Features

July General Meeting Recap

Thank you to all who attended Saturday’s General Meeting! We got updates from committees, working groups, and members about the state of the chapter and ways to plug in. We also heard from Kristian H, a steering committee member of the national Democracy Commission, about its impacts on local chapters.

We also had four pieces of new business:

1. affirming Troy W as our second Harassment Grievance Officer (HGO);
2. establishing an Ecosocialist Working Group;
3. establishing a Sober Socialist Section; and
4. reassigning some far-off zip codes from our chapter to Baton Rouge DSA following their request.

Afterward, we had a lengthy discussion debating an endorsement of member Lauren Jewett for Congress LA-01. Members should now have received OpaVote ballots for voting on endorsement. To end the meeting, we had a Red Talk presentation about the Prairieland 8. Full minutes can be found here.

Message from the Local Council: We sincerely thank you for your patience during the last General Meeting. We arrived that morning to discover the A/C in the office was broken, which made the room uninhabitable. Cafe Istanbul saved the day by allowing us to use their space, but the sudden venue change complicated tech set-up and pushed back our start and end times. Going forward, we will be booking a larger space for GMs, with space in mind for separated childcare. Solidarity, LC 🌹

Establish Black Education History Week for Orleans Schools

At Tuesday’s 10:00 am OPSB Committee of the Whole Meeting, Gaby Biro will be introducing a resolution, in collaboration with BE NOLA, to create an annual Black Education History Week. It will establish the 3rd week of November as an annual week of celebration and reflection.

The city of New Orleans has a profound and pioneering legacy of Black educational leadership rooted in cultural preservation and community self-determination. From 2023 through 2025, BE NOLA (Black Education for New Orleans), a Black-led, Black-governed nonprofit organization, conducted multi-year community-driven research and engagement exploring how Black educational spaces in New Orleans have ignited Black Brilliance for generations. In June 2025, sixty-five community members convened at Ashé Powerhouse to co-author draft language for a New Orleans Black Education History Week resolution, transforming years of research and dialogue into actionable policy through a democratic, community-led process.

In a district where 82% of students are Black, it is essential that young people understand their local role in American democracy, see themselves as inheritors of educational excellence, and recognize themselves as builders of a just and inclusive city. As New Orleans education continues to evolve, we have a responsibility to preserve and carry forward the legacies of historic educational institutions, ensuring that the cultural knowledge, pedagogical innovations, and traditions of excellence developed by these schools and educators continue to inspire and guide current and future generations of students, educators, and communities. To make a public comment in support, arrive at 2401 Westbend Pkwy, Room 1050, by 10:30 am.

Red Talk: Solidarity With the Prairieland 8

On June 23, 2026, eight defendants were sentenced to a combined 450 years in prison in connection with a shooting outside of the Prairieland ICE detention facility in Alvarado, Texas. The incident occurred on the night of July 4, 2025, during a noise demonstration to show solidarity with those detained inside.

The individual who was convicted of attempted murder says that they were defending a third party; that the police officer who was shot had drawn his weapon on an unarmed, fleeing civilian. Although there were only 11 individuals participating in the noise demonstration, 22 individuals were arrested in connection to it. Two of the people who were sentenced on June 23 did not even participate in the noise demonstration.

The defendants were convicted of and sentenced for providing material support to terrorists. This is the first federal terrorism case associated with “antifa.” It sets the precedent that mild destruction of property and defense of a third party against the aggression of law enforcement are acts of “terrorism.” It sets the precedent that providing support AT ALL—including giving a car ride or moving a box—for someone convicted of “terrorism” can land you a “providing support to terrorists” conviction.

The defendants are appealing their cases to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears cases right here in New Orleans at the John Minor Wisdom Building, 600 S Maestri St.

Presentation links:

• July GM Slideshow
• How to Support the Prairieland Defendants – DFW Support Committee
• National Lawyers Guild Remains in Solidarity With Prairieland Defendants After Extreme Sentencing
• Fort Worth DSA: Solidarity With the Prairieland Defendants

Northshore Reading Group: On Contradiction & On Practice

On Monday, August 3rd, the Northshore Reading Group will be discussing “On Contradiction” and “On Practice” by Mao. Discussing political theory, even with DSA comrades, can be daunting. The discomfort of discussing politics in your day-to-day life with friends, family, fellow workers, and strangers, is a result of the depoliticization of our lives. The misery of constantly doing something you don’t want to do, for someone else, with no connection to anything larger than yourself, is the alienation we feel working under capitalism.

Through political education, we fight the ideas we have absorbed living in the heart of empire. Through discussion, we learn to analyze our own material conditions. Reading groups are a great first step for building the confidence to discuss politics in your everyday life, which will be necessary to build a mass movement.

