BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE
On Sunday, April 23, DSA had its largest membership meeting ever, with over 50 attendees, the large majority of whom were DSA members. (Non-members are welcome to attend and volunteer, but cannot vote.) At this meeting, plans were made to widen and continue our involvement in local politics as advocates for progressive candidates and policies with all parties. We had an information table at the DFL Minneapolis Ward 9 Convention on April 29.
On the national front, we are engaged with Cosecha, an immigrant-led movement to oppose current immigration laws and practices and agitate for radical change. We were present in force at the May 1 actions Dia Sin Inmigrantes (A Day Without Immigrants) and many of us also refrained from working or shopping in solidarity with immigrants. Our most ambitious action will be our participation in the MayDay Festival and Parade on May 7. For the first time, we will both host an information table and march in the Join-in section. We expect to have between 40 and 60 marchers and we have some really kick-ass new signs designed by a team in the National Office that articulate our positions on health care, higher education, immigration and refugees, anti-racism, pro-choice, no more wars, and other major policies.
Upcoming plans include tables at both DFL City Conventions in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, and lest you might think we are all in with the DFL, we are also informally supporting in Minneapolis races Ginger Jentzen, Socialist Alternative, in Ward 3 for City Council and Cam Gordon, Green Party, in Ward 2. (Nationally, the DSA is still working on evolving a policy for endorsements, so for now we are not endorsing candidates.) We are continuing our work with other organizations, focusing on existing relationships with Cosecha and 15Now, and working toward single-payer health care. There will be another member meeting in June at which we will elect delegates to the August 2017 DSA Convention and YDS Convention in Chicago. We have a new website—twincitiesdsa.org. If you think democratic socialism may be for you, check us out. We have monthly social meetings so you may want to start there, or dive in deeper and join either the Local Politics and Issues Branch or the Labor and Economic Justice Branch. If you’re a student at any Twin Cities university or school, you are also welcome to join the local YDS chapter, based at the University of Minnesota main campus. You can get contact details for all these on our website.
