Photo by Michael Roberts

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.”

Senator Sanders’ message is resonating with working people across the United States who recognize that the billionaire class is standing in our way. Metro Atlanta DSA is holding a Debate Watch Party on Thursday, September 12 7:30-11 pm at Noni’s Deli. 357 Edgewood Ave SE. Atlanta, GA 30312. MADSA will hold its next canvass for Bernie on Sunday, September 22nd in East Atlanta

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.

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

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.

(Photo: Reid Freeman Jenkins)

Today, April 19th, is the 76th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. It was the largest single revolt by Jews during WWII and it was mostly organized by the Bund, a secular Jewish socialist movement. Irena Klepfisz was born in the Warsaw Ghetto and fled with her mother to the United States when she was eight. She is now a noted poet, writer, Yiddish translator, anti-occupation activist, known for her work in lesbian, feminist and Jewish spaces. This personal interview touches on Irena's childhood, the "zeitgeist" of American Jewish bundist life, coming out in the 1970's, her activism against Israel's occupation, and how she makes sense of the contemporary resurgence of interest in Yiddish. Part 2 of this interview series will feature Daniel Soyer, who will provide a historical and academic perspective on the Jewish Labor Bund.

How do we fight the demonic principalities behind climate change? Shay O’Reilly is an organizer for renewable energy in NYC, a DSA member, a Lutheran, and a graduate of UnionTheological Seminary. We chat with him on why he believes in demonic powers (see: white supremacy), why fighting climate change necessarily means fighting for socialism, how he got into environmental issues through anti-poverty work, as well as his experience of converting to Christianity shortly after coming out as trans and gay. Yes, it’s a packed episode! Follow him on Twitter @shaygabriel

At our March 3rd meeting the members of Charlotte Metro DSA engaged in the debate facing all of our fellow 60,000 comrades: whether to affirm the demands of the National Political Committee (NPC) and provide financial and labor support for Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, and more broadly, what Bernie Sanders and his bid for president means to the burgeoning and resurgent Socialist movement in the United States.  Naturally, as good Socialists, we held a structured and comradery debate about what our role nationally is in relation to electoral politics and what our capabilities as a chapter are to affect change locally through elections and campaigning.  Our conversation about local needs and capabilities transitioned to why the national debate was happening so early in the 2020 election cycle, and was seemingly predetermined by the NPC, when an opportunity to decide this more democratically and transparently is only months away. 

 

Regarding the endorsement for Bernie Sanders for President set forth by DSA NPC, Charlotte Metro DSA decided to delay our decision whether to endorse in order to better focus on issues that affect our local communities and allow us to build a broader working class movement in the Charlotte Metro area. We also call on the NPC not to endorse at this time, especially under the current conditions of the endorsement presented.  This endorsement is too important and impactful to be decided by so few individuals and without the transparency necessary for a democratic organization.  Additionally, we are concerned that in its current form the endorsement will pull too much money away from other more necessary DSA-led endeavors to continue to build our movement, particularly by chapters outside of major metropolitan areas.  Due to the lack of horizontal participation and likely cost to Charlotte Metro DSA, we cannot at this time and in good conscience endorse Bernie Sanders for President, and we ask for the NPC to call off its vote for an endorsement and to instead let it be determined at the General Convention this August in Atlanta.  

 

In Solidarity, CLTMDSA

Hello Charlotte Metro DSA Members,

2018 was our second year in existence, and one that saw a lot of change and action.  Firstly, our charter and bylaws were accepted from DSA National and we transitioned from an organizing committee to an official chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.  With official chapter status, we were able to hold our first officer elections in November, and now we can start the process to become a non-profit, open a bank account and receive a percentage of our dues back from national’s coffers.  

Last year, we hosted several political education events to increase consciousness around issues important to building working class solidarity and power in our community.  In January we hosted Medicare for All expert, writer and fellow DSA member, Tim Faust, for a rousing speech and Q and A session about Health Care justice. In May we put on a labor week with help from local unions and hosted two events at the IBEW hall.  The first of the events was a panel discussion with local union officers and labor organizers, where the speakers dissected local peculiarities of organizing labor in the South and problems facing unions in Charlotte. To cap off the week we hosted the creators of the documentary “Union Time” about unionization of a Smithfield plant in eastern North Carolina.  

Mutual aid is also an important part of building working class power.  Our chapter hosted 6 brake light clinics last year, because broken or burnt out taillights are one of the most common reasons for traffic stops.  By offering free light changes, we can help folks in marginalized and exploited communities avoid police interaction that can lead to arrest or violence.  We also assisted Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy in their upkeep and maintenance of their office space so they can continue advocating for their clients. Helping CCLA allows Charlotte Metro DSA to increase local ties and help out a wonderful organization that offers legal assistance to the most vulnerable in our community.   

To continue building an effective chapter, many of our members have gone to regional trainings in Atlanta, Asheville and Knoxville.  We have learned skills to help us organize our membership, develop leadership in the chapter and assess obstacles to change locally. These trainings also led to the creation of the Outreach and Retention Committee to continue these lessons and build a sustainable and effective chapter.  

There are already many plans in motion for 2019, and more to come.  Housing will be our chapter’s focus issue in 2019, and in February we had our first Housing Committee meeting.  In less than 18 months, the RNC will be in our city and we have begun strategizing how to be most effective during the convention.  This year we will also have our first May Day picnic to celebrate International Worker’s Day. There will certainly be more to come!  

This is an equal parts hilarious and insightful episode of Religious Socialism podcast. Kelli Dunham is an author, comedian and storyteller — she’s the founder of Queer Memoir, a storytelling series for the queer community and stand-up comedian. But in this podcast, she recounts her religious history — from her childhood attending drive-in churches in Florida, her time at a gay conversion camp, and seven years as a nun in the Missionaries of Charity. Between laughs, she reaches some poignant truths about similarities in the socialist ethic among churches and queer communities, and how laughter can be a healing force. See below to learn more about Kelli Dunham and the podcast: KelliDunham.com Religioussocialism.org/podcast Religious Socialism Podcast is hosted by Sarah Ngu and produced by Devin Briski. Our music is “Made and Broken” by Hugel.

Rabbi Michael Feinberg is the executive director of The Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition, whose goal is to build a long term alliance between the faith community and labor movements in New York City. He's spent decades as a multi-faith activist building diverse coalitions to advocate for workers' rights. In this interview, we discuss why he prefers the term "multi-faith" to "interfaith," what he learned from Father Daniel Berrigan's radical anti-nuclear protests, the heritage of Bundism (historical secular Jewish socialist movement), and what he thinks the role the faith community can play in the fight for worker's rights.