Last week, public ownership of utilities got serious time at two hearings on ConEd’s summer blackouts and a CNN Climate Town Hall. Today, we’ll talk with Amber Ruther and Aaron Eisenberg of the NYC DSA Ecosocialist Working Group about how organizing for public power in NYC is gaining momentum and how Democratic presidential candidates’ “Green New Deal” plans look through an Ecosocialist lens.
On Sunday, September 8th members of Metro Atlanta DSA took to the streets and canvassed Atlanta neighborhood Cabbagetown to rally support for Senator Bernie Sanders for president in 2020.
“Senator Sanders is the only candidate who will stand up for our right to healthcare, to a voice on the job, and to a liveable planet,” said chapter leader Alexander Hernandez. “He’s also the only one with the vision to fix the damage done by Trump’s GOP, his parrots like Kemp, and conservative Democrats. But he’ll need our help even after he’s elected. That’s why we’re in the community building a working class movement for not just 2020, but beyond.”
Metro Atlanta DSA is just one of dozens of DSA chapters all over the country who knocked on doors this weekend to support Sanders. “We want to help Bernie win, full stop” said newly elected DSA National Political Committee member Megan Svoboda. “He’s the best chance we have to beat Donald Trump. But we’re also organizing to build a bigger base for democratic socialist politics, because it’s going to take a movement to win a Green New Deal, support union organizing, and make sure this country is no longer dominated by millionaires and billionaires. Senator Sanders is the only candidate who has stood consistently with working-class people and who knows that a mass movement is needed to change this country.”
By David H.
Metro Atlanta DSA, through its Ecosocialists working group, joined a
broad coalition of organizations to rally in response to the call by the
Indigenous Peoples of Brazil to protest the right wing Bolsonaro Government.
The Amazon Rainforest is burning. Fires have almost doubled compared
to last year. These fires are destroying the homes of indigenous
people who have had to strive persistently to protect the land, their
rights, and their very lives. These fires are eliminating wildlife and
their habitats too swiftly and broadly to allow for recovery. When
healthy, the vast Amazon cleans air and draws down carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere, benefiting the rest of the world. But instead this
rainforest is being incinerated at an alarming rate.
These fires are no accident. Beef and soy companies — with the support
of companies like Costco, Cargill, and BlackRock, with permission from
the Bolsonaro government — set fires to clear away forests for
industrial agriculture.
The National Articulation of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) has
called for international solidarity in response to the fires and
ever-increasing threats. Amazon Watch and Extinction Rebellion have lead
the call for a Global Day of Action for the Amazon.
In Atlanta, at noon on Sept. 5 outside the Brazilian consulate, a
broad coalition of organizations gathered in solidarity with the
Indigenous People. Signs saying “Bolsonaro stop Cargill’s fires” spoke
to the deadly alliance formed between Bolsonaro’s government and big
corporations like Cargill and called upon Bolsonaro to end these
atrocities.
Much pressure is needed to win this fight. This became even
more clear when the protesters engaged with the Brazilian Consul.
Unexpectedly, he turned up at the demonstration and engaged in
conversation with us. Not surprisingly, however, he iterated the
government’s perspective, emphasizing that the Brazilian government does
everything it can to stop the fires and falsely stating there were fewer
fires than in the past. When corrected upon the false numbers the Consul
stated that we would do better to get our information from
Brazilian media outlets. It was soon clear that his ears are deaf to any
facts, reminding us very much of our own current government. Suitably, Bolsonaro
has been nicknamed the Trump of Brazil. in many ways these two
governments are aligned, and we know that their political ideology, which
is dangerously close to fascism, will just bring destruction to the
world. With the burning Amazon we see it right in front of our eyes.
Today we showed the Brazilian government that the world is watching! We
hope that the Consul of Brazil will deliver the message conveyed to him
by the protesters: The world is watching and demands that the Brazilian
government stop facilitating big agribusinesses’ destruction of the
Amazon, now! The Bolsonaro government must act upon the calls of the
Indigenous Peoples of Brazil and must stop the destruction of one
of our world’s major carbon sinks. It must stop destroying
indigenous livelihood and jeopardizing humanity’s future by exacerbating
climate change.
