Join the Social Housing Working Group for its biweekly organizing meeting. Learn about its latest activities, what they're planning for the future, and how to get involved.

The Social Housing Working Group seeks to educate Metro DC DSA chapter members and the general public about social housing and to facilitate collective action in support of the passage and implementation of the Green New Deal for Housing Amendment Act.

The legislation proposes to create mixed-income, district-owned housing with market rate units that subsidize a larger number of affordable units. It's a pioneering approach that deepens affordability, invests surplus funds into the creation of more social housing, and locks-in financial sustainability. The bill also includes climate and labor standards and elected tenant boards with oversight over building management.

This event is open to both DSA Members and supporters.

Don't miss the February meeting of the DC Guaranteed Income Coalition, which will center Black history and the ongoing struggle for Black Americans' economic freedom. In this context, our featured speaker, ONE DC member Dominic Moulden, will discuss the economic justice mission and framework of ONE DC's worker-centered initiatives.

Join us in-person Thursday, February 20th at 1pm at the Black Workers and Wellness Center, at 2500 Martin Luther King Jr Ave, SE! Our work is vital, as we live in consequential times with dangerous policies that pose existential threats to the economic status of all Americans and many across the globe.

Daunting though it is, we must continue this multigenerational fight. We must forge ahead with confidence, standing atop the shoulders of our ancestors. In 1967, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote “I am now convinced that the simplest approach will prove to be the most effective — the solution to poverty is to abolish it directly by a now widely discussed measure: the guaranteed income.”  See Where Do We Go From Here.

Dr. King called upon policymakers and the American people to support economic measures to alleviate widespread, racialized poverty. He did this during the 20th century American civil rights struggle, in concert with Black women activists like National Welfare Rights Organization leader Johnnie Tillmon pushed for the prioritization of poverty on the civil rights agenda.

Together with Ms. Tillmon, Dr. King and others laid the foundation for the movement upon which DC Guaranteed Income Coalition and allies stand. Ms. Tilllmon described our North Star in Ms. Magazine in 1972: "We put together our own welfare plan, called Guaranteed Adequate Income (G.A.I.), which would eliminate sexism from welfare. There would be no "categories” men, women, children, single, married, kids, no kids just poor people who need aid.“ 

The struggle for civil rights and economic liberation is an old one that has followed us into the twenty-first century. Movements for human needs now face unprecedented assaults. Bring your sorrows, your hope, and your determination to fight to our gathering. Let's fortify ourselves at the February 20th meeting, with a celebration of Black Americans' history of perseverance in the pursuit of racial and economic justice. With concerted effort, we can bend the arc of the moral universe back toward justice.

Email us at events@dcgicoalition.org to rsvp.

Join us for an enlightening author talk with Candacy Taylor as she discusses her New York Times Notable Book, Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America.

Join us for an insightful discussion about The Green Book and get the opportunity to ask Candacy a question. This program is supported by the DC Public Library Foundation and 50 copies of the book have been donated for attendees in need. Learn more about the author and the exhibit below.

For reasonable accommodations, please contact the Center for Accessibility at 202-727-2142 or DCPLaccess@dc.gov. For ASL or tactile interpretation, please allow at least seven (7) days notice.

This is the bi-weekly meeting of Metro DC DSA's Trans/Queer Liberation Campaign. RSVP to receive the Zoom link and join us to discuss ongoing efforts such as Project Sanctuary, our Gender & Name Change Clinics, and more!

Join the DC COLLAB for Street Law 101 Training as part of the Black Love in Action Week of Action.

Community organizations have long provided Know Your Rights trainings to empower and protect community members. Street Law 101 is a workshop designed to help participants understand what the law says about our so-called rights on paper—and how it actually plays out in the streets. This training breaks down legal rights, exposes the gaps between policy and practice, and equips people with the knowledge to navigate and resist state violence while building a strong community defense network.

This is hybrid event.

• Date: February 15, 2025

• Time: 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM

• Location: Black Workers and Wellness Center, 2500 MLK Jr. Ave SE, Washington, DC

Register: bit.ly/DCCollab_KYR

Remote attendance information provided after registration.

There will be free food, and children are welcome. Come through, get informed, and build community with us!

