation, although no date has been set. 

Flock isn’t the only surveillance system in Cleveland. The city also operates 3,400 video surveillance cameras, most of which have AI tracking capabilities. 

This isn’t the first time that Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration has tried to sneak funding for surveillance technology through backroom channels. In the past he has bypassed the Safety Committee by extending contracts through the city’s Board of Control which effectively sidesteps council’s ability to review, approve, or deny them. 

In one such instance Bibb extended the city’s $850,000 contract with SoundThinking, the vendor of their gunshot-detection technology ShotSpotter in April of 2026. 

Several organizations have risen in response to Flock and other tracking systems which have flooded Cleveland in recent years as city’s including Dayton have cancelled or declined to renew contracts with Flock. 

One of them, “Flock No CLE” formed last year when the city tried to push an emergency proposal to expand Flock systems and replace their ShotSpotter system in 2025. The legislation would have authorized a $2 million three-year contract with Flock’s version of the “shot spotting” technology by using microphones in their already existing automated license plate readers, according to Signal Cleveland. 

According to Axios Cleveland the Cleveland Clergy Coalition spoke in favor of the contract on safety grounds while police argued the technology improves response times and claimed that there has been no misuse of data by Cleveland officers – although there is no way to verify these claims as officers can use a login system that does not always have two-factor authentication – meaning that logins could be shared to avoid tracking. 

Sources in order of use:

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/cleveland-metro/cleveland-flock-license-plate-reader-contract-expiring-end-of-the-month

https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2026/06/18/cleveland-council-flock-contract-renewal-vote

https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2026/05/19/flock-cleveland-bibb-council

The post Cleveland Safety Committee Denies Renewal of Flock “Safety” Contract appeared first on Democratic Socialists of America.

The intellectual landscape of our era is defined by a fascinating paradox. On one hand, society remains deeply committed to a scientific, materialist critique of the world, yet on the other, it seems to many observers that we are witnessing a profound return of the religious. At the heart of this possible modern cultural shift lies a renewed dialogue between three historic figures whose legacies were once thought to be mutually exclusive: Jesus Christ, Karl Marx, and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.

By weaving together Hegel’s logic, Marx’s economic theories, and the concept of kenosis—the self-emptying of the divine—that has developed in many Christian traditions, some modern thinkers are discovering a shared consistency that addresses the deep identity crises of twenty-first-century life and the global pressures of capitalism. This evolving perspective provides one possible framework for a secular faith, with the person and teachings of Jesus the Christ offering an ethical foundation upon which the grand political projects of Hegel and Marx can be built.

To understand how the modern intersection of Christ and Marx works, one must first look through the lens of Hegel’s philosophy of religion, particularly as rather creatively reinterpreted by the contemporary philosopher Slavoj Žižek. On this reading of Hegel, the arrival of the man who would become the Christ represents a profound cosmic moment where the divine spirit steps out of the abstract clouds and enters into the messy, limited reality of human existence. Žižek takes this a step further by arguing that the “Death of God” on the cross is not simply the disappearance of the divine, but the precise moment God experiences what it feels like to be an atheist. When Jesus cries out in agony asking why he has been forsaken, the divine experiences the radical, terrifying gap of its own non-existence. This painful transition shifts spiritual authority away from a distant ruler in the sky and births the immanent Holy Spirit, which these philosophers redefine as the active community of believers working together.

At this point, Žižek is free-styling: the cry of dereliction (only in Mark) is never attributed to God, and only in the late twentieth century do theologians start to make that rather remarkable connection. “God experiences what it feels like to be an atheist” is provocative, which is how we know we’re reading Žižek.

In this framework, Christ represents the ultimate alienation of God into humanity. By dying on the cross, the distant master vanishes, leaving behind human collective agency to shape history. Many point out that Marx’s later critique of religion was actually a radical expansion of this Hegelian logic. Where Hegel believed humanity would find its ultimate peace and reconciliation within the structure of the political state, Marx looked closely at the world and saw ongoing economic alienation.

