On Tuesday, February 16th, Charles Howard, University Chaplain and Vice President for Social Equity and Community at the University of Pennsylvania, spoke with Lawrence Ware, co-editor of "Ballad of an American," the first-ever graphic biography of Paul Robeson, about Robeson's relevance for today. Paul Robeson was the pre-eminent Black, left-wing figure of U.S. popular culture during the 1930s-40s. Concert singer, film actor, public personality, his "Ballad for Americans" was heard by millions of radio listeners. Idolized across large parts of Europe, his records heard widely in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, Robeson was struck down by McCarthyism. His legend and his lessons remain. The event was co-sponsored by the Afrosocialists and Socialists of Color Caucus (AFROSOC) of DSA, the DSA Fund, and the International Committee of DSA, along with the Religion and Socialism Working Group of DSA. You can order the book from Rutgers University Press and receive a 30% discount on it and all books sitewide by using the code DSA RUP at checkout.

The Atlanta Democratic Socialists of America (ATL DSA) stands in unity and solidarity with the Asian-American community in Atlanta, Georgia, and across the United States as we collectively process a horrific hate crime that targeted Asian women, killing 8 people.

Our first thoughts turn to the victims, their families and their communities. Many people, including our comrades in ATL DSA, are experiencing intense anger and pain in the wake of another racist mass shooting event. This spree shooter specifically targeted women, highlighting the particular gendered racism that Asian women face in the United States. In his own words, the shooter targeted businesses which he believed were sites of sex work. ATL DSA stands with Asian women, who face a particular gendered racism in the United States. We stand with sex workers, an unjustly criminalized group vulnerable to violence. We stand with Asian sex workers who are often victims of racialized sexual violence resulting from patriarchy and white supremacy. Race, gender, and class in America intersect in ways that render poor and unassimilated Asian Americans invisible and thus especially vulnerable to violence like the murders that were perpetrated on March 16.

Moreover, we know that this horrific event did not take place in a vacuum. Over the last year, acts of racist violence against Asian Americans have increased significantly, a direct result of the jingoistic rhetoric about China and the COVID-19 virus propagated by politicians on both sides of the aisle and furthered by corporate media outlets. During the 2020 presidential election, both Trump and Biden jockeyed to be “tougher on China,” as the ruling class egged on a new Cold War with China and continues to do so now. In any conflict between China and the U.S. or their proxies, it is the working class that suffers, abroad and at home. We must be vigilant in counteracting propagandic narratives that would lead us to believe otherwise. Yesterday’s killings are the latest expression of a long history of anti-Asian racism and discrimination that stretches back hundreds of years in the U.S.

The simple fact is yesterday’s murders did not need to happen. We must reject the anti-China and anti-Asian rhetoric that inundates American society, and we must fight to end the racialized misogyny that demonizes and oppresses sex workers. We denounce anti-Asian and Sinophobic rhetoric in all its forms, and we oppose those who wish to perpetuate conflict with China. We stand in solidarity with sex workers and oppose efforts to increase policing or expand the carceral state as a solution to this violence, as we know this would only result in further oppression and harm towards those affected.

We stand in solidarity with communities most impacted by this attack and are prepared to respond to calls for support. We are listening to our comrades, our local Asian-American community groups and their leaders, to best understand how to act in solidarity, and we will amplify any ways that the broader community can demonstrate their support as well.

Also see the DSA National Political Committee’s statement for more info.

Matt Mazewski and Brendan Moore, both economics doctoral candidates and labor organizers, join “Heart of a Heartless World” to discuss the relationship between labor rights and the American Catholic Church. Matt and Brendan are interviewed by Nicole-Ann Lobo, and their conversation includes a brief history of Catholic social teaching and what papal encyclicals have to say about labor rights, the current state of American bishops and labor, the role of the Catholic Labor Network, and how Catholic higher education instutions are treating graduate student unions. Resources: Fratelli tutti Challenges the Utopia of Neoliberalism — https://christiansocialism.com/pope-francis-fratelli-tutti-socialism-capitalism/ The Catholic Labor Network — catholiclabor.org Gaudium et Spes Labor Report — http://catholiclabor.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GESAnnualReport2020.pdf The NLRB’s Theology of Labor — https://www.thestrikewave.com/original-content/religion-and-the-nlrb U.S. Bishops praise Biden’s actions on immigration — https://www.catholicsentinel.org/Content/Default/Homepage-Rotator/Article/US-bishops-praise-Biden-s-actions-on-immigration-/-3/382/41722 USCCB brief on Janus case — https://www.usccb.org/sites/default/files/about/general-counsel/amicus-briefs/upload/Janus-v-American-Federation-of-State-16-1466-bsac-usccb-amicus.pdf

On January 3rd, 2021, Charlotte Metro DSA held its monthly meeting in the midst of the #ForcetheVote on Medicare for All debate that was raging online amongst the American Left.  While the weeks since that meeting have diverted our attention, it is important for the chapter leadership to revisit what was discussed at the meeting and report on the debates and decisions that the chapter made as a democratic organization in regard to #ForcetheVote. 

