The 2019 DSA National Convention is right around the corner and DSA SF is getting ready to make the most of it. In our last general meeting we elected a diverse group of incredible organizers to represent us in Atlanta. Congratulations to Kaylah W., Darby T., Jennifer B., Jen S., Otto P., Rose K., Aelia P., Shanti S., Evan M., Jon X., Faiq R., Nishikant S., Gabriel M., Lia R., Brace B., Shahid B., Hae Min C. Sasha P., Alexander P., Elizabeth M., Drew D., and Charles D., and thank you for your service to our chapter!

The chapter also unanimously endorsed Pass the Hat, a national resolution that would help build and maintain smaller DSA groups outside of metropolitan areas by providing a $100-per-month stipend to all chapters.

Next up on the convention prep checklist is our June 13th Resolutions Walkthrough meeting. Our chapter’s delegation will be presenting research and summaries of the resolution compendium for this year’s convention, and we’ll be discussing the more contested resolutions as a chapter. These are decisions that will affect all of DSA, and our delegates need to know what the chapter thinks about them, so come make your voice heard!

DSA SF’s Justice Committee held its second Brakelight Replacement Clinic of the year on June 8, 2019, at the San Francisco Christian School, located in the Outer Mission.  Members of the committee and other volunteers replaced neighbors’ brakelights, free of charge, and conversed with neighbors about socialism. Earlier this year, the Justice Committee held the clinic in the Bayview.

Originally founded by New Orleans DSA in 2017, the Brakelight Replacement Clinic is a practical way of pushing back against the over-policing of communities of color by taking steps to minimize chance encounters between civilians and police.  It’s also a great way to meet our neighbors. During San Francisco’s Bayview and Outer Mission clinics, our hardworking volunteers spoke to dozens of neighbors and replaced over 50 brakelights.

This event is a great opportunity for volunteers of all levels of experience, whether they know how to change a brakelight or not.  Interested in organizing a clinic for your neighborhood or signing up for a shift in the future? Get in touch with the Justice Committee at justice@dsasf.org.

Members of DSA SF’s Socialist Feminist (SocFem) working group joined community organizers and sex workers at Oscar Grant Plaza on June 2, 2019, in a rally and celebration in honor of International Sex Workers Day, also known as International Whore’s Day.  

International Sex Workers Day, observed annually on June 2, honors sex workers and brings attention to inhumane working conditions, exploitation, and unequal access to justice faced by sex workers around the world.  The day’s activities challenge oppressive patriarchal standards of morality and deeply-rooted stigma that harm sex workers and take away their economic agency.

The date commemorates an eight-day occupation of a church by a group of sex workers seeking better working conditions in Lyon, France, in 1975, and is commemorated in various cities around the world.  This year, Bay Area sex workers and their allies rallied for the total decriminalization of sex work, which would allow sex workers more autonomy, independence, and freedom from criminal prosecution.

SocFem has supported sex workers’ rights to work and organize in the past and collaborates with community partners to support former and current sex workers.  Like any other workers, sex workers deserve dignity, empowerment, and the ability to found unions and collectives to advocate for better working conditions.

Interested in organizing with women, trans and non-binary people, and cis-male allies to fight issues stemming from the intersection of capitalism and the patriarchy?  SocFem meets the second Wednesday (6:00-8:00 p.m.) and third Saturday (2:00-4:00 p.m.) of the month.