Features

Preview of March 21 General Membership Meeting –Brodie L

Dear Comrades: Our March GM is at a new place and time, 1:00 pm at St. Luke’s United Methodist. We will dedicate it to practicing how to represent ourselves and support our comrades at marches and rallies. Whether you’re an old hat or new to the organization, there’s much to learn. We are organizing several Breakout Groups for important skills for developing worker solidarity and recruiting more comrades-in-waiting for the struggle for our future.

In the first group, Red Rabbits will demystify the process of keeping rally attendees safe. We will stage a mini rally simulation so everyone gets to practice and be comfortable in it. Marshalling is one of the most important skills a member can learn; we consistently provide a large number of marshals to events. Another group, Comms and Content, will learn about the techniques for grabbing excellent interviews and speeches so that they can be shared across our social media. Another group will focus on the outreach side of a march: how to develop talking points and staying on message to show how socialism is the step forward our communities need. So many people are open to our message, and sometimes all it takes is the right sentiment to make them a card-carrying socialist. Last, but not least, we’ll have an Art Build group! We’ll make signs for the upcoming No Kings 3. For those of us who may not be able to attend marches or rallies for whatever reason, making signs and flyers or pamphlets is absolutely essential. Everyone has a role to play in the Revolution! Come practice yours in a positive and supportive environment! Don’t forget to RSVP to GM on the 21st!

Marketplace for Cooperatives –Aaron J

DSA members are starting a new tech worker cooperative, and one of our first projects is a marketplace where people can shop online at coops! This is socialism in action, as it supports businesses where workers own the means of production, rather than profiteering shareholders. Read more about the reasons why in our Manifesto.

Sign up for updates on how the marketplace is coming along and share with everyone you know who is interested in supporting worker-owned cooperatives! Visit us at https://solidarityecono.my

Chop Wood, Carry Water –Andy L

As Operation Epstein Fury approaches its third week, destruction on both sides continues. No matter how this conflict ends, dominoes have begun to fall, and the world will look very different soon. The American Empire is lashing out in a burst of anger, then will continue to fade into history. It’s certainly not the last eruption, but will most likely be the strongest. The $11 billion worth of weapons spent in the opening few days will take years to replace. We make a couple of Patriot missiles a day and two THAAD missiles and Tomahawks each per week. Fewer people believe the lies from the White House, and many are disgusted by our war crimes that started the conflict–things like double-tapping a girls’ school, or launching the attack while there were dozens of commercial airliners in the area (the Iranian air defense delayed their initial response so that those planes could clear the area).

This is going to be long and messy, but just like Vietnam and Iraq and Afghanistan, we’re going to have to walk through it day-by-day as it unfolds. While that happens, plenty of work remains for us to do. The next state legislative session is approaching, with all kinds of tomfuckery expected out of Baton Rouge. We still have hungry and unhoused neighbors, and masked goons still abduct our coworkers.

Our good friend Tony Benn reminds us: “There is no final victory, as there is no final defeat. There is just the same battle. To be fought, over and over again. So toughen up, bloody toughen up.” Each day, try to read some theory and do a little praxis. Help someone else, and do something for yourself as well, even if it’s as simple as calling to check on a friend.

Bulletins

Inter-Organizational Solidarity with Direct Service and Health Justice

Join us Sunday, March 15th, 11:30 am, at the Healing Center for Fork & Knife Club. We’ll plate and distribute food to food pantries and community fridges across the city. We will also be collecting canned food for a drive to deliver to Broadmoor Community Church, so please bring your cans! We are always in need of chefs willing to prepare large batches of food for these events. If this interests you, message us in our Discord channel. Volunteer here.

Capitalist Realism at Our March 15 Poli-Ed Committee Meeting

We will read and discuss Mark Fisher’s Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? (2009). Clocking in at about 90 pages, it is a readable and relevant booklet describing “the widespread sense that not only is capitalism the only viable political and economic system, but also that it is now impossible even to imagine a coherent alternative to it.” Please join us at the Healing Center, Room 258, on the 15th to discuss this important and influential text and how we can apply Fisher’s observations to the work of New Orleans DSA.

