News

Learn More about Copaganda

Comrades,

In an effort to build a culture of appreciation and solidarity, we’re highlighting comrades and their contributions to the chapter. If you want to appreciate comrades, please email comms@dsasf.org to tell us a little about them 😊

The comrade we want to appreciate today is Melissa H, a current co-chair of the Black Liberation and Indigenous Sovereignty Priority Campaign and former Steering Committee member (’20-’21). But beyond even their deep commitment to this chapter, their day-job is building socialism in City Hall by acting as legislative aide for Supervisor Dean Preston. Melissa is a kind, empathetic and knowledgeable person who fights for socialism nearly every waking moment. Her deep dedication is matched with a truly caring perspective and those who know her can testify to her truly personal connection to the socialist movement and the people who power it.

“Melissa is a very rare and special kind of person. She is judicious and strategic in her selection of projects and pursuits, and manages use of time extremely well. Melissa has taken on a variety of leadership roles and has excelled at all of them, always mixing her keen vision, sense of fairness, and ability to make everyone feel seen and heard. Ever diplomatic, Melissa always expresses herself with grace when directing a project, managing to keep the atmosphere positive and constructive at every turn. She sets the bar high with her words and actions, and accordingly, others follow suit, matching her energy.

I have yet to meet anyone who is as exemplary a leader or who is as consistently high vibe as Melissa within DSA.”

Solidarity,

DSA SF Comms Committee

Events Calendar

🌹 Tuesday, 3/29 (6:00 p.m.): Empty Homes Tax Turnout Tuesdays (Zoom or in person at the DSA SF office, 1916 McAllister St)

🌹 Wednesday, 3/30 (6:00 p.m.): Empty Homes Tax Campaign Fundraiser Party (in person at Make Out Room on 22nd and Mission)

🌹 Sunday, 4/3 (12:30-3:30 p.m.): Empty Homes Tax Mobilization (in person at Jefferson Square Park, on the corner of Laguna and Turk)

🌹 Sunday, 4/3 (1:00 p.m.): Labor Circle Priority Campaign – Building a Tech Labor Circle (Zoom)

🌹 Thursday, 4/7 (6:00-3:30 p.m.): Copaganda & Public Safety: Feat. Alec Karakatsanis, Dean Preston, & more! (Zoom or in person at SF Main Public Library: Koret Auditorium)


For more events, click here.

Announcements

Empty Homes Tax FUN-draiser

We’re having a FUNdraiser Happy Hour party for the Empty Homes Tax on Wednesday March 30th from 6:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. at the Make Out Room!

We’ve got two live music groups lined up, The Barneys and Afterthought with the Top Chefs. Later we’ll have DJ Kurt playing a mix of highly danceable classics all in the name of making San Francisco more affordable by opening up some of the 40,000 vacant homes in our city.

We are also hosting one HELL of a raffle, with tickets available at the door. We’ve got awesome art, gift certificates to the likes of Zuni, Bar Part Time, the Booksmith and No Shop vintage, Mixology classes, rare vintage AIDS walk tees, … plus a Signature Captain hat, usually only attainable from gathering HUNDREDS of signatures for our petition drive, which one lucky winner can attain without lifting a pen at our raffle. And so much MORE. We hope you come!

Copaganda and Public Safety featuring Alec Karakatsanis, Dean Preston, and Sameena Usman

Please join us for a panel discussion, cohosted by the Black Liberation and Indigenous Sovereignty Priority Resolution and Dean Preston, on copaganda, abolition, and public safety. The event will feature Alec Karakatsanis (Civil Rights Corp) and Sameena Usman (CAIR)– other guests may also make an appearance! 
 
The event will be held at April 7, 6:00 p.m. at SF Main Library (Koret Auditorium). This event will either be livestreamed or recorded for those who are not able to make it in person. Please direct any questions to blis@dsasf.orgRegister here!
News

Climate Crisis Action

Comrades,

Our current climate crisis is the creation of capitalism. The unceasing drive toward growth for the sake of profits above all else puts burdens on the planet that cannot be alleviated by patchwork solutions like reduced consumption on a personal level and a slow increase in the use of renewable energies, necessary as those changes are. The climate crisis demands comprehensive resistance to the system of capitalism, and the capitalists who plow their money into violence, destruction, and degradation.

