New to Boston DSA? Not sure how to get started? Not a member yet, but looking to dip your toe in? Or maybe you're a not-so-new member, but haven't been active in a while? Then please join us via Zoom for a New Member Orientation call.

Comrades from our Membership Committee will walk you through the chapter's structure, answer questions, facilitate discussion about socialist organizing in Boston, and discuss how the chapter is responding to the COVID-19 state of emergency and the associated crises of capitalism it has accelerated.
Due to the aforementioned pandemic, this meeting, as well as most of our other meetings and events for the foreseeable future, will be held over Zoom. RSVP at bit.ly/BDSANewMember for the link!

https://www.facebook.com/1011505142616407

Activists who directly counter fascists and other hostile types in the streets often encounter situations where deescalation is necessary. Whether using your words, your physical presence, or other tools, keeping comrades safe from external danger is a skill we need to learn and grow. For people to feel safe coming to our actions and others', we need to know how to deescalate challenging moments.

Boston DSA's Direct Action, De-Escalation and Security Committee is therefore pleased to host this training on interpersonal de-escalation skills for DSA members and other activists. We will discuss specific tactics for de-escalating a variety of situations.

This training will be held over Zoom on Saturday, May 8 at 3 pm. Register for the call at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZErce-urD0iG9ED1g15CfCITp7e-yPnxgVM

https://www.facebook.com/155425213157941

Project Right to Shelter is phase 1 of a larger emerging Project Right to Housing. It demands that our elected officials take immediate action to protect the current homeless population under COVID-19 through temporary placement in hotel rooms, while also pressuring them to pass guaranteed housing legislation into law. Project Right to Housing is being piloted in Cambridge, MA, but it is easily replicable in other local communities across the nation. This project challenges local governments to adopt a housing first model. Once phase 1 is completed successfully then phase 2 will be enacted, which will ensure that all residents are provided with permanent housing within six months of their residence at a hotel or motel. We are at a critical juncture where we have made significant progress on attaining non-congregate shelter for unhoused community members in Cambridge, but while we continue to organize for this demand we are now ready to shift into building out phase 2 of this project.

Project Right to Shelter will not solve every struggle in the homeless community. It does not immediately alleviate the long-term issues that have left them to live on the streets. But it does grant residents protection and dignity in an incredibly vulnerable moment, and it does it in a way that benefits cities and communities. In the long term, through phase 2 of Project Right to Housing, we hope that this project will lead to a greater focus on the provision of housing and building support structures for every resident of our city, state, and country. In the meantime, now is our chance to demonstrate to the world that local communities truly care about all community members.

Read our proposal and get involved by attending our open weekly meetings on Mondays from 6-7pm.
#HousingFirst🏠
#Hotels4UnhousedCambMA

https://www.righttohousing.com/

https://www.facebook.com/893484311467726

A reading group that meets every Monday, studying various theoretical works that cover socialist organizing, Marxist economics, building in a pre-revolutionary moment, the historical meaning of the Russian Revolution and the effects of Stalinism.

For more information about the current readings and the Zoom link, contact bostonmarxist@gmail.com.

You can also fill out this Google form to register interest: https://forms.gle/4158uVY7mvWoDqot6

https://www.facebook.com/1082367278851028

For decades, near political consensus that capitalism is the best humanity can hope for meant hardly anyone talked about, much less took seriously, any other system. Now, almost everyone is talking about the alternative: Socialism.

But what is Socialism? Is that what exists in countries like Sweden, with robust social services, or under dictatorships, or something else? This can be confusing, especially since so much discussion on the topic misunderstands or misrepresents the way socialists view the government, the economy, and history.

Join us on May 11th at 6pm for a discussion on this topic, where we will cover the basic underlying ideas driving most socialist thinkers and activists.

This is a beginner-level class, so no previous knowledge is necessary—just come ready to learn and discuss!

To sign up, just register at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIudeioqTMpGdztq4FeUCpgmFX1D3qTjtLj

https://www.facebook.com/487307269137050

Hey Comrade,

Living under capitalism is hard. We want a better world, but for the mean time, those of us with burdens are really struggling. This is a safe space to decompress, and share struggles and successes so we keep going. Self-care is important, and sometimes it works better together.

