Comrades,

In less than 24 hours, an administration characterized by overt mendacity, cruelty, and incompetence will come to an end. But for those of us fighting for a socialist future, the struggle will not change. Racial justice is under assault from white supremacists, while standards and protections for labor are actively being eroded, as companies like Uber and Lyft pay for laws that circumvent victories that took decades of struggle to win. This was all true before the Trump administration, and it will still be true when Biden is sworn in as president. While it is a relief to have an administration that does not stake its claim to legitimacy on the support of white supremacy, we cannot expect a Biden administration to fight for the kind of justice we demand. So, we will continue to demand it. We will demand that the Biden administration close inhumane border camps, we will demand the end to the support of a devastating war on Yemen, and we will demand protections for our most vulnerable neighbors during a pandemic in which millions of United States citizens—so let’s make sure that on January 20 and beyond, our voices are heard.

Join DSA Today!

Reports

Comrades Rally in Solidarity to Demand Justice for Jamaica Hampton

Last year, SFPD shot and nearly killed Jamaica Hampton, a man in crisis, and caused the amputation of his leg. After suffering this brutal and extrajudicial punishment at the hands of police, Jamaica is being put on trial again—this time at the hands of the criminal system. On January 11, the DSA Justice Committee joined the Do No Harm Coalition and Defund SFPD Now to demand that district attorney Chesa Boudin drop charges against Jamaica at a “Justice 4 Jamaica” event. Solidarity with Jamaica and his family and thank you to all comrades who have demanded justice.

Reports & Actions

? Intro to DSA SF

New to DSA SF and don’t know where to start? Our chapter will host an introductory meeting for all new members and potential new members on Wednesday, January 20 at 6:30 p.m. We will go over who we are, what we’re about, how we do things, and why we do them. RSVP for the Zoom meeting here.

January 25th: Take Action to Stop the War in Yemen

No to War on Yemen

With the war approaching its sixth year, we must hold Biden to his pledge to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. Their blockade and bombing campaign have devastated the country, leaving over 200,000 dead and over 85,000 children starved due to famine.
 
The Saudis, with US support, are committing war crimes, including the deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure. US corporations like Lockheed and Raytheon have made billions from the slaughter.

Join us in demanding that the new administration

  • Stop foreign aggression on Yemen
  • End weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and cease logistical cooperation on the war
  • Lift the blockade on Yemen and open all land and seaports
  • Restore and expand humanitarian aid for the people of Yemen
  • Reverse the Houthis’ designation as a “foreign terrorist organization”

How you can help:

Press for Single-Payer Healthcare in California

DSA SF, working with the Healthy California Now Coalition, is fighting to help win guaranteed comprehensive, high-quality healthcare for all Californians in 2021. The first tactic is calling upon Governor Newsom to fulfill his campaign promise to implement single-payer coverage in California by requesting federal funding for our state to do so. You can watch the “video petition,” read the demands, and sign at www.petition.healthcare.

Education

Red Start Educational Series – Two More Essays On Philosophy by Mao Zedong

For those who have already attended Intro to DSA SF (register here if you haven’t attended an Intro to DSA session, as it overlaps with this week’s discussion!), the Red Star caucus of DSA SF will be hosting a discussion of “On The Correct Handling Of Contradictions Among The People, and Where Do Correct Ideas Come From” by Mao Zedong.

In the first two essays of “Four Essays on Philosophy” that we read last week, we learned a framework for how theory and practice go together, and what a contradiction is. Mao expands on these ideas in the final two essays of this collection. Now that we know what contradictions are, how do we work with them? Find out, with the conclusion of our education sessions for “Four Essays On Philosophy” by Mao on Wednesday, January 20 at 6:30 p.m.

Register here!

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Red Start is a new education program from Red Star San Francisco, a revolutionary Marxist caucus of DSA SF. Every Wednesday (except when there’s a chapter meeting) we’ll be reading and discussing texts that are foundational to the socialist movement. These are texts that might be hard to work through alone, so we’re creating a space for us to read and discuss how we can apply them to the work that we do here in DSA SF. We’ll start with five key readings and move on to modules that relate to key themes that we see within the chapter and the broader world. We’ll make copies of the texts available and we highly encourage you to read along and comment in our collaborative Google Docs with key questions for discussion.

Future Economies Reading Group – tonight at 6:00 p.m.

At the first meeting of the Future Economies Reading Group, we will be joined by Ra Criscitiello, deputy director of research at the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), to discuss the Cooperative Economy Act (CEA). The CEA creates a new form of labor market intermediary, the Cooperative Labor Contractor (CLC). CLCs create a new employment paradigm where workers not only receive employment protections but also own and govern their workplaces. The CEA is a worker-centered response that offers both a sustainable long-term arrangement for formerly misclassified workers and accelerates their economic recovery during this difficult economic time.

The reading group will meet tonight at 6 p.m. online. Learn more or register for tonight’s session here!

The Socialist Awakening by John Judis

“The Socialist Awakening” by John Judis is one of a number of a recent books considering the questions of imagining socialism in the modern world. We will take up this short book in three sessions on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m., starting tonight and continuing on February 2 and February 16. If interested, please register in advance. The first session tonight will discuss the preface and first chapter. Persons new to socialism and/or DSA welcome.