Dear Chicago DSA members,

I am writing to encourage you to RSVP for our Chapter Convention on June 25 from Noon to 4pm! I originally sent this out as an email to members in good standing who haven’t RSVP’d, but I wanted to publish this on Midwest Socialist so everyone can read.

I started my Secretary term on July 1, 2022 and I’m getting ready to finish my term on June 30th. I’ve been a Chicago DSA member since February 2017. For the last 6.5 years, Chicago DSA has been my political home.

I’ve been asked by a few comrades, “why is our Chapter Convention the same day as the Pride Parade?” Usually I start by saying we scheduled our Convention months ago before the parade date was set in stone. But for me, what really hits home is that the Pride Parade is a corporate event that celebrates corporations. Chase Bank will be there wearing rainbow colors. Cops will act like they’re part of our queer community and then be back on the streets the next day killing us. I’m excited for families who want to celebrate and show their kids what inclusivity looks like. But as a trans person, I will never feel comfortable at a Pride Parade that prioritizes our oppressors over me.

Trans and queer rights are under attack. At the last General Chapter Meeting we passed a proposal in Defense of the Queer and Trans Working Class. In order to turn that proposal into something real, we have to organize. In my opinion the best thing we can do this Pride Month is to come together as a chapter to discuss and vote on proposals that will prepare us to bring in more and more people to our movement so we can fight back as a united front against right wing attacks on trans people. And in order to make that happen, we have to make quorum!

So that is why I am asking YOU to RSVP today for the June Convention. We, the membership, are the highest decision making body of Chicago DSA. I urge you to make it out to our Chapter Convention on Sunday June 25, from Noon – 4:00PM. The meeting will be hybrid, with in person location at CTU Hall, 1901 W Carroll Ave.

Comrades, we have a world to win!

Useful links

• RSVP for the meeting
• Agenda
• Phonebank volunteer form – Help turnout CDSA members to the GCM so we can make quorum!
• Day-of Volunteer form – Volunteer needs will include checking in members, setting up, and working the merchandise table

Solidarity,

Marcy F (she/her)

Chapter Secretary

The post Why Is The Chapter Convention The Day Of The Pride Parade? appeared first on Midwest Socialist.

Seattle voters passed Initiative 135 in February, creating the only radically democratic, tenant-led, publicly-owned social housing developer in the country. I sat down with Tiffani McCoy, Co-Chair of House Our Neighbors, the coalition who led the fight. Then I interviewed two leaders of Seattle DSA, Sydney Province and Ramy Khalil, to get their perspective on the fight ahead to fully fund social housing in Seattle. Both interviews were excellent, but went long, so we split this into a two-parter. Thanks to Luke Wigren for help recording this episode and to Jason Corey for editing it. Subscribe to get an alert when future episodes drop.

Although New York just became the 13th state to pass a bill designating this a sanctuary state for trans and nonbinary people and protecting gender-affirming care patients and providers, the attacks on trans youth and adults are only escalating nationwide. Media establishments like the New York Times are covering "debates" around access to gender-affirming care using bad science and faulty logic and without respecting the direct experience and analysis of trans people themselves. What are the social and political forces that are seeking to legitimize transphobia in the public sphere and restrict access to healthcare for gender non-conforming people? Join us for a panel discussion with Alex, a researcher and journalist, Quinnehtukqut, a social psychologist, and Jess, a therapist, on gender-affirming care and how Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists (TERFs) have partnered with the far-right to advance bigotry and restrict trans people's human rights. 

Hamilton College Young Democratic Socialists of American (HC-YDSA) officially became a branch of Syracuse DSA at our Sunday, June 18th General Meeting. HC-YDSA applied to become a branch earlier in May. Our Steering Committee unanimously recommended that general membership vote to accept their application. Our membership then approved their application at the June General Meeting

We are extremely excited to partner with HC-YDSA as we fight to bring socialism to The Hill and the rest of the Central New York.

Below you can find photos from HC-YDSA events below.

The post Welcome Hamilton College YDSA! appeared first on Syracuse DSA.

This Pride month, the LGBTQ+ community celebrates our fierce love while facing organized assaults on our very existence. With 2023 not even half over, Human Rights Watch reports a record number of anti-LGBTQ+ legal efforts. More than 520 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced in state legislatures. Of these, over 220 bills specifically target transgender and…

The post Chapter and Verse | YDSA Organizes Against Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws appeared first on Democratic Left.

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The post DIRECTOR’S Report | Power and Contradictions appeared first on Democratic Left.

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It’s already a hot labor summer, and the heat is turning up as DSA chapters across the country make themselves Strike Ready. The stakes are high, the opportunities many! At press time, the Writers Guild of America, representing 11,500 writers, is standing up for fair pay from residuals and more. Chapters from Los Angeles to…

The post Get Strike Ready! And Build a Better Future appeared first on Democratic Left.