July 2024 – Democratic Socialists of America

News

Weekly Roundup: July 30, 2024

DSA SF on July 30, 2024

Upcoming Events

🌹Tuesday, July 30 (6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Turnout Tuesday for Dean Preston (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Wednesday, July 31 (5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): ☎️🌹Phonebank for Extreme Dean (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Wednesday, July 31 (6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Homelessness Working Group Independent Outreach (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Thursday, August 1 (5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.): Jackie Fielder For D9 Supervisor Mobilization (Meet at Bernal Rec Center, 500 Moultrie St)

🌹Thursday, August 1 (5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): ☎️🌹Phonebank for Extreme Dean (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Thursday, August 1 (6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.): Palestine Solidarity and Anti-Imperialist Working Group (Zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Friday, August 2 (12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.): Office Hours (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Saturday, August 3 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.): Extreme Dean Door Knock Mobilization (Meet at Alamo Square Park)

🌹Sunday, August 4 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.): Jackie Fielder For D9 Supervisor Mobilization (Meet at the Mission Office, 3389 26th St)

🌹Sunday, August 4 (1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.): No Appetite for Apartheid Canvassing Soft-Launch (Meet in person in front of Foods Co, 1800 Folsom)

🌹Monday, August 5 (6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Homelessness Working Group Meeting (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Monday, August 5 (7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Labor Board Meeting (Zoom)

🌹Wednesday, August 7 (8:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.): 🎲 DSA Board Game Night (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Saturday, August 10 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.): Jackie Fielder For D9 Supervisor Mobilization (Location TBD)

🌹Saturday, August 10 (1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.): Homelessness Working Group Outreach Training (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Sunday, August 11 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.): Extreme Dean Door Knock Mobilization (Location TBD)

🌹Sunday, August 11 (1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.): No Appetite for Apartheid Work Session (Zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Monday, August 12 (6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.): Ecosocialist Monthly Meeting (Zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

Check out https://dev.dsasf.org/events for more events and updates.

Events & Actions

Turnout Tuesday, Tuesdays from 6-8 PM. Help us reach supporters about weekend mobilizations! SF DSA Office, 1916 McAllister St.

Turnout Tuesday for Dean Preston, Every Tuesday!

It’s all hands on deck as we close in on the final months before the election this November! Join the Extreme Dean team every Tuesday from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at 1916 McAllister to call Dean’s supporters and get folks fired up about weekend mobilizations.

Jackie Fielder for D9 Supervisor Thursday Evening Mobilization

Only 9 more weeks left until ballots drop and thousands of doors left to knock! We really need your help! Come meet us Thursday, August 1 at 5 p.m. at the Bernal Rec Center, 500 Moultrie St to pick up a turf and knock on some doors on the south side of Bernal!

Can’t make it Thursday? We’ll also being mobilizing this Sunday, August 4th. Meet us at the Mission office, 3389 26th St at 10 a.m.

RSVP

Board Game Night!

Wednesday, August 7th, 8:00-9:30 p.m. Invite your friends to play some socialist-themed games and hang out. We’ll have snacks, drinks, and good vibes. Feel free to bring your own games, drinks, and snack to share as well. All are welcome!

RSVP

Join the Palestine Solidarity Anti-Imperialist Working Group in our No Appetite for Apartheid campaign in SF!

Inspired by long-standing Palestinian boycott tactics and the BDS call, we are canvassing local stores and asking them to pledge to become Apartheid Free by dropping products from companies complicit in the genocide of Palestinians and colonization of Palestine. It’s time to turn up the heat on this apartheid regime and take apartheid off our plates!

We will be holding our first public canvass on August 18th!

Want to show your support? Sign our Apartheid-Free Pledge so business owners know how popular this movement is with their local customers. After signing the pledge, we would love to see you at any of our upcoming campaign strategy sessions and canvassing days.

Materials prep & canvas script run-though Sunday, August 11th, 1:00-2:30 p.m. at 1916 McAllister
Canvassing kick-off! Sunday, August 18th, 1:00-2:30 p.m. at 1800 Folsom St (Foods Co)
Weekly canvassing every Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. Check dev.dsasf.org/events for meeting location updates.

Sign Pledge

Sign the BAD! Petition

Bay Area Divest! (BAD!) is a new coalition that believes we must invest our public funds in our communities, NOT in repression, war, or genocide! DSA SF officially endorses BAD!, along with East Bay DSA, AROC, Palestinian Youth Movement, AFSC, Palestinian Feminist Collective, JVP, CodePink, and several other great organizations. Please sign the petition to join BAD! in refusing to allow our public funds to go towards supporting genocide and occupation.

