Enjoy your January National Political Committee (NPC) newsletter! Our NPC is an elected eighteen-person body (including two YDSA members who share a vote) which functions as the board of directors of DSA. In this month’s newsletter, you can read their thoughts on creating a lasting multi-racial democracy and get involved in DSA’s work today.

• From the National Political Committee
• Tonight, Thursday 1/21 — Immigrants’ Rights Working Group on Immigrants’ Struggles in the Time of COVID
• Saturday, 1/23 — 48 Years of Roe v Wade: No Reproductive Freedom without Medicare for All
• Sunday, 1/24 — Join our National Political Education Committee for the First 100 Days of Socialism
• DSA International Committee Call Thursday, 2/4 — On The Front Lines of Philippine Labor
• Tuesday 2/16 — Religion and Socialism Working Group’s Black History Month Call on Paul Robeson
• Democratic Left call Tuesday 2/23 — Rediscovering the Earth: A Conversation with Kim Stanley Robinson
• New International Committee Newsletter Now Out!

FROM THE NATIONAL POLITICAL COMMITTEE

2021 began with the very worst of capitalism on full display. The pandemic and resulting economic crisis are overwhelming and the patchwork response inadequate. The violence by right-wing insurrectionists on the national stage showcases how deeply entrenched white supremacy is in this country. Despite the defeat of Trump, the levers of power remain unchanged.

As the administration switches hands, we acknowledge the transition means little for the working class in this country. The federal minimum wage is an insult to every worker hurting to put food on their table. COVID is also expanding punishment as prisons become hotbeds of evolving cruelty. Instead of prioritizing federal relief, the Trump administration reinstated federal executions after a 17-year stay and local governments have funneled more money into police budgets rather than to our pockets. Internationally, Yemen is facing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis backed by the resources and weapons of the US.

2020 took so much from us. After all this, there is no room for patience or moderation in our demands. We are socialists. This means embracing the day-to-day work of creating a lasting multi-racial democracy. In the words of the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr,  “Freedom is not won by a passive acceptance of suffering. Freedom is won by a struggle against suffering.” We must fight for socialism. We have a duty to struggle for liberation for all.

We recommit to the idea that we owe it to ourselves and to each other to fight for genuine racial, economic, social, and political equality. Let us hold fast to the radical legacy of one of the most well-known democratic socialists and to the hope his words and actions still inspire. Because despite this perilous time, we have grown in size and strength. It remains vital to hold on to duty and hope to get us through the daily work of organizing. We reject anything less than power in the hands of the working class. Calls for unity and reconciliation are superficial: we must demand the redistribution of wealth, win power for the working class, and render capitalism obsolete.

Solidarity,

Your NPC

TONIGHT, THURSDAY 1/21 — IMMIGRANTS’ RIGHTS WORKING GROUP ON IMMIGRANTS’ STRUGGLES IN THE TIME OF COVID

Tonight, Thursday, 1/21 at 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/5pm PT, join our Immigrants’ Rights Working Group (IRWG) meeting! This month the IRWG Steering Committee will present a proposed campaign focused on Essential Workers: Immigrants’ Struggles in the Time of COVID.

These meetings are an important opportunity to hear about what you and your chapters are doing and to connect our work. IRWG monthly membership meetings are held on the third Thursday of the month. To join the IRWG, you can sign up here.

SATURDAY, 1/23 — 48 YEARS OF ROE V WADE: NO REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM WITHOUT MEDICARE FOR ALL

This Saturday, 1/23 at 4pm ET/3pm CT/2pm MT/1pm PT, join our Socialist Feminist Working Group (SFWG) and the DSA Medicare for All Committee for “48 Years of Roe v Wade: No Reproductive Freedom without Medicare for All!”

January marks 48 years since Roe v Wade legalized abortion in all 50 states. Now, not only is abortion access hanging by a thread, but reproductive oppressions like forced sterilization of immigrants and women of color, lack of clinics or universal child care has made navigating reproductive health care decisions disastrous for the working class.