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0lfuGvrjwsHdBWscC5OQubCbjMN-QixBuZ

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

https://www.facebook.com/709983683269982

The Boston DSA Coordinating Committee meets semimonthly, usually on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month. We will be meeting online only for the foreseeable future.

We use these meetings to brainstorm and address administrative issues in the chapter. The Zoom link and CC meeting notes are posted in the #ask-cc channel in the chapter Slack. In addition, you can email the CC at boston-dsa-coordinating-committee at googlegroups dot com.

All CC meetings are open to the general membership, but not to the general public. On specific occasions where the CC is handling sensitive information, it may go into executive session for a portion of the meeting; this will be made known beforehand.

https://www.facebook.com/512611219755809

Do you love socialism and posting? Do you have skills in email-writing, newsletter-laying-out, social media, and other officey stuff from your corporate job that you'd like to use to smash capitalism instead? Do you hate canvassing and would prefer to just draft emails for the revolution? Are you good at graphic design (because I'm not and could really use some help on that front)? Then the Boston DSA Communications Committee wants YOU! *World War II recruitment poster pointing*

This Committee is open to all members in good standing, but is only open to DSA members. If you are not a member but are Comms-Committee-curious, you are still welcome to call in, or you can DM us and someone from the Comms Committee will be happy to chat with you about what kind of stuff we do.

Zoom registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAoc-2vrDsjH9yZ5X8zTM9Q9iWKduzsgK4T

https://www.facebook.com/2480758938715321

MAY MEETING DATE CHANGE: We are now meeting on May 6th

This is the monthly meeting of Boston DSA's electoral working group. This meeting is open to all DSA members, non-members, allies, and coalition partners.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we are holding this meeting online. The Zoom link will be emailed to the electoral working google group list before the 14th. If you are not on that google group, please register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEqce6uqzwjG9bWfYFlvunC5XmvuDcIMVcg

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

https://www.facebook.com/979529942503166

Join us for our kickoff canvass for Boston DSA member and city council candidate Kendra Hicks! Kendra is a first-gen black Dominican woman who is using her experience as director of radical philanthropy at Resist! to run for city council. She is fighting to democratize BPS, build more affordable and sustainable housing, to safeguard our environment and future, and to bring the margins to the center.

This will be a COVID safe door-knocking canvass. Please wear your mask at all times, practice safe social distancing, and additional PPE equipment will be made available.

No experience needed! A charged smartphone and a positive attitude is all you need!

RSVP: https://actionnetwork.org/events/may-15-kendra-kickoff-canvass

https://www.facebook.com/897417594167010

Join Boston DSA for our May General Meeting on Saturday, May 15th at 2 pm!

Hello friends! It is once again time to announce our monthly General Meeting! It will take place on Saturday, May 15th, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm via Zoom. RSVP details below!

The Coordinating Committee will present their Collective Expectations document for the coming year. These are standards that the membership can reference and hold the CC to throughout their term.
We will hear from our recently reactivated Accessibility Committee!
We'll discuss and debate endorsements for 4 more candidates in the 2021 election season!
And more!

Please join us! Your voice is valuable to our chapter and to our future. And after the meeting, feel free to hang out on the line for some socializing with other members!

All of our general meetings are open to the public, so if you are not yet a member but are curious about our organizing work, you are most welcome to attend!

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic this meeting will be held over Zoom. Please RSVP at bit.ly/BDSA_GM_May2021. RSVPing at that link will provide you with the Zoom details for the call.

If you have any accessibility-related questions or concerns, please email our Accessibility Coordinator at accessibility@bostondsa.org.

https://www.facebook.com/887670012000690

In the last five years we have seen a significant increase in socialists elected to office, and this has inspired many more candidates to run. But these opportunities also raise a number of questions about electoral strategy.

How do we develop candidates? How do we support them and keep them accountable once in office? How do we use elections to build organization and support non-electoral work? How do we combine the power of elected office with organizing beyond the ballot box to achieve meaningful change?

The Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA) in Richmond, CA has developed a model that addresses these questions. They have won the mayorship and a majority of the city council of Richmond and have been able to achieve significant victories such as rent control and forcing Chevron (whose refinery is the major employer in Richmond) to reduce pollution and pay higher taxes.