In this info session, we will make space to contend with the current political moment and give you a snapshot of the work Harriet’s Wildest Dreams is engaged in. Our liberation is tied to one another and we need each other to do this work to protect our people — Black people, formerly incarcerated folks, queer and trans communities, and all those at risk of state sanctioned violence.

Being in the nation's capital we are at the center of the empire and also a target for far right extremists. DC is NO ONE’s playground and we must remain vigilant in our fight for statehood, our fight against mass incarceration and the fight for gender liberation and bodily autonomy for all.

If you and your friends are interested in building a better world, free from patriarchal violence, a world where queer is in, then you've come to the right place! Come sit with us as we re-imagine what this world can be and reclaim safety for all of DC.

Who Are We:

We are a Black-led abolitionist community defense hub centering all Black lives most at risk for state-sanctioned violence in the Greater Washington area.

What we do:

Our work includes legal empowerment, political and civic education, mass protest, organizing campaigns, and community care that builds alternatives to oppressive systems.

If you are in need of ASL interpretation please let us know at least 48 hours in advance.

As apart of the Black Love In Action week, join the D.C. chapter of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement for a night of Black love, political education, letter writing, and collective action to free our beloved political prisoners and freedom fighters

Bring your comrades, friends, and lovers to enjoy some sweet treats, flowers, and Black love, and write messages of love and sweetness to support our incarcerated elders and freedom fighters

*Please wear a mask and stay home or attend virtually if you’re experiencing symptoms of sickness *

:: February 13th, 2025

:: 7 PM - 9 PM

:: Black Workers & Wellness Center 2500 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE, Washington, D.C. 20020

The virtual registration is bit.ly/BlackLove4PPs

What’s the call? #FreeEmAll”

Baldwin House is thrilled to receive love from members of the DC Chapter of Resource Generation who are organizing a bake sale to benefit Baldwin House. Place orders for boxes of love-themed cookies here!

Join the Repro Justice campaign as we meet to discuss our upcoming events, actions, and more. We will be going over our campaign, how you can get involved! RSVP for the zoom link.

Come help plan and coordinate Stomp Out Slumlords’ anti-eviction canvases on February 12, at 6:30pm. Our monthly canvases are a great way to introduce yourself to tenant organizing by learning how to knock doors and connect tenants with legal resources to fight against eviction. Tenants that we reach are more likely to show up to their eviction proceedings and more likely to win. Sign up to join our planning meeting to expand our work, find out more about canvasing and tenant organizing, and help steer the strategic direction of our longstanding anti-eviction program. We always need more volunteers so come and lend a hand!

At the meeting we'll be planning the next few canvases, soliciting volunteers to help with on-site coordination and administrative support, and discussing the future direction of our anti-eviction canvasing. Meeting will be at Shaw Library, Conference Room 1.

A conversation with Chad Sanders and Hannah Oliver Depp.

For Black History Month, join the Library and Loyalty bookstores for an in-person event with Chad Sanders and Hannah Oliver Depp for How to Sell Out by Chad Sanders. 

Copies of the book will be available for sale and signing. A limited number will be given away courtesy of the DC Public Library Foundation. 

ABOUT THE BOOK

A timely, vulnerable, and cutting-edge exploration of the pressures and pitfalls of writing while Black in America in this urgently needed addition to the national conversation of race, money, and art.

In the summer of 2020, when the nation was erupting in protest over the murder of George Floyd, Chad Sanders was quietly celebrating for selfish reasons. Why? After years of struggling to get his footing as a writer, he’d finally landed a New York Times op-ed. He wrote an essay about the hollow messages of concern he’d been receiving from white friends and colleagues. It went viral, and in the years that followed, he built a solid career as a creator—of books, podcasts, TV shows, and films—by mining his most painful experiences of being Black in America.

Black pain for white money. For Sanders, this was a lucrative trade. One he thought he could work for the rest of his life. But it didn’t take long for him to realize he, like so many other writers, was getting the short end of the stick.

In How to Sell Out, Sanders draws on his personal experiences to offer a wry, darkly comic look at the invisible realities of making a living as a Black writer who writes about race. He relays stories of his time in the tech business, his experiences in TV writers’ rooms, his childhood participation in Jack and Jill, his family and relationships, and the struggles of sharing his racial trauma in exchange for cash. Combining meditations on historical and current events and the intersection of race and class with short creative essays, Sanders sculpts a freewheeling arc that is as funny as it is moving and thought-provoking.