This Friday, we encourage you to join Youth Vs Apocalypse as they join in on a global climate strike. Here in SF, we will march to ICE and BlackRock headquarters, demanding that ICE stop victimizing folks who bear the brunt of the climate crisis and demanding that BlackRock stop investing money in destruction of the planet and its people. More details on when and where to meet below – we also have discussion groups and documentary screenings coming up soon that you won’t want to miss!

Solidarity, DSA SF Comms Committee

Events

🌹 Tuesday, 3/22 (6:00 p.m.): Empty Homes Tax Turnout Tuesdays (Zoom or in person at the DSA SF office, 1916 McAllister St)

🌹 Friday, 3/25 (10:00 a.m.): Youth Vs. Apocalypse Global Climate Strike (in person at Embarcadero Plaza)

🌹 Saturday, 3/26 (10:00 a.m.): Naila and the Uprising Film Screening (Zoom)

🌹 Saturday, 3/26 (3:00 p.m.): BLIS and the Education Committee Discuss Stuart Hall’s Seminal Essay “Race as Floating Signifier” (Zoom)

🌹 Tuesday, 3/29 (6:00 p.m.): Empty Homes Tax Turnout Tuesdays (Zoom or in person at the DSA SF office, 1916 McAllister St)

🌹 Wednesday, 3/30 (6:00 p.m.): Empty Homes Tax Campaign Fundraiser Party (in person at Make Out Room on 22nd and Mission)
For more events, click here.

Announcements

Youth Vs. Apocalypse ‼️GLOBAL CLIMATE STRIKE‼️

Join us at the #PeopleNotProfit Climate Strike at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, March 25 at the Embarcadero Plaza in SF! We will march to ICE and BlackRock, pressuring ICE to stop targeting frontline communities and BlackRock to stop investing in prisons and climate destruction. If you are a march marshal or plan to help organize, please plan to be there at 9:00 a.m.


RESCHEDULED! Naila and the Uprising Film Screening

Join DSA SF & East Bay DSA for a rescheduled screening of the film Naila and the Uprising on Saturday, March 26 at 10:00 a.m. This film tells the story of Naila Ayesh, a Palestinian woman and activist, who resisted the Israeli occupation during the First Intifada from 1987 to 1993. The film also highlights Naila and other Palestinian women coming together to mobilize their community. This film is over an hour long, followed by a group discussion. Register here!

Come to the first fundraiser party for the Empty Homes Tax campaign!

Join the Empty Homes Tax campaign for a fundraiser party at Make Out Room (22nd and Mission) on Wednesday, March 30 at 6:00 p.m.! We’ll have music, drinks, and awesome prizes to auction and raffle off! We want to make sure we have solid finances for when the real estate industry starts attacking us. We’ll need lots of help to make this a success – email electoralboard@dsasf.org to join the host committee!

News

Turnout on Tuesdays to Fill San Francisco’s Empty Homes

Comrades, 

It’s going to take sustained energy to make the Empty Homes Tax a reality. We know real estate interests are going to spend a lot of money trying to stop this ballot measure – that’s why Turnout Tuesdays are starting up! Help the Empty Homes Tax campaign keep up the momentum and stay on track towards its 14,000 signature goal. From now through the summer, there will be phone banking every Tuesday evening from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. to make sure we hit our turnout and fundraising goals for this ballot measure. If you want to get started, come by the DSA SF office at 1916 McAllister St. on Tuesday evenings or join the Zoom call – either way, you’ll be helping make sure landlords and speculators pay up for the housing they’re keeping away from our neighbors. 

Solidarity, DSA SF Comms Committee

Events

🌹 Tuesday, 3/15 (6:00 p.m.): Empty Homes Tax Turnout Tuesdays (Zoom or in person at the DSA SF office, 1916 McAllister St)

🌹 Saturday, 3/19 (2:00 p.m.): Ecosocialist Book Club: Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future (in-person, at the Panhandle in Golden Gate Park)

🌹 Sunday, 3/20 (12:00 p.m.): Teach-In: Palestine & BDS 101 (Zoom)

🌹 Monday, 3/21 (5:30 p.m.): A Conversation about Internationalism with DSA International Committee (Zoom)

🌹 Tuesday, 3/22 (6:00 p.m.): Empty Homes Tax Turnout Tuesdays (Zoom or in person at the DSA SF office, 1916 McAllister St)

🌹 Saturday, 3/26 (10:00 a.m.): Naila and the Uprising Film Screening (Zoom)

🌹 Wednesday, 3/30 (6:00 p.m.): Empty Homes Tax Campaign Fundraiser Party (in person at Make Out Room on 22nd and Mission)


For more events, click here.