Steve Early is a member of RPA and Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and is the author of "Refinery Town: Big Oil, Big Money, and the Remaking of an American City", the story of the 15+ year effort of the RPA. Sue Wilson is communications chair for the Richmond Progressive Alliance. She has worked in organized labor for more than 20 years, as an elected officer, organizer, negotiator, communications director and regional director.

Former state representative candidate and Incorruptible Mass co-founder Anna Callahan will talk to Sue and Steve about the organizing model RPA has developed and the lessons of their success for our electoral efforts in Massachusetts.

https://www.facebook.com/501733281184614

Project Right to Shelter is phase 1 of a larger emerging Project Right to Housing. It demands that our elected officials take immediate action to protect the current homeless population under COVID-19 through temporary placement in hotel rooms, while also pressuring them to pass guaranteed housing legislation into law. Project Right to Housing is being piloted in Cambridge, MA, but it is easily replicable in other local communities across the nation. This project challenges local governments to adopt a housing first model. Once phase 1 is completed successfully then phase 2 will be enacted, which will ensure that all residents are provided with permanent housing within six months of their residence at a hotel or motel. We are at a critical juncture where we have made significant progress on attaining non-congregate shelter for unhoused community members in Cambridge, but while we continue to organize for this demand we are now ready to shift into building out phase 2 of this project.

Project Right to Shelter will not solve every struggle in the homeless community. It does not immediately alleviate the long-term issues that have left them to live on the streets. But it does grant residents protection and dignity in an incredibly vulnerable moment, and it does it in a way that benefits cities and communities. In the long term, through phase 2 of Project Right to Housing, we hope that this project will lead to a greater focus on the provision of housing and building support structures for every resident of our city, state, and country. In the meantime, now is our chance to demonstrate to the world that local communities truly care about all community members.

Read our proposal and get involved by attending our open weekly meetings on Mondays from 6-7pm.
#HousingFirst🏠
#Hotels4UnhousedCambMA

https://www.righttohousing.com/

https://www.facebook.com/893484304801060

A reading group that meets every Monday, studying various theoretical works that cover socialist organizing, Marxist economics, building in a pre-revolutionary moment, the historical meaning of the Russian Revolution and the effects of Stalinism.

For more information about the current readings and the Zoom link, contact bostonmarxist@gmail.com.

You can also fill out this Google form to register interest: https://forms.gle/4158uVY7mvWoDqot6

https://www.facebook.com/1082367258851030

The Membership Committee meets via Zoom on the third Tuesday of every month. MemCom handles member data and membership issues, hosts New Member Orientations, and runs trainings for chapter members on organizing skills. It is also charged with implementing our Member Engagement and Inclusion priority for 2021. Meetings are open to all Boston DSA members in good standing. For the agenda and call-in link, please email the Membership Committee at membership at bostondsa dot org.

https://www.facebook.com/424738101960936

Monthly meeting of the Take Back the Grid campaign, in which we’ll discuss campaign strategy and updates with people new to energy democracy and experienced campaigners alike. Right now we're focusing on our Utility Relief for All campaign to pass HD.3313 in the MA State House. For zoom information, if you are not on our mailing list, please email takebackthegrid.boston@gmail.com.

https://www.facebook.com/744056689638707

Join the Immigration Working Group for an hour of action in support of ongoing immigration justice and related campaigns

Registration required, sign up here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0ucOurrzgvE9RB9bvLwV4KiVvmr_v0ZAVf

With any questions, please reach out to immigration@bostondsa.org

https://www.facebook.com/590225349038038

The Boston DSA Labor Working Group meets *twice* each month - on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. New, old, and potential DSA members are all welcome! Come for a discussion on local labor updates and a wide variety of projects, including new worker organizing, labor solidarity campaigns, events and panels, as well as our blog, Working Mass (working-mass.com).

Please email us at labor@bostondsa.org for the Zoom link, and to get on the mailing list.

If you're interested in getting involved, you can also fill out our interest form (bit.ly/BDSAlabor), and follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/BDSA_Labor).

https://www.facebook.com/1045963109233638

The Internationalism Working Group aims to build global solidarity for global liberation. We oppose globalized capitalism, imperialism, militarism, settler colonialism, and all forms of oppression wherever they occur. Capitalism is global — to defeat it, we must be too.