Workers' rights are under attack! From the Trump administration's threats against workers' right to organize, to corporate union busting, to the DC City Council's attempt to subvert the will of DC voters and roll back minimum wage protections. The Labor Working Group is a holding our monthly hybrid meeting to discuss these challenges and map out our plan of action to combat them.

You can find our agenda here. Zoom link will be sent after you sign up.

Mother’s Outreach Network can answer your questions! MON attorneys provide FREE brief advice on the federal Child Tax Credit, the DC EITC, the new local District Child Tax Credit pending for 2025 and more! In partnership with The Caregiver’s D.R.E.A.M @the_caregivers_dream, join us via Zoom on February 11th at 5pm for a workshop and 1-on-1 brief consultation advice. Register here: bit.ly/FebMONParentsandWorkersTaxClinic.

Join AFGE President Everett Kelley, Members of Congress, labor leaders, and coalition partners to rally in defense of the non-partisan, professional civil service.

"**Federal employees: Please attend on your lunch break or on leave.**

Why Abolition?

As prison abolitionists, we are fighting for a world where the response to social problems does not include prisons, policing, prosecution, or any form of surveillance, supervision, or incarceration.

These systems of punishment rely on, reinforce, and perpetuate structures of oppression; white supremacy, patriarchy, capitalism, xenophobia, ableism, and heterosexism. We aim to undermine and abolish these systems, not reform them.

Claudia Jones Schools presents: No Pride in Genocide Film Screening

Come join us for a thought-provoking film screening at the Dorothy I Height/Benning Neighborhood Library. This event aims to shed light on pinkwashing to distract from the realities of genocide. Let's come together to learn, reflect, and discuss this crucial topic. Don't miss out on this opportunity to engage with the community and expand your knowledge.

Childcare available! Please reach out if you have little ones to bring along.

Join us for The Public Square with Dr. Sherri Williams & Dr. Meredith Clark on how the digital labor of African Americans has shaped movements, media, and politics.

How the Digital Labor of African Americans has shaped Movements, Media, and Politics will take place at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. Attendees will have the opportunity to dive into the conversation during the Q&A following the discussion.

The Public Square is one of DC Public Library's signature speaker series, presented in partnership with the DC Public Library Foundation.

Public Squares, like public libraries, are "third places" in our communities. They are social spaces that help us cultivate our sense of belonging outside of our first place, our homes and our second place, our workplace. They are spaces that foster good conversation and connection, where we can both learn from others and share our own knowledge. 

Through moderated discussions, The Public Square series realizes this idea of libraries as a third place by connecting leaders and innovators with the public to talk about the next phase of their work or scholarship. 

Registration for this year's Co-op Academy Leaders cohort will take place in person at our 2025 Leaders Cohort Orientation Breakfast. If you are interested in learning more or registering for this year's cohort, sign up to attend our orientation breakfast by February 3rd. See orientation details below.

Co-op Academy 2025 Leaders Cohort Orientation Breakfast

Topic: Co-op Academy 2025 Overview & DC's Cooperative Legacy

Date: February 8, 2025

Time: 10:00 am - 11:30 am

Location: 3232 Georgia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20010

Seats are limited so reserve your spot today!

Join the Social Housing Working Group for its biweekly organizing meeting. Learn about its latest activities, what they're planning for the future, and how to get involved.

The Social Housing Working Group seeks to educate Metro DC DSA chapter members and the general public about social housing and to facilitate collective action in support of the passage and implementation of the Green New Deal for Housing Amendment Act.

The legislation proposes to create mixed-income, district-owned housing with market rate units that subsidize a larger number of affordable units. It's a pioneering approach that deepens affordability, invests surplus funds into the creation of more social housing, and locks-in financial sustainability. The bill also includes climate and labor standards and elected tenant boards with oversight over building management.

This event is open to both DSA Members and supporters.

Join the Social Housing Working Group for its biweekly organizing meeting. Learn about its latest activities, what they're planning for the future, and how to get involved.

The Social Housing Working Group seeks to educate Metro DC DSA chapter members and the general public about social housing and to facilitate collective action in support of the passage and implementation of the Green New Deal for Housing Amendment Act.

The legislation proposes to create mixed-income, district-owned housing with market rate units that subsidize a larger number of affordable units. It's a pioneering approach that deepens affordability, invests surplus funds into the creation of more social housing, and locks-in financial sustainability. The bill also includes climate and labor standards and elected tenant boards with oversight over building management.