Sign Petition

Behind the Scenes

The Chapter Coordination Committee (CCC) regularly rotates duties among chapter members. This allows us to train new members in key duties that help keep the chapter running like organizing chapter meetings, keeping records updated, office cleanup, updating the DSA SF website and newsletter, etc. Members can view current CCC rotations.

To help with the day-to-day tasks that keep the chapter running, fill out the CCC help form.

News

Weekly Roundup: July 23, 2024

DSA SF on July 23, 2024

Upcoming Events

🌹Wednesday, July 24 (5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): ☎️🌹Phonebank for Extreme Dean (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Thursday, July 25 (5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): ☎️🌹Phonebank for Extreme Dean (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Thursday, July 25 (6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.): Palestine Solidarity and Anti-Imperialist Working Group (Zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Friday, July 26 (12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.): Office Hours (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Friday, July 26 (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.): Guillermo Kane Q&A (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Saturday, July 27 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.): Team Jackie Mobilization w/ Harvey Milk Club (Meet at Holly Park, 625 Holly Park Circle)

🌹Saturday, July 27 (1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.): Homelessness Working Group Platform / Education Meeting (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Sunday, July 28 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.): Healthcare Workers for Extreme Dean Door Knock Mobilization (Meet at the Panhandle at Fell and Baker)

🌹Sunday, July 28 (1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.): No Appetite for Apartheid Work Session (Zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Monday, July 29 (6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.): Ecosocialist Monthly Meeting (Zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Monday, July 29 (7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Organizing 101 (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Wednesday, July 31 (5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): ☎️🌹Phonebank for Extreme Dean (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Thursday, August 1 (5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): ☎️🌹Phonebank for Extreme Dean (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Thursday, August 1 (6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.): Palestine Solidarity and Anti-Imperialist Working Group (Zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Saturday, August 3 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.): Extreme Dean Door Knock Mobilization (Location TBD)

Check out https://dev.dsasf.org/events for more events and updates.

Events & Actions

Turnout Tuesday for Dean Preston, Every Tuesday!

Post-Turnout Tuesday Volunteer Appreciation, Tuesday, July 23rd, 8-10 PM. Come celebrate all our volunteers' hard work so far and learn how to get involved in the campaign! Club Waziema, 543 Divisadero Street.

Turnout Tuesday Volunteer Appreciation Tonight!

We’re having a Volunteer Appreciation event for our Turnout Tuesday volunteers TONIGHT (July 23rd) from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at Club Waziema at 543 Divisadero Street! Come celebrate all our volunteers’ hard work so far and learn how to get involved in the campaign!

Healthcare Workers for Dean Mobilization with National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW). July 28th, Panhandle, Fell and Baker, 10AM.

Join the National Union of Healthcare Workers as they mobilize for Dean Preston this Saturday, July 28th from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.! We’ll be meeting at the Panhandle at Fell and Baker before heading out to talk to Dean voters about electing a candidate who’s for the people, not the powerful.

BAD: Bay Area Divest. Sign on to defund the genocide: bit.ly/BayAreaDivest

Sign the BAD! Petition

Sign the Petition

Behind the Scenes

To help with the day-to-day tasks that keep the chapter running, fill out the CCC help form.

News

Weekly Roundup: July 16, 2024

DSA SF on July 16, 2024

Upcoming Events

🌹Wednesday, July 17 (5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): ☎️ Phonebank for Extreme Dean (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Wednesday, July 17 (6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.): 📚 What is DSA? (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Thursday, July 18 (5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): ☎️ Phonebank for Extreme Dean (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Thursday, July 18 (6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.): Palestine Solidarity Anti-Imperialist Working Group (Zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Friday, July 19 (12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.): Office Hours (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Saturday, July 20 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.): Extreme Dean Door Knock Mobilization (Meet at Jefferson Square Park, corner of Turk & Laguna)

🌹Sunday, July 21 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.): Team Jackie Mobilization w/ California Nurses Association (Meet at Precita Park, 3200 Folsom)

🌹Sunday, July 21 (1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.): No Appetite for Apartheid Work Session (Zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Monday, July 22 (6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Homelessness Working Group Meeting (Zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Monday, July 22 (7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Labor Board Meeting (Zoom)

🌹Saturday, July 27 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.): Team Jackie Mobilization w/ Harvey Milk Club (Meet at TBD)

🌹Saturday, July 27 (1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.): Homelessness Working Group Platform / Education Meeting (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Sunday, July 28 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.): Extreme Dean Door Knock Mobilization (Meet at TBD)

🌹Monday, July 29 (6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.): Ecosocialist Monthly Meeting (Zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Monday, July 29 (7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Organizing 101 (In person at 1916 McAllister)

Check out https://dev.dsasf.org/events for more events and updates.

