Features

New Orleans DSA Voter Guide: May 16, 2026

In the wake of the US Supreme Court’s Callais decision gutting the Voting Rights Act, the country is on the precipice of a total reversal of the democratic gains made not only during the Civil Rights Movement, but even the last remnants of post-Confederate Reconstruction. Jeff Landry’s administration put Louisiana at the vanguard of that reaction against multiracial democracy by challenging Black Louisianans’ right to fair representation, and the Supreme Court obliged them. Landry celebrated the decision by cancelling elections for Congress in those new closed party primaries while they were already underway, an act as unprecedented as it is antidemocratic, pending new Congressional district maps from his toadies in the state legislature (and, perhaps, new district maps for state legislative offices and beyond) that will eliminate one or both of Louisiana’s majority-minority and Democratic-leaning Congressional districts. Tennessee has followed suit; Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama have announced their intentions to do so as well. This is the gift Landry has given the country: a crushing blow to American democracy, such as it existed.

So while the primaries for Congress will still be listed on your ballot (except for Democrats in District 1, where DSA member Lauren Jewett won the nomination unopposed), they will not count. The Senate primary elections still do, which is bound to confuse voters even more. That just might be the point, though. All this means Louisiana will get to enjoy one last Congressional jungle primary, for old time’s sake, in November, with runoffs, if necessary, in December.

Click through to read our full Voter Guide.

The Multi-Front War –Andy L

As The American Empire continues crumbling, it’s important to remember that the wars in Ukraine, West Asia, and the Sahel are not isolated conflicts but different fronts in the larger struggle against the capitalist world order of imperialism, neocolonialism, settler colonialism, unequal exchange, and denial of national sovereignty.

This fight continues into our backyard as we battle the tentacles of capitalism that commodify our very existence so that profit can be wrung out of it. The high cost of housing, medical care, food, education, and more keep us scrambling and precarious, barely able to manage tomorrow, much less worry about next year or figure out how to build a better world for all of us.

The battles abroad and the struggles at home may run on different timelines and use different resources, but they are part of this war that we are all in, whether we recognize it or not. It behooves us to remember the words of our good friend Mao: “Our cadres must show concern for every soldier, and all people in the revolutionary ranks must care for each other, must love and help each other.”

Our unhoused neighbors as well as the people feeding our unhoused neighbors are comrades. Even in situations where people seemingly locked in a struggle with each other can become comrades when they step back and realize that it’s Capitalist Bullshit™ that’s making them fight in the first place.

As organizers, it’s our job to get folks to see their common enemy, identify work that can be done together, and keep attention on the primary contradiction. Decades ago, Che spoke to the importance of our work: “I envy you. You North Americans are very lucky. You are fighting the most important fight of all – you live in the heart of the beast.”

Bulletins

Queer Soc: Game Night Tomorrow

Join DSA’s Queer Socialist Section for a game night Saturday, May 16th at 6pm in Suite #258 at the New Orleans Healing Center! We’ll have fun table games, conversation-based games, and a dabbling of crafts. It’ll also be a potluck, so be sure to bring your favorite food, snack, or drink! Avoid the FOMO: come hang with the homos! 🏳️‍🌈

Poli-Ed Reading Group: The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Please join us at the Healing Center #258, Sunday, May 17, to discuss The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates. The Poli-Ed Reading Group meets on the third Sunday of every month to chat about books, films, articles, and more. Come enjoy good times, good people, and good conversation.

Queer Soc: Queer Northshore Pride Parade

Hello to all fellow Queer Socialist Comrades! The New Orleans DSA’s Queer Socialist Section is set to walk in the Queer Northshore Pride Parade on May 30th! We will have ten to twenty people marching with us and we will be carrying a banner to celebrate our DSA chapter under the theme “We Rise Together”. We will be scheduling a banner build day soon and still have some spots open if anyone didn’t see this before and still wanted to join us on our march. Please contact either Artemis or Warren if you want to get involved and/or march!

Save the Date for Local Convention

June 27th, 12-5pm at First Grace UMC (3401 Canal St) will be our annual local convention. With the large growth in our chapter, this convocation of our members is a great way to meet members, hear political arguments, and engage in planning our next year of organizing. We’re hoping for our highest attendance in years, so please save the date and make plans to attend. Childcare will be provided.

Queer Soc: LGBTQ+ Map

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!

Marketplace for Cooperatives

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

Membership: Meet Comrades in Your Neighborhood Circle

We live in a very isolated, alienated society that feels so unnatural. That’s because it is! 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.

Write Like a Socialist: We Have a World to Win!

Have an update from your committee or working group? That’s a Bulletin! Want to tell us about an upcoming event? Add it to the Community Calendar! Got some opinion or analysis to share for the good of the membership? Write us a Feature! Make your contribution to the next edition of Solidarity Means Action from the link on Discord.

Community Calendar

Friday, May 15

Nola Freedom Forum: Stop Fueling Genocide
6:00 pm
John Thompson Legacy Center, 1212 St Bernard Av

Saturday, May 16

Queer Soc Game Night
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Healing Center, 2372 St Claude Av #258

Sunday, May 17

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

Poli-Ed Reading Group: The Message (Ta-Nehisi Coates)
5:00 pm – 6:30 pm
Healing Center, 2372 St Claude Av #258 – Meet

Monday, May 18

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

Tuesday, May 19

🌹 🌹 🌹

Wednesday, May 20

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

Thursday, May 21

Chapter Orientation
6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Meet

Friday, May 22

🌹 🌹 🌹

Saturday, May 23

New Orleans DSA General Meeting
12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Healing Center, 2372 St Claude Av #258

Sunday, May 24

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

Down the Road

May 30 Queer Northshore Pride Parade
June 7 Coffee With Comrades
June 21 Poli-Ed Reading Group: My Traitor’s Heart (Rian Malan)
June 27 New Orleans DSA Local Convention