This event is open to both DSA Members and supporters.

Join the Repro Justice campaign as we meet to discuss our upcoming events, actions, and more. We will be going over our campaign, how you can get involved! RSVP for the zoom link.

This is the bi-weekly meeting of Metro DC DSA's Trans/Queer Liberation Campaign. RSVP to receive the Zoom link and join us to discuss ongoing efforts such as Project Sanctuary, our Gender & Name Change Clinics, and more!

Saturday, February 1 from 3:30-5:30 PM @ Metropolitan Community Church, 474 Ridge St NW | Doors open at 3:00PM

Join us for an unveiling of "Little Chinatown, Big Ideas": a community vision for the future of Chinatown, informed by the voices of DC Chinatown’s working class, long-term residents. Presented by Save Chinatown Solidarity Network (SCSN) and co-sponsored by key community organizations, this event will include the following: 

• Teach-in on “Little Chinatown, Big Ideas” platform by resident speakers & co-sponsoring organizations: Hear from Chinatown residents and community organizations on the issues that matter most.  

• Breakout activities & Art Build: Learn more about our active projects and ways to support, and stop at our Art Build station to make some art for the new year!

Light refreshments and interpretation into Mandarin and Cantonese will be provided. Register today if you're interested in attending and participating in this important conversation. Your voice matters!

If you have any questions, please contact us at admin@savechinatowndc.org. 

--

2025年2月1日，星期六 | 下午3:30 - 5:30
地点：Metropolitan Community Church-- 474 Ridge St NW, Washington, DC 20001

欢迎来参加我们的介绍「小唐人街，大计画」：由华盛顿唐人街长期居民做的--唐人街社区未来的远见。
主办单位是 “拯救唐人街团结团体”（Save Chinatown Solidarity Network）和主要赞助社区的组织们。这个活动会包括：

• 解说「小唐人街，大计画」由居民和赞助组织们代表说明：听唐人街居民和社区组织最重要的议题

• 小组讨论和艺术活动：了解更多我们目前的计画以及如何支持我们，来参加我们的新年艺术活动！

活动会提供小吃、普通话和广东话翻译。有兴趣参加这个重要讨论活动的人请尽快报名。您的意见对这个计画很重要！

若有疑问，请联系admin@savechinatowndc.org.

The MLK Black Studies Book Club meets every first Saturday of the month to explore, engage, and discuss books from and relating to the Black radical tradition.

We will be reading classics from authors such as Martin Luther King JR., Malcolm X, WEB Dubois, James Baldwin, Audrey Lorde, as well as lesser known and contemporary works. Our scope will not be limited to the U.S. but will encompass an array of authors across the African diaspora and will challenge our conceptions of what Blackness is and what constitutes Black struggle as a whole. Please email MLK Library's Adult Services department at adultservices.dcpl@dc.gov to inquire about meetings and to be placed on the listserv. 

Courtwatch DC is a growing DC-based program that provides the space and training for the community to observe local court proceedings in the District of Columbia and document our city’s policies in action and to hold judicial actors accountable for injustice in the court system.

Courtwatch DC is powered by Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, with support from the ACLU-DC, DC Justice Lab, and DC IWOC and was founded and led by formerly incarcerated Black women.

Courtwatching is a form of mutual aid. Inspired by Courtwatch PG, we strive to ensure that our community of Courtwatchers is multigenerational, multiracial, anti-racist, and moving towards an abolitionist future.

A conversation with Imani Perry and Clint Smith for Perry's new book Black in Blues.

Join the Library and Loyalty Bookstores  for an in-person event with Imani Perry and Clint Smith for Black in Blues! This event will take place at DCPL's MLK Library, on the 1st floor.

This event is free to attend, but registration is required—please stay tuned for the registration link. Books will be available for sale and signing at the event.

ABOUT THE BOOK

A surprising and beautiful meditation on the color blue—and its fascinating role in Black history and culture—from National Book Award winner Imani Perry

Throughout history, the concept of Blackness has been remarkably intertwined with another color: blue. In daily life, it is evoked in countless ways. Blue skies and blue water offer hope for that which lies beyond the current conditions. But blue is also the color of deep melancholy and heartache, echoing Louis Armstrong’s question, “What did I do to be so Black and blue?” In this book, celebrated author Imani Perry uses the world’s favorite color as a springboard for a riveting emotional, cultural, and spiritual journey—an examination of race and Blackness that transcends politics or ideology.