Events & Actions

Extreme Dean Door Knock Mobilization

Come out to knock doors for the Dean Preston campaign this Saturday, July 20th! We’ll meet at Jefferson Square Park (corner of Turk & Laguna) at 10:00 a.m.

Jackie Fielder Mob with California Nurses Association

We’re so proud to have received CNA’s endorsements! Come out next Sunday, July 21st with your favorite nurses of CNA to talk to voters in Bernal! We’ll meet at Precita Park (corner of Precita & Treat) at 10:00 a.m.

RSVP

No Appetite For Apartheid Mobilization

Join the Palestine Solidarity Anti-Imperialist Working Group in launching an SF No Appetite for Apartheid campaign! We’re meeting next on Sunday, July 21st from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at 1916 McAllister.

Sign the BAD! Petition

Sign the Petition

Behind the Scenes

To help with the day-to-day tasks that keep the chapter running, fill out the CCC help form.

News

DSA SF Statement on AOC, Anti-Zionism, and our National Organization

DSA SF on July 11, 2024

DSA SF condemns the DSA National Political Committee (NPC) for their recent vote to endorse Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC). Though the NPC put conditions of a stronger commitment to Palestinian liberation for her endorsement, these conditions were established without expectation of commitment from her end.

On July 10th, the NPC’s endorsement of AOC was rescinded before we could get a clear response from her on these conditions. This withdrawal does not erase the fact that the NPC decided to endorse her despite her posturing around Palestine. NYC-DSA also continues to endorse and have a relationship with AOC.

We believe a strong commitment to Palestinian liberation is the bare minimum required of any socialist elected official.

We must do more as an organization to ensure that our endorsed elected officials have stronger positions on Palestinian liberation. Although the work for this has started locally, we need to go further and establish clear anti-Zionist standards across all of DSA. DSA SF calls on the NPC to commit DSA to anti-Zionism as a principle and policy of our organization. We also call on all chapters nationwide to push forward and uphold these principles at a local level.

AOC has, in her career so far, failed to uphold this basic anti-Zionist standard. This is precisely why many dedicated organizers in DSA advocated against her endorsement. Just this past April, she co-signed a press release expressing strong support for Israel’s “self-defense” including the Iron Dome. She has regularly conflated anti-Zionism with antisemitism, from her vote on H.Res. 888, to her smearing of our Palestinian comrades at Within Our Lifetime for their recent protests in New York. She is also still flagrantly campaigning for Joe Biden while he actively backs Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

While the decision to articulate specific conditions in the endorsement is a small step in the right direction, it ultimately fell short of actual accountability for the conduct of DSA’s most prominent endorsed elected official. DSA must apply these standards to all our endorsed candidates before we decide to endorse them, and make endorsement decisions based on our belief that those we endorse will actually follow through.

DSA needs mechanisms of accountability in case these elected officials fail to uphold their commitments in office, especially with regard to Palestine. As our comrades in the Palestinian Youth Movement have recently pointed out, Palestine is the first issue progressive organizations involved in electoral struggle are willing to sacrifice as soon as they face political tension. We have seen this dynamic with AOC, Jamaal Bowman, Bernie Sanders, and more. Our socialist organization cannot continue to make this mistake.

We must recognize the conditions that make these politicians turn their backs on Palestine. The United States’ close ties with Israel compel any politician who gains political power to maintain that relationship. The Democratic party is deeply embedded in this system. As long as the Democratic party is a vehicle through which we agitate for socialism, we will face this contradiction. DSA must resolve this to be a strong ally in the fight against Imperialism.

Whether it’s in Los Angeles or New York City, the transgressions of DSA-backed elected officials regarding Palestine ripple through DSA chapters across the country and make it harder for all of us to organize alongside Arab and Palestinian organizations for the liberation of Palestine. DSA must work to address this at the national level by establishing anti-Zionism as a principle and policy of the organization and supporting local organizers in their efforts to build stronger commitments to Palestinian liberation in their chapters.

DSA SF is proud to have passed an Anti-Zionist resolution just this past January, which has enshrined anti-Zionism as a core principle in our socialist organizing. Over 25 other chapters around the country have now also passed similar resolutions. This was the start of a productive relationship with the Palestinian movement in the Bay Area, a relationship that is growing and flourishing as we continue our organizing against Israel’s genocide and for Palestinian liberation.