Announcements

Come to the first fundraiser party for the Empty Homes Tax campaign!

Join the Empty Homes Tax campaign for a fundraiser party at Make Out Room (22nd and Mission) on Wednesday, March 30 at 6:00 p.m.! We’ll have music, drinks, and awesome prizes to auction and raffle off! We want to make sure we have solid finances for when the real estate industry starts attacking us. We’ll need lots of help to make this a success – email electoralboard@dsasf.org to join the host committee!


RESCHEDULED! A Conversation about Internationalism with the International Committee

RESCHEDULED! Curious about our international work? Join DSA SF and members of DSA International Committee next Monday, March 21 at 5:30 p.m. PST for a conversation about internationalism, what the IC is doing, and how we can do this work on the local level. Register here!

Teach-In: Palestine & BDS 101

Want to learn more about Palestine and BDS? Join DSA SF and DSA East Bay for a teach-in this Sunday, March 20 at 12:00 p.m. to learn more about this topic. We’ll be joined by speakers such as Lara Kiswani from AROC, Olivia Katbi from BDS Movement and Portland DSA, and Nadya Tannous from Palestinian Youth Movement, NDN Collective, and Al-Shabaka. This is an amazing lineup, so people definitely don’t want to miss out! Register for the Zoom session here.

RESCHEDULED! Naila and the Uprising Film Screening

Join DSA SF & East Bay DSA for a rescheduled screening of the film Naila and the Uprising on Saturday, March 26 at 10:00 a.m. This film tells the story of Naila Ayesh, a Palestinian woman and activist, who resisted the Israeli occupation during the First Intifada from 1987 to 1993. The film also highlights Naila and other Palestinian women coming together to mobilize their community. This film is over an hour long, followed by a group discussion. Register here!

Reading Groups

Ecosocialist Book Club: Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future

Join the DSA SF Ecosocialist Committee’s book club for a special one-shot discussion in March. We’re reading and discussing Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future – you can get the book here. The Ministry for the Future is a novel about the near future of climate change – the environmental cost, the human cost, and how we might work collectively for a different future. Open to all – register now!
News

Appreciate a Fellow Comrade Today!

In an effort to build a culture of appreciation and solidarity, we’re starting a monthly feature to highlight comrades and their contributions to the chapter. If you want to appreciate comrades, please email comms@dsasf.org to tell us a little about them!

This month, we’re featuring Chris T., an IFPTE member, former co-chair of the Labor Organizing Committee (LOC) and former Steering Committee member and VP of DSA SF (2020-2021). In their work in DSA, Chris has demonstrated effective and principled leadership, even in their rank & file role. We in Comms know Chris as someone who consistently guides us towards long-term and thoughtful planning, and that also goes for their work within the International Solidarity Organizing Committee (ISOC) and the CCC Community Team.

One comrade says of Chris:

“Chris is kind, thoughtful, highly detail-oriented, and incredibly generous with their time when collaborating with others. They often take on work overlooked by others in order to make sure the projects they’re involved in are successful, even if they don’t get credit for it. When Chris disagrees with someone or has a question about a proposal, they are able to politely articulate their perspective and consider possible ways to resolve conflicts with humility, nuance, and sincerity. They go above and beyond in demonstrating what it means to be a good comrade, both in word and deed.”

If you have the opportunity to connect with Chris either in organizing or via the #donuts-and-roses channel – which they are helping organize in their community building work – then you would be lucky to meet one of the Chapter’s most thoughtful and kind members! 

Solidarity,

DSA SF Comms Committee

Events

🌹 Wednesday, 3/9 (6:45 p.m.): March Chapter Meeting (hybrid Zoom and in-person meeting at 518 Valencia St.)