At our April meeting we will debrief from our recent Palestine solidarity event and develop plans to launch our two new campaigns, on ending US military and police aid to Honduras and advocating for the WTO TRIPS waiver for COVID vaccines. Join us to get plugged into this timely and necessary work!

Meeting Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/537353376?pwd=WVRwc3pnTFhqQm5uU2NyRXRZRE5XQT09

Email internationalism@bostondsa.org with questions.

https://www.facebook.com/797689830872467

We will be meeting exclusively on Zoom for the foreseeable future. Regular meetings are held on the second Monday of each month at 7pm. Note that this month's meeting has been moved to the 20th. To register please visit:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/vJQsd-CgqTIpy5SPGYSl_YiyRKVqcRCj_Q

The Immigration Working Group works in solidarity with (im)migrant-led groups in Boston to help build a broad cultural and legislative campaign in the name of dignity, respect, and political protection for the (im)migrant working class.

If you have any questions or would like to be added to the working group mailing list, please email immigration@bostondsa.org

https://www.facebook.com/514477949584683

Project Right to Shelter is phase 1 of a larger emerging Project Right to Housing. It demands that our elected officials take immediate action to protect the current homeless population under COVID-19 through temporary placement in hotel rooms, while also pressuring them to pass guaranteed housing legislation into law. Project Right to Housing is being piloted in Cambridge, MA, but it is easily replicable in other local communities across the nation. This project challenges local governments to adopt a housing first model. Once phase 1 is completed successfully then phase 2 will be enacted, which will ensure that all residents are provided with permanent housing within six months of their residence at a hotel or motel. We are at a critical juncture where we have made significant progress on attaining non-congregate shelter for unhoused community members in Cambridge, but while we continue to organize for this demand we are now ready to shift into building out phase 2 of this project.

Project Right to Shelter will not solve every struggle in the homeless community. It does not immediately alleviate the long-term issues that have left them to live on the streets. But it does grant residents protection and dignity in an incredibly vulnerable moment, and it does it in a way that benefits cities and communities. In the long term, through phase 2 of Project Right to Housing, we hope that this project will lead to a greater focus on the provision of housing and building support structures for every resident of our city, state, and country. In the meantime, now is our chance to demonstrate to the world that local communities truly care about all community members.

Read our proposal and get involved by attending our open weekly meetings on Mondays from 6-7pm.
#HousingFirst🏠
#Hotels4UnhousedCambMA

https://www.righttohousing.com/

https://www.facebook.com/893484308134393

A reading group that meets every Monday, studying various theoretical works that cover socialist organizing, Marxist economics, building in a pre-revolutionary moment, the historical meaning of the Russian Revolution and the effects of Stalinism.

For more information about the current readings and the Zoom link, contact bostonmarxist@gmail.com.

You can also fill out this Google form to register interest: https://forms.gle/4158uVY7mvWoDqot6

https://www.facebook.com/1082367312184358

Let's put the social back in Socialism! Everyone knows that nothing compares to hanging out and socializing with comrades in-person, but since that's not possible due to Covid, this is the next best thing! Take the opportunity to socialize with members of the chapter, as well as cope with the social isolation imposed by the pandemic. There's no meeting agenda for this event, no readings to do in advance, just show up and have a good time! If you have any questions at all, feel free to email us at, mentalhealth@bostondsa.org. We hope to see you there!

Register in advance for this event:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEkdO-orjIuGdRD7KJ2nHNofZJFYeEVorOY

https://www.facebook.com/3128983317328341

The Boston DSA Coordinating Committee meets semimonthly, usually on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month. We will be meeting online only for the foreseeable future.

We use these meetings to brainstorm and address administrative issues in the chapter. The Zoom link and CC meeting notes are posted in the #ask-cc channel in the chapter Slack. In addition, you can email the CC at boston-dsa-coordinating-committee at googlegroups dot com.

All CC meetings are open to the general membership, but not to the general public. On specific occasions where the CC is handling sensitive information, it may go into executive session for a portion of the meeting; this will be made known beforehand.

https://www.facebook.com/512611209755810

Calling all leftists of color! Boston DSA AfroSocialists and Socialists of Color Caucus is hosting a hangout on Zoom to discuss how to build a strong, diverse, and organized Left -- and why BIPOC socialists in Boston and beyond might consider joining DSA and getting active in Boston DSA.