We cannot consider Palestinian liberation to be something candidates commit to on a case-by-case basis. We should not wait until a politician crosses the line to then ask for such commitments. We call on the NPC to pass an anti-Zionist resolution for the whole of our national organization, and to immediately put it into practice. It’s beyond time our organization enshrines anti-Zionism as a core, actionable socialist principle.

To this end, the NPC must ensure that all candidates endorsed by DSA, both locally and nationally, live up to specific anti-Zionist principles. This means the candidate must publicly oppose all funding to Israel, refrain from promoting any organizations or candidates that provide material aid to Israel, refrain from conflating anti-Zionism with antisemitism, publicly oppose any criminalization of anti-Zionism, publicly support the Palestinian right of return to ’48 Palestine, and publicly support the BDS movement. We must, as anti-Zionist DSA chapters, work together to make sure the NPC passes these standards.

Fighting American Imperialism is an integral part of fighting capitalism. We live in a settler-colony that was built on indigenous genocide and ethnic cleansing. Imperialism has exported the ideology and methodology of settler colonialism to Palestine, as Zionism. Zionism and Imperialism have done irreparable harm to Palestinians. We have a responsibility as socialists in the imperial core to combat this Imperialism from within. A better world is possible. A socialist world is possible, but not without the liberation of Palestine.

News

Weekly Roundup: July 9, 2024

DSA SF on July 9, 2024

Upcoming Events

🌹Wednesday, July 10 (6:45 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.): July Chapter Meeting (Zoom and in person at Martin de Porres House of Hospitality)

🌹Thursday, July 11 (5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Jackie Fielder for D9 Supervisor Mobilization (In person at 801 Treat Ave)

🌹Thursday, July 11 (5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): ☎️🌹Phonebank for Extreme Dean (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Thursday, July 11 (6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.): Palestine Solidarity Anti-Imperialist Working Group (Zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Friday, July 12 (12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.): Office Hours (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Friday, July 12 (7:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.): Spaces of Exception Film Screening (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Saturday, July 13 (1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.): Homelessness Working Group Outreach Training (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Sunday, July 14 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.): Extreme Dean Door Knock Mobilization (Meet at Jefferson Square Park)

🌹Sunday, July 14 (1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.): No Appetite for Apartheid Work Session (Zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Monday, July 15 (6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.): Ecosocialist Monthly Meeting (Zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Monday, July 15 (7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Labor Board Meeting (Zoom)

🌹Wednesday, July 17 (5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): ☎️🌹Phonebank for Extreme Dean (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Wednesday, July 17 (6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.): 📚 What is DSA? (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Thursday, July 18 (5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): ☎️🌹Phonebank for Extreme Dean (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Thursday, July 18 (6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.): Palestine Solidarity and Anti-Imperialist Working Group (Zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Saturday, July 20 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.): Extreme Dean Door Knock Mobilization (Location TBD)

Check out https://dev.dsasf.org/events for more events and updates.

Events & Actions

Mission Mob! (Voter IDs plz!) Thursday, 7/11, 5pm, 21st & Treat

Mission Mob for Jackie Fielder!

Join us for a weekday mobilization for Jackie Fielder! Come out and help us grab voter IDs this Thursday, July 11th at 5:00 p.m. on the corner of 21st and Treat!

Join the Homelessness Working Group for Outreach!

The Homelessness Working Group (HWG) has a Homelessness Outreach Training coming up this Sunday, July 13th at 1:00 p.m. Come get trained on outreach (formerly sock distro) with HWG! We are currently organizing a sock distribution, and continuing our chapter’s efforts directed toward connecting with our homeless neighbors. We’ll be training chapter members about our specific approach to mutual aid and street solidarity, as well as building capacity for this and more expansive mutual aid projects in the future!

Registration is required, so make sure to fill out the form below!

Chapter Movie Night: Spaces of Exception

The DSA SF Palestine Solidarity and Anti-Imperialist Working Group is hosting a film screening of Spaces of Exception on Friday, July 12th at 7:30 p.m. Spaces of Exception is an American Indian- and Palestinian-focused documentary that investigates and juxtaposes the struggles, communities, and spaces of the American Indian reservation and the Palestinian refugee camp. We’d love it if you could make it!

The screening will be hosted at the DSA SF office at 1916 McAllister St. This is a sober event and masks are required, except when eating or drinking. There is a $10 recommended donation at the door which will go directly to the filmmakers. Nobody will be turned away for lack of funds. RSVP below. See you there!