Update from Chevron Out of French Quarter Fest

We have won our demand! After first dropping Chevron from the title sponsorship, the coalition received word that starting in 2027, the festival will no longer be sponsored by Chevron at all. Take action now to thank French Quarter Fest for dropping Chevron and pressure the remaining targets to follow suit!

Queer Socialists Map Release

New Orleans DSA’s Queer Socialists Section has released its map of pro- and anti- LGBTQ+ businesses in the greater New Orleans Area! This map is an ongoing project which requires community support! If you know of a business that is pro- or anti-LGBTQ+, or if you are the owner of a business, please submit information to Queer Soc’s tip-line!

Demand a Withdrawal of the $740,000 FQMD & NOPD Drone Proposal

NOPD and the French Quarter Management District are proposing a dangerous $740,000 Drones as First Responder program that would launch camera-equipped drones to many 911 calls across the French Quarter. The Drones as First Responder program represents a major expansion of an aerial surveillance system built for constant use.

Police drones are a dangerous investment. A budget deficit has caused hundreds of furloughs, cuts to youth and family programs, and whole city offices to shut down. We cannot afford this expensive, long‑term aerial surveillance system. Tell the FQMD, City Council, and Mayor Moreno: NO POLICE DRONES IN OUR CITY!

Not One Dime at Starbucks

Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) baristas continue their nationwide strike against unfair labor practices. That strike includes our local unionized Starbucks in River Ridge. Please support our striking baristas here and across the country by boycotting Starbucks donating to the workers’ solidarity fund. Baristas have been fighting for over two years for a fair contract. As participants in a wage market system, every worker has a stake in seeing the SBWU fight to the end.

Meet Comrades in Your Neighborhood Circle

Organizing is about trust, and trust gets built by showing up again and again and getting to know your neighbors. Neighborhood circles are how we connect with comrades where we live, work, or otherwise spend our time. We’re using them to host gatherings, plan events, and organize around issues in our neighborhoods. Click here to join yours today! Neighborhood circles are for members only and follow the chapter’s code of conduct and guidelines for respectful discussion.

Community Calendar

Friday, March 13

Bywater-Lower 9 Neighborhood Social
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Parleaux Beer Lab, 634 Lesseps St

Saturday, March 14

🌹 🌹 🌹

Sunday, March 15

Fork & Knife Club
11:30 am – 2:00 pm
Healing Center, 2372 St Claude Av #204 – Sign Up

No US War on Iran
2:00 pm
Jackson Freedom Square, 701 Decatur St

Poli-Ed Reading Group: Capitalist Realism (Mark Fisher)
5:00 pm – 6:30 pm (third Sunday)
Healing Center, 2372 St Claude Av #258 – Meet

Monday, March 16

NOHHARRM General Meeting
6:00 pm
LHA Outdoor Space, 623 N Rendon St

Tuesday, March 17

🌹 🌹 🌹

Wednesday, March 18

Queer Soc Meeting
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Meet

Thursday, March 19

Uptown Neighborhood Social
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Miel Brewery & Taproom, 405 Sixth St

Friday, March 20

🌹 🌹 🌹

Saturday, March 21

New Orleans DSA General Meeting
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
St Luke’s United Methodist Church, 5875 Canal Blvd – RSVP

Sunday, March 22

Northshore Neighborhood Social
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Roots Plants + Coffee, 124 Erlanger Ave Suite B, Slidell

Municipal Action Committee Meeting
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Healing Center, 2372 St Claude Av #258 – Meet

Comms Meeting
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Healing Center, 2372 St Claude Av #258 – Meet

Down the Road

March 28 Cohort Graduation & Chapter Social
March 28 No Kings
April 5 Coffee With Comrades
April 7 Northshore Reading Group: The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte (Karl Marx)
April 8 Comedy Fundraiser
April 19 Poli-Ed Reading Group: Socialism and Man in Cuba (Che Guevara)
June 27 New Orleans DSA Local Convention