DSA is the largest socialist organization in the United States, with 70K members, and growing daily. But we can only win radical demands like the Green New Deal and Medicare for All if our membership reflects the working class generally. Share how you're holding up during the Covid-19 pandemic, tell us your stories about what it means to you to be a leftist of color, and have a good time! Let’s build the bonds that can pull us closer to take on the fights ahead.

Register for the Zoom link at: https://actionnetwork.org/campaigns/boston-dsa-afrosocialists-socialists-of-color-caucus

https://www.facebook.com/755378841941612

"It’s in making decisions that we learn to decide." - Paolo Friere, Pedagogy of Freedom

Boston DSA's Political Education Working Group meets on the last Thursday of every month at 7 pm, unless we have to move it for a holiday, which happens more often than you'd think. PEWG's goal is to provide our members with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills to organize effectively and strategically, and to educate the wider public on DSA's vision for a socialist future and the often-erased leftist movements of the past.

PEWG hosts a number of ongoing projects, such as the chapter's political education blog (bostonpewg.org), our Socialist Fundamentals and Socialist Book Report lecture series, and periodic New Member Reading Groups. We also run one-time (or a-few-times) events such as reading groups, lectures, and panel discussions; and work with other working groups in the chapter to run political education events related to their areas of organization.

Due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, working group meetings and events will be held over Zoom only until it is safe to meet in person. You can request to join the working group mailing list, where we send out meeting agendas and Zoom links, at https://groups.google.com/g/boston-dsa-education-wg. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email us at education@bostondsa.org.

https://www.facebook.com/745531519585456

“To exist, humanly, is to name the world, to change it. Once named, the world in its turn reappears to the namers as a problem and requires them a new naming. Human beings are not built in silence, but in word, in work, in action-reflection.” Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed.

Join the Mental Health Working Group’s very own writing workshop! This workshop will be guided by Comrade Binx, a published poet and MFA candidate at Emerson College. Centered around expression and encouragement, the Red Roses Writing Workshop serves as a space for building voices of change. Attendees should bring 1 poem or 1-2 pages of prose for the workshop.

Register for the Zoom call at bit.ly/RedRosesWriting

https://www.facebook.com/547944256122731

Project Right to Shelter is phase 1 of a larger emerging Project Right to Housing. It demands that our elected officials take immediate action to protect the current homeless population under COVID-19 through temporary placement in hotel rooms, while also pressuring them to pass guaranteed housing legislation into law. Project Right to Housing is being piloted in Cambridge, MA, but it is easily replicable in other local communities across the nation. This project challenges local governments to adopt a housing first model. Once phase 1 is completed successfully then phase 2 will be enacted, which will ensure that all residents are provided with permanent housing within six months of their residence at a hotel or motel. We are at a critical juncture where we have made significant progress on attaining non-congregate shelter for unhoused community members in Cambridge, but while we continue to organize for this demand we are now ready to shift into building out phase 2 of this project.

Project Right to Shelter will not solve every struggle in the homeless community. It does not immediately alleviate the long-term issues that have left them to live on the streets. But it does grant residents protection and dignity in an incredibly vulnerable moment, and it does it in a way that benefits cities and communities. In the long term, through phase 2 of Project Right to Housing, we hope that this project will lead to a greater focus on the provision of housing and building support structures for every resident of our city, state, and country. In the meantime, now is our chance to demonstrate to the world that local communities truly care about all community members.

Read our proposal and get involved by attending our open weekly meetings on Mondays from 6-7pm.
#HousingFirst🏠
#Hotels4UnhousedCambMA

https://www.righttohousing.com/

https://www.facebook.com/893484328134391

A reading group that meets every Monday, studying various theoretical works that cover socialist organizing, Marxist economics, building in a pre-revolutionary moment, the historical meaning of the Russian Revolution and the effects of Stalinism.

For more information about the current readings and the Zoom link, contact bostonmarxist@gmail.com.

You can also fill out this Google form to register interest: https://forms.gle/4158uVY7mvWoDqot6

https://www.facebook.com/1082367268851029