This relationship is often oversimplified by reducing  Marx’s legacy to his famous catchphrase that religion is the “opium of the people.” In truth, his work was a deep critique of the material world rather than a simple attack on faith. For Marx, the inverted, fantasy world of religious mythology was a mirror image of the inverted reality of capitalism, where dead labor—which we call capital, machinery, and corporate wealth—rules over living, breathing workers. These dynamics form what Žižek calls the “theology of the commodity,” a phenomenon where inanimate objects seem to possess magical social powers while the real humans who made them are ignored.

Consider how this plays out on a regular basis when a consumer buys a brand-new smartphone. People will camp outside stores overnight, treating a sleek piece of glass and metal like a sacred relic capable of bringing them status and joy. Meanwhile, the actual human beings extracting raw materials or working grueling hours in overseas factories remain invisible to the consumer. The object is given an almost divine personality, while the living worker is reduced to an invisible cog in a machine.

In our current era, this tension has fueled a massive revival of Hegelian Marxism, led by scholars like Nathan Brown, who seek to reunite Marx’s economic sharpness with Hegel’s focus on personal and social freedom. This aligns naturally with Liberation Theologians, such as José Porfirio Miranda , who have long argued that the biblical concept of a “preferential option for the poor” is the spiritual equivalent of Marx identifying the working class as the driver of human liberation. Within this synthesis, the radical teachings of Jesus regarding the poor are not treated as polite suggestions for occasional charity but are recognized as the primary engine for historical transformation.

The conceptual bridge linking these three pillars is kenosis, the voluntary self-emptying of power. In Hegel’s philosophy, God empties Godself of heavenly authority to share in human suffering. As Žižek emphasizes, this self-emptying represents the true birth of democracy, forcing the realization that no external superhero is coming to save us, thereby redistributing responsibility to the community.. The Holy Spirit becomes the emotional and social bond of a revolutionary group that steps up after the master is gone.  Marx localizes this self-emptying in the working class—the people who, by owning nothing under the law, end up representing the universal interests of humanity.

Thinkers such as Enrique Dussel  argue that modern global capitalism operates like a religion of death, requiring constant human sacrifice in the form of extreme overwork and poverty just to keep corporate markets satisfied. When these ideas intersect, the results are revolutionary: Jesus provides the deep ethical mandate of self-sacrifice, Marx delivers the structural blueprint of systemic greed, and Hegel offers the logical framework to push through the negative struggles of history.

In our current digital landscape, this philosophical struggle has moved directly onto our screens. Every time a user scrolls through a social media feed, highly advanced algorithms exploit dopamine triggers to maximize corporate ad revenue. The user is no longer just a consumer; their behavior, time, and attention are mined like raw coal. Yet this digital self-emptying also contains the seeds of its own subversion.

This resistance forms what Martin Hägglund calls a secular faith. Because our time on this earth is strictly finite, reclaiming our hours from the digital grind becomes a sacred act of liberation. True freedom in this universe is not the shallow ability to choose between brands, but a deep break from treating ourselves like products to be bought and sold.

Thinkers like Alain Badiou look to the Apostle Paul as the ultimate prototype of this revolutionary attitude, defined by total loyalty to a radical break from the status quo. Freedom is transformed from simple consumer choice into a shared human capacity to physically reshape the material world, echoing the early Christian church’s view (such as the principle of omnia sunt communia, that all goods are to be held in common, as presented in Acts chapters 2 and 4) that the free development of each person is the absolute condition for the free development of all. (Paul may or may not have followed through on his vision, but his rhetoric of equality is significant.)

While Hegel provides the grand logic and Marx provides the mechanical critique of social institutions, it is the figure of Jesus, in my opinion, who injects the vital pulse and the ultimate purpose into this modern synthesis. Without this element, Hegel’s philosophy risks treating human beings as abstract chess pieces in history, and Marx’s theories can devolve into a cold, utilitarian machine of state power. It is only through the explicit focus on the infinite value of the individual—the theological defense of the least of these—that the struggle remains human and redemptive.