🌹 Thursday, 3/10 (7:00 p.m.): Introduction to Democratic Socialism: Session One (in-person at the DSA SF office on 1916 McAllister Street)

🌹 Saturday, 3/12 (3:00 p.m.): Discussing Walter Rodney’s Groundings with My Brothers (Zoom)

🌹 Sunday, 3/13 (12:30 p.m.): Mobilization for the Empty Homes Tax Campaign (in-person at the Panhandle)

🌹 Saturday, 3/19 (2:00 p.m.): Ecosocialist Book Club: Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future (in-person, at the Panhandle in Golden Gate Park)

🌹 Sunday, 3/20 (12:00 p.m.): Teach-In: Palestine & BDS 101 (Zoom)

🌹 Saturday, 3/26 (10:00 a.m.): Naila and the Uprising Film Screening (Zoom)

For more events, click here.

Announcements

Get more involved in the Empty Homes Tax campaign!

DSA SF is working to pass an Empty Homes tax on vacant apartments in San Francisco – the first thing we need to do is make it onto the ballot! We’ll be gathering signatures every weekend and making phone calls all week to make sure we hit our goal. Our next mobilization will be Sunday, March 13 in the Panhandle at 12:30 p.m. If you can’t make it to the event, we need all the help we can get making turnout and onboarding calls during the week. Pre-register for the event or sign up to volunteer here and help us get on the ballot!

Join the Education Committee for an Intro to Democratic Socialism!

Whether you’re new to socialism or just need a refresher on the basics, everyone is welcome to attend session one of Introduction to Democratic Socialism with DSA SF member and former Massachusetts House of Representatives member Tom Gallagher. The first session will take place at the DSA office on 1916 McAllister Street this Thursday, March 10 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., and will cover class, political economy, labor theory of value, and what we mean when we talk about capitalism, socialism, and communism. Relevant reading for the session includes Socialism for Beginners by Anna Paczuska, Marx for Beginners by Rius, and Value, Price and Profit (Wages, Price, and Profit) by Karl Marx. We ask that all in attendance be masked and vaccinated.

RESCHEDULED! A Conversation about Internationalism with the International Committee

RESCHEDULED! Curious about our international work? Join DSA SF and members of DSA International Committee on Monday, March 21 at 5:30 p.m. PST for a conversation about internationalism, what the IC is doing, and how we can do this work on the local level. Register here!

Teach-In: Palestine & BDS 101

Want to learn more about Palestine and BDS? Join DSA SF and DSA East Bay for a teach-in on Sunday, March 20 at 12:00 p.m. to learn more about this topic. We’ll be joined by speakers such as Lara Kiswani from AROC, Olivia Katbi from BDS Movement and Portland DSA, and Nadya Tannous from Palestinian Youth Movement, NDN Collective, and Al-Shabaka. This is an amazing lineup, so people definitely don’t want to miss out! Register for the Zoom session here.

RESCHEDULED! Naila and the Uprising Film Screening

Join DSA SF & East Bay DSA for a rescheduled screening of the film Naila and the Uprising on Saturday, March 26 at 10:00 a.m. This film tells the story of Naila Ayesh, a Palestinian woman and activist, who resisted the Israeli occupation during the First Intifada from 1987 to 1993. The film also highlights Naila and other Palestinian women coming together to mobilize their community. This film is over an hour long, followed by a group discussion. Register here!

Reading Groups

Discussing Walter Rodney’s Groundings with My Brothers

Join Black Liberation and Indigenous Sovereignty and the Education Committee as we continue to discuss Walter Rodney’s Groundings with My BrothersThis Saturday, March 12 at 3:00 p.m. on Zoom, we will have a 1.5-hour free-form discussion of the last three chapters, chapters 3-6. You can register for the Zoom meeting here.
 
In this classic work published in the heady days of anti-colonial revolution, Groundings with My Brothers follows the global circulation of emancipatory ideas, from the black students of North America to the Rasta counterculture of Jamaica and beyond. The book is striking in its simultaneous ability to survey the wide and heterogeneous international context while remaining anchored in grassroots politics, as Rodney offers us first-hand accounts of mass movement organizing. Having inspired a generation of revolutionaries, this new edition will re-introduce the book to a new political landscape that it helped shape, with reflections from leading scholar-activists.