We are approaching our sixth monthly meeting of the Northshore Reading Group, where we have discussed socialist essays and pamphlets by Marx, Lenin, Luxemburg, and contemporary authors of organizing literature. Join us, August 3rd at 6 pm, at the Causeway Branch Library in Mandeville, and build the confidence and knowledge necessary to be an effective socialist.

Bulletins

OpaVote Email on Lauren Jewett for Congress Endorsement

The chapter is voting on whether to endorse member Lauren Jewett for Congress LA-01. All members received an email from OpaVote on Saturday evening, containing links to our candidate Q&A video and our Discord discussion thread. On your emailed ballot, you may mark yes, no, or abstain. Quorum is 25% of membership, with the issue decided by majority vote. Voting closes 7 days from the start of the vote.

Direct Service & Health Justice Updates

• Fork & Knife Club delivered over 225 meals last week with just under 20 volunteers! It was even a few new members’ first event—thank you all!
• The Northshore Brake Light Clinic is Sunday, August 2, at 2238 First St in Slidell, from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm; no sign up necessary to help.
• Our next New Orleans Brake Light Clinic is Saturday, August 15, at AP Tureaud Park; volunteer here.
• DS+HJ always welcomes donations for food and supplies.
• Our next Meeting is Tuesday, August 25, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm, online.

Political Education Committee Restructure

The next Poli-Ed planning meeting is August 2 at 5:00 pm at the Healing Center, and we are creating new bylaws for the committee! This is a complete restructuring of the Political Education Committee. We’d like as many people to show up as possible to get as much buy-in as possible. If YOU have ever attended or wanted to attend a Poli-Ed meeting, if YOU are an educator or a student or just a curious person, then come to this next meeting and get in on the ground floor of this restructuring. The two main focuses will be a) to create subcommittees for accomplishing specific ongoing projects (e.g. Red Talks, Book Club, Zines, etc.) and b) designating liaisons from each committee, working group, and section so that we can readily spread your lessons to the rest of the chapter. Mark your calendar! See you there!

Queer Soc: Gayme Night at Z’otz Cafe

Join DSA’s Queer Socialist Section for a game night at Z’otz Cafe, 6pm on Sunday, August 2nd! We’ll have fun table games, conversation-based games, and a dabbling of crafts. Come get caffeinated and snackerated with us at Z’otz Cafe! Don’t get FOMO: come hang with the homos!

Sober Soc: Weekly Planning Meetings

Join Sober Soc Sundays at 8pm in Discord Meeting Room #2 for our weekly planning meetings where we decide how this section will be shaped and where and when we will be having meetups. These events are explicitly alcohol- and drug-free, although we accept comrades at any point of their sober journey. We hope to see y’all there! Solidarity!

Solidarity Means Action Moves to Mondays

New Orleans DSA’s weekly newsletter will now be hitting inboxes every Monday morning. All members can contribute news, opinions, analysis, events, and more. Features must be 300 words of fewer, Bulletins are 100. All submissions can be made from the link in Discord. The deadline for final edits is Sunday night.

Community Calendar

Monday, July 27

Justice & Beyond Forum: New Orleans Under Attack—How Do We Fight Back
5:00 pm – 6:30 pm
Zoom

Immigration Advocacy Working Group
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Healing Center, 2372 St Claude Av #258 & Discord

Tuesday, July 28

Orleans Parish School Board Committee Meeting
10:00 am
OPSB Offices, 2401 Westbend Pkwy, Room 1050

Wednesday, July 29

Cohort 3 Session 2
5:30 pm – 6:45 pm
Healing Center, 2372 St Claude Av #258 & Discord – RSVP

Electoral Committee Co-Work & Talk
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm (every Wednesday)
Morning Call, 5101 Canal Blvd (cash only)

Thursday, July 30

DSA Happy Hour
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Anna’s, 2601 Royal St

Local Council Meeting
7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Meet

Friday, July 31

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Saturday, August 1

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Sunday, August 2

Coffee With Comrades
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Coffee Science, 410 S Broad St

Northshore Brake Light Clinic
11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Green Oaks Apothecary, 2238 First St, Slidell

Poli-Ed Committee Meeting
5:00 pm – 6:30 pm
Healing Center, 2372 St Claude Av #258 – Meet

Queer Soc Gayme Night
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Z’otz Cafe, 8210 Oak St #2042

Chapter Orientation
8:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Meet

Sober Socialists
8:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Discord

Down the Road

August 3 Northshore Reading Group
August 14 FemSoc Interest Meeting
August 15 Brake Light Clinic: AP Tureaud Park
August 16 Poli-Ed Reading Group: Settler Colonialism is the Disaster
August 22 New Orleans DSA General Meeting
September 6 Coffee With Comrades