The teachings of Jesus thus can be seen as serving as a direct corrective to the potential extremes of both idealistic philosophy and raw economic materialism. Where a philosopher might justify the suffering of entire generations for the abstract progress of a nation, Christ demands immediate compassion for the individual sufferer and offers radical love as the cure. Where a political theorist might reduce a human being to an economic production unit, Christ asserts an inherent dignity that transcends a person’s utility to a market.

In our contemporary world, this intellectual intersection is a practical call to imitate that radical empathy. The most inspiring element of the Marxist dream—the desire for a world free from exploitation—is, at its core, a secular adaptation of the Kingdom of God. The conclusion of this great historical struggle is not found in the growth of the state or the expansion of the market, but in a community defined by agape, or self-giving love.

Works Consulted

Badiou, A. (2003). Saint Paul: The Foundation of Universalism. Stanford University Press.

Brown, Nathan. (2019). The Revival of Hegelian Marxism. Radical Philosophy.

Dussel, E. (2003). Beyond Philosophy: Ethics, History, Marxism, and Liberation Theology. Rowman & Littlefield.

Hägglund, M. (2019). This Life: Secular Faith and Spiritual Freedom. Pantheon.

Haidt, J. (2024). The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. Penguin Press.

Hegel, G. W. F. (1977). Phenomenology of Spirit (A. V. Miller, Trans.). Oxford University Press. (Original work published 1807).

Marx, K. (1970). Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right (J. O’Malley, Ed. & Trans.). Cambridge University Press. (Original work published 1844).

Miranda, J. P. (1980). Marx and the Bible: A Critique of the Philosophy of Oppression. Orbis Books.

Žižek, S. (2000). The Fragile Absolute: Or, Why Is the Christian Legacy Worth Fighting For? Verso.

Žižek, S. (2003). The Puppet and the Dwarf: The Perverse Core of Christianity. MIT Press.

Žižek, S. (2009). The Monstrosity of Christ: Paradox or Dialectic? MIT Press.

The post Why Jesus, Marx, and Hegel Matter in the Digital Age appeared first on DSA Religious Socialism.

Democratic Left interviews Congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier as part of a series of interviews with members of New York City DSA's insurgent slate.

The post Darializa Avila Chevalier Is Building People Power in Harlem appeared first on Democratic Left.

The post Socialism Wins In DC appeared first on Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America.

by Jean Allen

Never protested a day in my life

You wont hear me whining

Yeah ill work overtime for time and a half

Time and a quarter

Time and time

Im tough

The way americans are tough

I can take it, a layoff a dead loved one or anything besides 

An incorrect order from a lesser

Im tough

The way a mule is tough

My back can bear any burden

I can live with black mold and not say a thing 

I can be killed slowly or quietly

After all why be a bother, why ask anything

Of a society that gives nothing but reasons to be tough

Im tough

I can wake up to images of dead kids and not feel a thing 

Im so tough it doesnt even matter what color the kids are anymore

I just hope

That when I grind my set to dust

That heaven isnt downsizing

The post The American Spirit first appeared on Rochester Red Star.

Events & Actions

Tuesday June 16 (6:30 PM – 7:30 PM) Ecosocialist Bi-Weekly Meeting (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

Wednesday June 17 (5:30 PM – 7:30 PM) Affordable Housing Guarantee Act Phone Banking (in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Thursday June 18 (6:00 PM – 7:00 PM)  Education Board Open Meeting  (zoom)

Thursday June 18 (7:00 PM – 8:00 PM) Immigrant Justice regular meeting (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Friday June 19 (9:30 AM – 10:30 AM)  District 1 Coffee with Comrades (in person at 2 Clement St)

Friday June 19 (4:00 PM – 6:00 PM) Guarantee Act Petition Dropoff/Pickup (in person at 3368 19th St)

Saturday June 20 (12:00 PM – 5:00 PM) 2026 Chapter Convention (Day 1) (Hybrid) (zoom and in person at Kelly Cullen Community, 220 Golden Gate Ave)