RSVP

News

Weekly Roundup: July 2, 2024

DSA SF on July 2, 2024

Upcoming Events

🌹Tuesday, July 2 (5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Weekday Mobilization for Jackie Fielder (Meet at Bar Part Time, 496 14th St)

🌹Wednesday, July 3 (6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Healing Circle Art Build (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Wednesday, July 3 (6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.): New Member Happy Hour (In person at Zeitgeist, 199 Valencia)

🌹Wednesday, July 3 (6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.): Homelessness Working Group Outreach Training (Meet in person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Thursday, July 4 (6:00 pm. – 7:00 p.m.): Palestine Solidarity and Anti Imperialist Working Group (Zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Friday, July 5 (12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.): Office Hours (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Saturday, July 6 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.): Extreme Dean Door Knock Mobilization (Location TBD)

🌹Saturday, July 6 (1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.): Homelessness Working Group Platform / Education (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Sunday, July 7 (1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.): No Appetite for Apartheid Work Session (Zoom and in person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Monday, July 8 (6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.): Homelessness Working Group Meeting (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Wednesday, July 10 (6:45 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.): July Chapter Meeting (Zoom and in person at TBD)

🌹Friday, July 12 (7:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.): Spaces of Exception Film Screening (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Saturday, July 13 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.): Jackie Fielder For D9 Supervisor Mobilization (Meet at TBD)

🌹Saturday, July 13 (1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.): Homelessness Working Group Outreach Training (In person at 1916 McAllister)

🌹Sunday, July 14 (10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.): Extreme Dean Door Knock Mobilization (Meet at TBD)

Check out https://dev.dsasf.org/events for more events.

Events & Actions

Weekday Mobilization for Jackie Fielder!

Come join us at Bar Part Time on Tuesday, July 2 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. for another weekday mobilization to get voter IDs for Jackie and then enjoy a little pre-4th of July drink at the bar!

RSVP

Chapter Movie Night: Spaces of Exception

RSVP

Behind the Scenes

To help with the day-to-day tasks that keep the chapter running, fill out the CCC help form.

News

Our Statement on Grant’s Pass

Jen Bolen on July 1, 2024

On Friday, June 28th, the most reactionary and right wing Supreme Court in modern history rolled back civil rights protections for hundreds of thousands of unhoused people nationwide by overturning a key decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson. This ruling, supported and celebrated by London Breed and every other single major candidate running for the San Francisco mayorship, empowers cities to criminalize sleeping in public — whether or not appropriate accommodations are available.

A city-sanctioned war against unhoused San Franciscans is nothing new, but this ruling greenlights an escalation in cruelty. In the court’s decision, Justice Neal Gorsuch referenced an amicus brief, written by San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu and backed by London Breed, no less than 8 times. When asked about post-Grants Pass sweeps targeting encampments, London Breed has publicly refused to rule out arrests as an official ‘solution’ to our City’s housing unaffordability crisis. DSA SF rejects this wholeheartedly.

London Breed, as well as the broader coalition of “moderates,” represent a failure of leadership. Our City’s politicians have rallied around the notion that “compassion is killing people.” Yet, they have grossly mismanaged solutions and ignored the long term work needed to create systemic fixes for our linked crises of housing, homelessness, and public health.¹ Including, but not at all limited to, Breed’s refusal to release the money from Prop I meant for public social housing.

Research and anecdotal evidence alike confirm that sweeps literally kill people.² In supporting the Grants Pass decision, our City’s leadership demonstrates their allegiance to protecting the needs of capital and the private real estate market at the expense of human lives. DSA SF rejects, in totality, the criminalization and ongoing dehumanization of poor, disabled, and working class people who have been forced into homelessness by the capitalist economic system.

As Socialists, we assert that everyone has a right to live in our city, not just the wealthy and their acolytes. Breed and Co. want to ignore the path to real change: practical solutions that will get our people off the street and into the care and adequate housing they need to thrive. Violent crackdowns only worsen the crisis, and empower our government to ignore the root causes of poverty, as well as hide their own complicity.

A better world, and a better San Francisco, are possible. We must continue to fight for safe and accessible housing for all working class, poor, and disabled people. DSA SF calls on all San Franciscans to defend and to practice solidarity with our neighbors who have been forced into homelessness by our rotten economic system.

Ronen, Hillary. “Grandstanding Politician Fuels Drug Overdose Crisis”. (August 7th, 2023). Press Release.
Barocas, Nall, and Axelrath. “Population-Level Health Effects of Involuntary Displacement of People Experiencing Unsheltered Homelessness Who Inject Drugs in US Cities” (April 23rd, 2023). JAMA.