The struggle for Medicare for All and single payer healthcare provides a potential avenue to expand reproductive health access, and we need to get organized to win. The newly relaunched DSA Socialist Feminist Working Group and the DSA Medicare for All Committee are hosting this panel with Jenny Brown, author of Without Apology: The Abortion Struggle Now and Birth Strike; reproductive justice organizer and San Antonio DSA member Jaz Gonzalez; and Renee Rivas, UT Rio Grande Valley organizer for reproductive and immigrant justice to discuss how we can win reproductive freedom through the fight for Medicare for All and socialist feminist struggle. The panel will be followed by ways you can fight for single payer health care and reproductive justice. Join us!

SUNDAY, 1/24 — JOIN OUR NATIONAL POLITICAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE FOR THE FIRST 100 DAYS OF SOCIALISM

In the transition between Trump and Biden presidencies, the consequences of a global pandemic, deepening economic crisis, the weakness of American liberalism, open displays of violence from the far right, and the absence of a strong, organized Left from the main stage of political life will be on striking display. Many will be looking for analysis and political vision beyond the insufficient Democratic and Republican establishment ‘business as usual’ responses.

DSA provides an alternative vision. Please join us Sunday, 1/24 at 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/5pm PT to discuss what the first 100 days of a socialist government might look like, and to hear from national DSA committee leaders on their visions for a socialist future.

This event will feature speakers from our Democratic Socialist Labor Committee, Afrosocialists and Socialists of Color Caucus, Ecosocialists Working Group, Socialist Feminist Working Group, National Political Education Committee, Young Democratic Socialists of America, and International Committee.

DSA INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE CALL THURSDAY, 2/4 — ON THE FRONT LINES OF PHILIPPINE LABOR

On Saturday 2/4, the Commemoration Day of the Philippine-American War, join our DSA International Committee for “On The Front Lines of the Philippine Labor Movement: Workers’ Struggles Amidst the Pandemic and Political Repression.” The call will be at 8 pm ET/7 pm CT/6 pm MT/5 pm PT.

The DSA International Committee is partnering with Bayan USA for a webinar with “Kilusang Mayo Uno” trade union leaders on today’s fights between the Filipino working classes and corporate power; the ravages caused by COVID; and the government’s abuse of the quarantine to crack down on dissidents. Join us to hear what the connection to US imperial power is, and what we can do about it.

TUESDAY 2/16 — RELIGION AND SOCIALISM WORKING GROUP’S BLACK HISTORY MONTH CALL ON PAUL ROBESON

Paul Robeson was the pre-eminent Black, left-wing figure of U.S. popular culture during the 1930s-40s. Concert singer, film actor, and public personality, his “Ballad for Americans” was heard by millions of radio listeners. Idolized across large parts of Europe, Paul Robeson’s records were heard widely in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. In the United States, he was struck down by McCarthyism. His legend and his lessons remain.

Tuesday, 2/16 at 7:30 pm ET/6:30 pm CT/5:30 pm MT/4:30 pm PT, join Lawrence Ware, co-editor of the first-ever graphic novel biography of Robeson, and Charles Howard, University Chaplain and Vice President for Social Equity and Community at The University of Pennsylvania, for a discussion of Robeson’s relevance today.

If you’re interested in the Paul Robeson graphic novel, you can find more information here. A 30% discount and free shipping are available with code DSARUP. The code is good sitewide. This call is sponsored by DSA’s Religion and Socialism Working Group. To get involved, you can sign up here.

DEMOCRATIC LEFT CALL TUESDAY 2/23 — REDISCOVERING THE EARTH: A CONVERSATION WITH KIM STANLEY ROBINSON

Kim Stanley Robinson has been called “one of the greatest living science-fiction writers” in the world. In this live webinar, Robinson and Anders Dunker, editor of the new book Rediscovering Earth: Ten Dialogues on the Future of Nature, will talk about nature, socialism, and the future. The call will be moderated by Michael Carter. Join us Tuesday, 2/23 at 7:30pm ET/6:30pm CT/5:30pm MT/4:30pm PT for a fascinating discussion!

This call is co-sponsored by our member magazine, Democratic Left, and the Democratic Socialists of America Fund. Following the discussion, members of DSA’s Green New Deal Committee and Ecosocialism Working Group will discuss DSA’s campaigns.

NEW INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE NEWSLETTER NOW OUT!

International worker solidarity is key to building a socialist world. DSA’s International Committee submits their analysis of world events and reports on our activities in our latest newsletter. Enjoy your reading!