Members displayed their passion and commitment to socialism and building working class power in one the longest debates in chapter history. Many fantastic questions were raised about how we build power, the nature of organizing work, and how we can effectively reach our friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors in the working class. Ultimately it was decided to not endorse the #ForcetheVote effort, but instead to use this as an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment as a chapter to Medicare for All organizing.   

Through the debate we were able to reach a consensus as a chapter that healthcare is at the top of everyone’s mind, especially in the midst of a pandemic and economic crisis.  Since healthcare intersects with every aspect of our lives - labor, housing, education, race, and gender, to name a few - it is also one of the easiest ways for us to start talking to and organizing with the people in our lives.  So, instead of simply voting “no” on endorsing the #ForcetheVote effort, we want to use this as an opportunity. An opportunity to recommit to supporting Medicare for All organizing within Charlotte Metro DSA and in the Carolinas, as a way to reach and recruit new members, as a vehicle to building an effective organizing body in the region, and as a way to positively impact the lives of workers in our community and state.

As we launch this renewed effort in Medicare for All organizing, please join us for our Medicare for All Campaign Kickoff on Saturday, February 20th at 1:00 PM.

RSVP here. Campaign news, updates, and actions will be posted on our M4A Campaign launch page.

Medicare for All now. Solidarity forever.

The Charlotte Metro DSA Steering Committee

This post is password protected. You must visit the website and enter the password to continue reading.

The spirit of black radical traditions, at their best, can turn the world upside down and help usher in a political economy of dignity, voice, and decision-making power for working-class communities. Liberationist streams of black radical spirituality are as contemporary as Alice Walker’s call for democratic socialist womanism, as old as Reverend George Washington Woodbey’s Black Baptist socialism and beyond. This discussion between Rev. Andrew Wilkes and Rev. Sekou, artist, author, and public theologian, is part of an ongoing series on faith and socialism. In this conversation, Rev. Wilkes and Rev. Sekou talk about the ethical and religious streams within black radical traditions and the implications for our times

Metro Atlanta DSA forcefully condemns the coup attempt by supporters of Donald Trump that occurred in the United States Capitol building on January 6th. We echo the calls for Trump to resign or be removed from office as soon as possible. We call for the expulsion from Congress of all GOP politicians who encouraged this attack and we urge all our members and supporters to pressure their legislators to support Representative Cori Bush’s resolution to do so.

Since announcing his candidacy for president in 2015, Trump has organized a campaign of hatred, violence, and terror against working people. We saw this throughout his campaign, at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017, and in the repression of the Black Lives Matter protests of summer 2020. We saw further escalation in this week’s attack on the Capitol building by a mob of white supremacists and far-right terrorists.

This attack was a convening of far-right activists and militants from across the country, called to D.C. by Trump himself. The crowd was made up of professional internet personalities, small business owners, neo-nazi militias, and even a Republican legislator from West Virginia. Despite aesthetic appeals to “liberty,” this movement is fundamentally opposed to the constitutionalism and rule of law of modern liberal democracy. 

Trump’s presidency is an extension of a wider neofascist movement fueled by the decay of capitalism in a dwindling empire. Squeezed between the pandemic, the climate crisis, and the declining rate of profit, the small capitalists and fascist militias are on track to grow increasingly hostile to both the liberal democratic state and the working class at large. Appeasement is not an option – the only effective counter is a mass movement of the working class fighting for truly democratic control of our society. Metro Atlanta DSA is committed to building this movement to defeat the fascists and the wealthy elites.

David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler have been defeated in Georgia. Working people showed up and voted in record numbers to reject the GOP and their cruel agenda. With Democrats on the cusp of taking power in the White House and both houses of Congress, our immediate task as socialists is to demand that the new Democratic Party government take bold action to empower working people and isolate the forces of reaction. If President-Elect Biden and Democratic Leaders Schumer and Pelosi truly intend to oppose fascism, they must tear it out at the root. We demand they pass a People’s Bailout for working people and that they move to swiftly expel the far-right coup instigators from Congress. Anything less will effectively enable the fascists to regroup and begin planning to take the House in 2022 and elect a Trump 2.0 in 2024.

This election was a referendum on COVID Relief. Congress must send all USA residents $2000 survival checks, in addition to retroactive compensation of $2000 per month for the entire span of this pandemic. To both address the immediate unemployment crisis and avert the worst of the climate catastrophe, we demand a Green New Deal to put Americans back to work and achieve 100% renewable energy by 2030. We can create good paying union jobs for all building green infrastructure for a clean and habitable planet for future generations. Finally, we must pass the Health Care Emergency Guarantee Act and establish a single-payer Medicare for All system, so that people are never forced to choose between their healthcare and their rent.