Sunday June 21 (11:00 AM – 1:00 PM) Guarantee Act Mobilization at Clement (in person at 152 Clement St)

Sunday June 21 (12:00 PM – 5:00 PM) 2026 Chapter Convention (Day 2) (Hybrid) (zoom and in person at Kelly Cullen Community, 220 Golden Gate Ave)

Sunday June 21 (5:00 PM – 6:00 PM)  Tenderloin Healing Circle Working Group (zoom)

Monday June 22 (6:00 PM – 8:00 PM)  Tenderloin Healing Circle (in person at Kelly Cullen Community, 220 Golden Gate Ave)

Monday June 22 (7:00 PM – 8:00 PM) Labor Board – Flex Meeting (zoom)

Monday June 22 (6:00 PM – 8:00 PM)  Tenderloin Healing Circle (in person at 220 Golden Gate Ave)

Monday June 22 (7:00 PM – 8:00 PM) Labor Board – Flex Meeting (zoom)

Tuesday June 23 (5:30 PM – 7:00 PM) Social Housing Working Group (in person at 1916 McAllister St )

Tuesday June 23 (6:00 PM – 7:30 PM)  What Is DSA? (in person at 451 Jersey St)

Tuesday June 23 (7:00 PM – 8:00 PM)  Public Transit Meeting (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Wednesday June 24 (6:45 PM – 8:30 PM) Tenant Organizing Working Group Meeting (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Thursday June 25 (6:30 PM – 7:30 PM) Public Bank Project Meeting (zoom)

Friday June 26 (7:00 PM – 9:00 PM) Maker Friday (in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Saturday June 27 (2:00 PM – 4:00 PM) Socialist Shop Talk (in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Sunday June 28 (1:00 PM – 2:30 PM)  What Is DSA? (in person at 1916 McAllister St)

Monday June 29 (7:00 PM – 8:00 PM) Labor Board – New Union Organizing (zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister St)

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

Ways to Support Affordable Housing Guarantee Act

The Affordable Housing Guarantee Act is officially accepting contributions! This is a grassroots, community-led campaign, and we need whatever you’re able spare to help us protect our affordable housing funds and tax the rich! Head to fairhousingsf.com/donate to donate!

If you’re not in a position to donate at the moment, we can still use your help gathering signatures. Head to fairhousingsf.com/events to find a volunteer event near you!

Socialist Shop Talk

Come chat with comrades about socialism through the lens of current events! In this new series, we will read a short text together, then discuss and analyze it from a socialist point of view.

This is a low-key environment where comrades can develop their skills of applying socialist analysis to current events, while having an outlet to discuss and process everything that’s happening in the world together. This event is open to all, whether you’re socialism-curious, new to DSA, or a longtime member.

In this post-primary election session, we’ll discuss an article written by a DSA SF comrade discussing the role of electoral politics in progressing toward and winning socialism.

When: Saturday, June 27th, 2-4PM

Where: 1916 McAllister St

RSVP here

EWOC Fundamentals of Workplace Organizing Course

Sign up here!

EWOC holds a regular training course to help you build your union from the ground up alongside workers in your industry. It doesn’t require an organizing background to understand the material, which covers topics including mapping and charting, building an organizing committee, uniting over common concerns, and how to take action. If you’re interested in becoming any level of organizer for EWOC, this course is mandatory.

This course will in person at the DSA office (1916 McAllister). We’ll watch the EWOC lecture together and then go through the discussion activities. If you can’t make all of the sessions, reach out to Caitlin Stanton (SF EWOC local lead coordinator) for accommodations.

SCHEDULE:
Week 1: Developing Leadership
Tuesday, July 14 (7-8:30PM)

Week 2: The Organizing Conversation
Tuesday, July 21 (7-8:30PM)

Week 3: The Arc of the Campaign
Tuesday, July 28 (7-8:30PM)

Week 4: Inoculation and the Boss Campaign
Tuesday, August 4 (7-8:30PM)