Supporting organizations:
Extinction Rebellion, Amazon Watch, Mighty Earth, Sierra Club – Beyond
Coal, Metro Atlanta Sierra Club, Metro Atlanta Democratic Socialists of
America, Science for the People Atlanta, Dogwood Alliance, Rainforest
Action, XL Dissent, Georgia Interfaith Power & Light, Friends of the
Earth U.S., Stand4Forests, Fulton County Democrats, The Climate Reality
Project: Atlanta, Center for Sustainable Communities – Atlanta.
You’re listening to Revolutions Per Minute on WBAI, a socialist radio show and podcast from members of New York City Democratic Socialists of America.The Democratic Socialists of America is the largest socialist organization in the United States, with 56,000 members nationwide and NYC-DSA is its biggest chapter. We are run by our 5,500+ members and organizers who are working together to build democratic socialism in all five boroughs.
To connect with us after the show you can email us at revolutionsnyc@gmail.com or sign-up for our newsletter to get links to what we talk about on show. You can do that on at our website revolutionsperminute.simplecast.com. You can also find us on twitter @nycRPM.
To get involved with DSA's effort in Bernie 2020: https://bernie.dsausa.org/
Georgia Tech’s chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America attracted more than 90 people to their fall semester kick-off meeting Aug. 26. At the chapter’s Saturday pre-kickoff business meeting, they decided on these priorities:
• Electoral / Bernie 2020
• Campus labor
• Campaign to end the ban on undocumented student enrollment
• Political education
You’re listening to Revolutions Per Minute on WBAI, a socialist radio show and podcast from members of New York City Democratic Socialists of America.The Democratic Socialists of America is the largest socialist organization in the United States, with 56,000 members nationwide and NYC-DSA is its biggest chapter. We are run by our 5,500+ members and organizers who are working together to build democratic socialism in all five boroughs.
To connect with us after the show you can email us at revolutionsnyc@gmail.com or sign-up for our newsletter to get links to what we talk about on the show. You can do that on at our website revolutionsperminute.simplecast.com. You can also find us on twitter @nycRPM.
In the aftermath of hosting our national convention, MADSA members met Aug. 24 to plan for future actions and new leadership, while CWA staff handled strike business in their offices next to the union hall where we meet. (The strike has since been settled)
We voted to hold an Atlanta action to “stop the war on immigrants” Oct. 12, in response to a call from national DSA’s Immigrant Rights committee. Sign up with José Perez if you want to join the planning group.
MADSA working groups reported on their plans: Eco-Socialism — Green New Deal town hall watch party at the Ga. Beer Garden Sept. 4; Electoral — Cabbagetown Canvass for Bernie Sept. 8; Immigrant Justice — in addition to Oct. 12 planning, on Sept. 7 MADSA will again visit detainees at Stewart Detention Center, hosted by El Refugio; Education — will soon start another ABCs of Socialism study series; Mutual Aid — supplies snacks for meetings and will no doubt hold more brake light clinics, TBA; Housing Justice — is supporting the Housing Justice League’s citywide tenants’ union organizing.
In other news: We are working with groups planning support for the local response to a Nazi/KKK gathering coming to Dahlonega Sept. 14; a MADSA Afro-Socialist working group is forming; and the Douglass-Debs awards dinner committee is asking for donations of seed money from “patrons” to cover initial expenses for this popular annual networking event, planned for Nov. 9 at Paschal’s restaurant (details TBA).
Finally, to strengthen our officer team’s capacity we voted to begin the process of modifying our bylaws to add a co-chair, to be included provisionally in the September (online) election for new MADSA officers.
This week we discuss the importance of political education, with suggested readings for your personal socialist literacy, and talk with three guests from North Brooklyn's political education committee who just finished their inaugural year of Brooklyn Socialist Night School.
MADSA and YDSA joined a march against racism hosted by the Alliance for Black Lives. We marched with our banners, flag and signs together with 200-300 people representing 34 organizations. Speakers addressed many aspects of the struggle, from mass incarceration and police murders to immigrant justice, expressing hope that “together we can end the structural racism that contributes to police brutality, mass incarceration, injustice, economic oppression, and inequities.”
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Photo: Reid Freeman Jenkins Reid photogrphing. Photo: Steve Eberhardt