The dramatic upset in the Georgia Senate election can in large part be credited to an unprecedented electoral mobilization by organized labor. The hospitality workers’ union UNITE HERE, with support from other unions across the country, knocked 1,500,000 doors in the Senate election. Without their intervention, the Republican Party would still control the US Senate. Joe Biden owes it to the trade union movement to pass bold pro-labor reforms. Congress must establish a $15 minimum wage tied to inflation, pass the PRO Act, repeal Taft-Hartley, ban right-to-work laws at the federal level, and permit unions to organize through card-check.

We are under no illusions about the Democratic Party. Their neoliberal elite leadership has betrayed working people to serve wealthy corporate interests over and over again, and they will do it again as soon as the opportunity arises. Neoliberal rule from 2008-2016 is what gave us Trump in the first place. Our only recourse is to organize ourselves as working class people in a mass movement for justice and equality. We now have an opportunity for bold federal action, and we must seize this moment to build a vibrant movement for socialism that can overwhelm the forces of reaction. Join us in this fight – a better world is possible.

Join Metro Atlanta DSA today.

When the capitalist media finally pronounced the resounding defeat of fascist Donald Trump, workers around the world breathed a sigh of relief – but only for a moment. Millions continue to suffer through the COVID crisis despite the changing leadership. Workers face mass evictions and unemployment, police repression, and intensifying climate change. The working class must demand that Biden and Harris make real change and break from the neoliberal status quo that brought us Trump and his neofascist movement in the first place.

If the US government can afford to bail out corporations with hundreds of billions of dollars in support, it can afford to bail out the working class. We demand COVID relief now in the form of a $15/hr minimum wage and $2000 monthly survival checks. We demand a safe, livable planet for all, and a Green Jobs Guarantee that puts millions of people to work building the green infrastructure necessary to halt climate change and achieve 100% renewable energy by 2030. We demand the passage of the Emergency Healthcare Guarantee Act and a Medicare For All single-payer healthcare system that guarantees healthcare as a right, not a privilege. We demand a People’s Bailout!

In order to win the COVID relief we deserve, we must overpower the billionaire class. We, the Metro Atlanta DSA, know that this struggle must begin with the immediate defeat of the Republican candidates in the January 5th runoff elections. Control of the US Senate hinges on Georgia, and a Republican-held Senate would be a massive barrier to passing even the most modest reforms. We recommend voting against all Republican candidates on the ballot, in order to make progress possible. However, we do not endorse or support any candidates running in the election. If the Republicans lose the election, our next immediate task will be campaigning against the incoming neoliberal capitalist senators to pass real COVID relief for workers.

Throughout this election cycle, we are organizing to combat racist voter suppression, and to help working Georgians cast their votes in the runoff elections. We are holding socially distanced canvasses and lit drops every weekend, making phone calls and sending texts to voters, and raising awareness about the January 5th election while building support for key socialist issues such as the Green New Deal, Medicare for All, and a living wage. 

If you would like to get involved in our campaign, please join DSA, join our chapter, and check our calendar for upcoming events. We are a volunteer-led organization and we rely on dues and donations from working people to fund our activities. Please consider donating to support our campaign. You can email jan5runoffs@madsa.ga for more information.

Workers will fight for the dignity we deserve. Workers will win. Solidarity.

After exit polls from the November election showed 72% of voters wanted Medicare for All, Medicare for All Indiana and the Religious Socialism Committee of Central Indiana DSA convened on November 24th a Multifaith Forum on Medicare for All, recorded and available as our podcast episode. Panelists discussing their faith’s shared commitment to universal healthcare as a moral imperative included: Rabbi Jordana Chernow-Reader, Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation; Rev. David W. Greene, Sr., Purpose of Life Ministries (Second Baptist) and President, Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis; Hebah Kassem, Muslim Medicare for All Activist and DSA member; and Fr. Charles Allen, Episcopal Priest and Member, Religious Socialism Committee of Central Indiana DSA. The moderator was Fran Quigley, director of the Health and Human Rights Clinic at Indiana University McKinney School of Law and member of the Religious Socialism Working Group and Central Indiana DSA.

On January 5th, Georgia will be at the center of national attention for runoff races that will decide the party leadership of the United States Senate. While Metro Atlanta DSA holds no allegiance to any capitalist political party, we recognize the significance of these races and the issues at stake.

In addition to the US Senate, there is also a closely contested election for Public Service Commission, an agency which oversees utility rates, power company regulations, and access to broadband across the state.

Metro Atlanta DSA believes the working class should be informed about the workings of government, and the issues at stake in elections. Our members have worked to put together the following voter guide that discusses the races on the ballot, the significance of the offices being decided, and provides information about how to reliably and safely vote in this election.

Over the course of this runoff campaign, Metro Atlanta DSA plans to be actively organized in supporting voting rights, as well canvassing and phone banking voters about key working class issues at stake. Join MADSA if you want to be involved!