Ecosocialist Book Club: Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future

Join the DSA SF Ecosocialist Committee’s book club for a special one-shot discussion on March 19. We’re reading and discussing Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future – you can get the book here. The Ministry for the Future is a novel about the near future of climate change – the environmental cost, the human cost, and how we might work collectively for a different future. Open to all – register now!
News

Empty Homes Tax Campaign Launched!

Comrades,
We want to thank the nearly 200 folks who joined us at our Empty Homes Tax ballot initiative kickoff! DSA SF’s Electoral Board helped develop the Empty Homes Tax and we as a chapter have committed to pushing this powerful measure past the finish line. The tax will make speculators and landlords pay for the vacant homes they hoard – denying stable housing to thousands of San Franciscans – and it will be because of our efforts.
And, that was just the kickoff! There’s lots more work to be done in the coming months to ensure victory at the polls this year – keep your eyes open for more opportunities to get involved, or sign up to join the campaign using the link here. When we show up together, we win!
Solidarity, DSA SF Comms Committee

Events

🌹 Wednesday, 3/2 (5:00 p.m.): Phonebank for tenants’ rights with Daybreak PAC (Zoom)

🌹 Saturday, 3/5 (1:00 p.m.): Rally for Yemen (in-person at Lake Merritt in Oakland)

🌹 Sunday, 3/6 (2:00 p.m.): Naila and the Uprising Film Screening (Zoom)

🌹 Thursday, 3/10 (7:00 p.m.): Introduction to Democratic Socialism: Session One (in-person at the DSA SF office on 1916 McAllister Street)

🌹 Saturday, 3/19 (2:00 p.m.): Ecosocialist Book Club: Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future (in-person, at the Panhandle in Golden Gate Park)

🌹 Sunday, 3/20 (12:00 p.m.): Teach-In: Palestine & BDS 101 (Zoom)
For more events, click here.

Announcements

Join us for a day of action to call for an end to the war on Yemen

Join us for a day of action this Saturday, March 5, at 1:00 p.m. at Lake Merritt in Oakland to protest to end the war on Yemen. The United States began supporting the Saudi/UAE-led coalition’s war and blockade of Yemen in March 2015. The war is starving a child to death every 75 seconds, and we are calling Congress to introduce a Yemen War Powers Resolution now! Learn more here.


Learn about Palestinian women and the resistance against settler-colonialism

Join us and East Bay DSA for a film screening of Naila and the Uprising this Sunday, March 6 at 2:00 p.m. This film is about a Palestinian woman activist named Naila Ayesh who resisted against the Israeli occupation during the First Intifada from 1987 to 1993. This is also in partnership with the National BDS and Palestine Solidarity Working Group. This film screening highlights the importance of Palestinian women coming together to share knowledge, mobilize their community, and more. This film is just over 1 hour long, and we will have a group discussion after watching the film. Register here to join us!


Join the Education Committee for an Intro to Democratic Socialism!

Whether you’re new to socialism or just need a refresher on the basics, everyone is welcome to attend session one of Introduction to Democratic Socialism with DSA SF member and former Massachusetts House of Representatives member Tom Gallagher. The first session will take place at the DSA office on 1916 McAllister Street on Thursday, March 10 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., and will cover class, political economy, labor theory of value, and what we mean when we talk about capitalism, socialism, and communism. Relevant reading for the session includes Socialism for Beginners by Anna Paczuska, Marx for Beginners by Rius, and Value, Price and Profit (Wages, Price, and Profit) by Karl Marx. We ask that all in attendance be masked and vaccinated.


Teach-In: Palestine & BDS 101

Want to learn more about Palestine and BDS? Join DSA SF and DSA East Bay for a teach-in on Sunday, March 20 at 12:00 p.m. to learn more about this topic. We’ll be joined by speakers such as Lara Kiswani from AROC, Olivia Katbi from BDS Movement and Portland DSA, and Nadya Tannous from Palestinian Youth Movement, NDN Collective, and Al-Shabaka. This is an amazing lineup, so people definitely don’t want to miss out! Register for the Zoom session here.

Reading Groups

Ecosocialist Book Club: Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future

Join the DSA SF Ecosocialist Committee’s book club for a special one-shot discussion in March. We’re reading and discussing Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future – you can get the book here. The Ministry for the Future is a novel about the near future of climate change – the environmental cost, the human cost, and how we might work collectively for a different future. Open to all – register now!