Comrades,
This summer, DSA SF committed ourselves to developing a set of ballot measures that build power for the working class and train leaders in our chapter. As a chapter priority, the work of developing ballot measures that may someday become law will be a challenging process that all DSA SF members can contribute to. But, we can learn from past campaigns to be confident that we represent the will of working people.
This Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. on Zoom, the Electoral Board will host Shaun Scott of Seattle DSA to discuss Forward Thrust, a 1968-1970 ballot measure campaign that advanced an ambitious vision for the future that we can learn much from. Shaun has written extensively about Forward Thrust and will answer questions after a lecture about the history of the ballot measure and how it should inform our work.
This is an opportunity for all members to learn about ballot measures as a tactic in the fight for socialism!
Solidarity,
DSA SF Communications Committee
Upcoming Events
| 🌹 Wednesday, 9/15 (7:00 p.m.): Forward Thrust: A Conversation with Seattle DSA’s Shaun Scott (Zoom) 🌹 Saturday, 9/18 (3:00 p.m.): Conflict in China: 1949 to Now panel discussion (Zoom) 🌹 Wednesday, 10/6 (6:30 p.m.): Intro to DSA (Zoom) 🌹 Wednesday, 10/13 (6:45 p.m.): October Chapter Meeting (Zoom) For more events, click here. |
Chapter Accessibility
As part of its plan of work this year, the Steering Committee identified accessibility as a long-standing chapter need. For accessibility concerns and accommodation requests, or if you would like to join the Chapter Accessibility Task Force to help us implement a chapter survey and accessibility guidelines, please email steering@dsasf.org.
Regular Chapter Meeting
| Mark your calendars – the next regular DSA SF chapter meeting is Wednesday, October 13 at 6:45 p.m.! |
Announcements
Join DSA SF’s Newest International Solidarity Organizing Committee!
DSA SF’s newly-elected International Solidarity Organizing Committee is looking for more members to join their work! There are many ways to plug into this work, such as doing research, supporting education events, and textbanking for upcoming actions. If interested, please fill out this form and they’ll get you up to speed on all things international solidarity. Once you fill out the form, join them on the #international-solidarity Slack channel for updates.
Volunteer for single-payer healthcare campaign
National Nurses United and the California Nurses Association has been ramping up the CalCare campaign as the bill for California state-level single-payer will return in January. They are focusing on priority districts, including AD 17 and AD 19 in San Francisco. For those areas, they are looking for District Leaders to lead locally. They’ll provide extensive training and support to these leaders. If you are interested, you can sign up here. If you want to participate in the campaign but not be a District Leader, please reach out to DSA SF member Ellen Y (by emailing healthcare@dsasf.org), who is a District Leader for AD 19 – she can get you started on text-banking voters!
Conflict in China Panel: 1949 to Now
Join the Education Committee this Saturday, September 18 at 3:00 p.m. on Zoom for a panel discussion on the social and political conflicts that have driven China’s history since the 1949 Revolution to develop a stronger understanding of China today. Speakers will be from China, Europe, and the US, covering labor and feminist struggles in China since 1949, political developments, and the contemporary situation. Register for the Zoom meeting here.
Fill out the survey about our future office garden!
The DSA SF Ecosocialist Committee is working with two awesome high school seniors who are dedicating their senior project to setting up our office’s *brand new garden space.* Your opinions will be the basis of how this project will be structured and how it will operate. Please provide input here!
Reading Groups
Envisioning Real Utopias by Erik Olin Wright
Please join the Twenty-First Century Socialism Reading Group for its next book: “Envisioning Real Utopias” by Erik Olin Wright (1947-2019). The next meeting will be September 21 at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom. The next session will cover chapters four and five. Link to the Zoom meeting is here!
The new work of Wright––who was a preeminent figure in recent American socialist thought––is a comprehensive assault on the quietism of contemporary social theory. “Envisioning Real Utopias” lays the foundations for a set of concrete, emancipatory alternatives to the capitalist system through a systematic reconstruction of goals and values for Leftists thinkers. Wright diverges from classical Marxism with his classification of subgroups in the working class. He introduced novel concepts to adapt a changing perspective for ideas like deep democracy and interstitial revolution. Rigorous and engaging, this will become a landmark of social thought for the twenty-first century.
The Twenty-First Century Socialism Reading Group usually meets every two weeks and reads 25-50 pages per session.
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