Perry traces both blue and Blackness from their earliest roots to their many embodiments of contemporary culture, drawing deeply from her own life as well as art and history: The dyed indigo cloths of West Africa that were traded for human life in the 16th century. The mixture of awe and aversion in the old-fashioned characterization of dark-skinned people as “Blue Black.” The fundamentally American art form of blues music, sitting at the crossroads of pain and pleasure. The blue flowers Perry plants to honor a loved one gone too soon.

Poignant, spellbinding, and utterly original, Black in Blues is a brilliant new work that could only have come from the mind of one of our greatest writers and thinkers. Attuned to the harrowing and the sublime aspects of the human experience, it is every bit as vivid, rich, and striking as blue itself.

Join us for a celebration of the legendary James Baldwin at a special edition of LIT Lounge Live at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library.

Hosted by Publisher and Television Host Mocha Ochoa, this program will feature an in-depth conversation with acclaimed author, filmmaker, educator, and professor MK Asante. Together, they will delve into Baldwin's enduring legacy, his profound impact on literature and activism, and how his work inspires new generations of writers and thinkers. Asante's book Nephew: A Memoir in 4 Part Harmony is a nod to Baldwin, whose The Fire Next Time was written as a letter to his nephew.     

Program Highlights

• Exploration of Baldwin's Life and Work: Professor MK Asante and Mocha Ochoa will discuss Baldwin's most influential works, including The Fire Next Time. They will explore the roots of racism and the possibility of change through Baldwin's passionately argued essays on religion, justice, and the Black experience in America. 

• MK Asante's Perspective: As an author whose work often echoes the themes Baldwin championed, MK will share his connection to Baldwin's writings and how Baldwin has influenced his creative journey, particularly in Nephew: A Memoir in 4 Part Harmony. 

• Interactive Audience Q&A: Be an active part of the conversation! Viewers can participate in a live Q&A session, asking MK Asante and Mocha Ochoa their burning questions about Baldwin's legacy and its relevance today. This is your chance to engage with the speakers and contribute to the discussion. 

As a major contributor to the global climate crisis, Chevron has devastated indigenous communities throughout the world. This year the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement has called for an escalation in consumer boycott and divestment campaigns against Chevron for its role in the genocide of the Palestinian people.

Chevron operates the two largest natural gas fields in Israel, and has announced plans to invest another $429 million in the Leviathan gas field. By bringing Israel billions of dollars in investment, Chevron fuels the occupation of Palestine and denies Palestinian people sovereignty over their natural resources. Campaigns around the country have arisen to mobilize people of conscience against this polluting ally of Zionist colonialism, including here in the Metro DC area.

Come to the “Stop Fueling Genocide” Socialist Night School and campaign launch to learn more about the BDS campaign targeting Chevron, as well as Chevron’s pattern of environmental destruction throughout the Global South. Hear from our speakers on BDS campaigns from the past and present in a conversational setting, and learn how to plug into DMV area Palestine solidarity organizing.

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This hybrid event is open to both DSA Members and supporters. The in-person event will be at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. Those who wish to attend virtually can RSVP and will be provided with a Zoom registration link on the next page, under "Instructions From Your Host."

Join us for a night of mutual aid as we pack 1,000 Care Kits to distribute across DC with EC4DC. 100% of the proceeds from the tickets (minus tax) will be donated half to DC's Abortion Fund (DCAF), and half to the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA). Each care kit contains a dose of Plan B, condoms, our zines, and pregnancy tests. After our care kit packing party, we will have a DJ set from 8-10pm to finish off our night with DJ B1te Back! Come see why there ain’t no party like a mutual aid party!

Additionally, As You Are. DC will be creating a special cocktail for the event, the proceeds of which will be donated to DCAF and MECA!

Hosted by the Bodily Autonomy Working Group of Metro DC DSA. If you’re unable to purchase a ticket for any reason and would like to attend, please reach out to us at bawg@mdcdsa.org and we will waive your ticket fee and add you to the list.

Check out our linktree to learn more about us or get invovled! linktr.ee/bawg_mdcdsa

If you have any questions, please reach out at bawg@mdcdsa.org