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Join DSA | Verify | Local Dues | Merch |
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October 31, 2025 |
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Features |
Early Voting Resumes Tomorrow for Runoff ElectionsEarly voting starts tomorrow for the November 15 runoff election. In Orleans Parish, that means between 8:30 am - 6:00 pm, from November 1-8 (except Sunday), you can go to any of these locations:
New Orleans DSA Recommends Calvin Duncan for Clerk of Criminal District CourtCalvin Duncan was one of the principal architects of the legal strategy to overturn Louisiana’s system of non-unanimous juries, a success achieved at the US Supreme Court in 2020. Wrongfully arrested at 19 for murder, Duncan was sentenced to die at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. Refusing to give in to the crushing weight of Louisiana’s criminal legal system, Duncan became a jailhouse lawyer and helped other incarcerated men research their cases, file appeals, and overturn their convictions. Duncan tried challenging his own case, but could not get access to police reports, witness statements, and other records. When he finally got Innocence Project New Orleans to take his case, those records showed that prosecutors had hidden evidence that proved his innocence. After 28 years wrongfully imprisoned at Angola, Duncan co-founded The First 72+ re-entry program, graduated from Tulane, and earned a law degree. He’s now a research associate at Loyola’s Jesuit Social Research Institute, pushing for criminal justice reform. People wonder why the clerk of court is an elected position, and justifiably so. Duncan knows what it means if the clerk of court doesn’t preserve court records and doesn’t give people access to them: human beings, like Duncan himself, languish in prison without a chance to challenge the evidence against them. He is endorsed by VOTE.
New Orleans DSA Recommends AGAINST Holly Friedman for City Council District AEnabling the genocide in Palestine is a red line for DSA. Holly Friedman’s leadership role in the local Anti-Defamation League, which has pushed articles critical of local student demonstrations for Palestine, and her employment at the District Attorney’s office that brought absurd charges against these student protestors—charges that were ultimately tossed out—are major strikes against her. Overpolicing and surveillance ties our city directly to the Israeli surveillance state and its active colonization of Palestinian lands and its genocide of Palestinian people. Her role at the District Attorney’s office supporting the city’s surveillance apparatus, along with City Council’s history of using New Orleanians as test subjects for unverified and unvalidated software, is a dangerous combination for the future of progressive organizing and free speech. Friedman worked in Joe Giarusso’s camp as campaign manager and director of constituent services. On policy, you should expect her to adopt much of the current status quo.
Join the Movement. Join DSA Today! -Bob M, Membership ChairIf you are reading this, you may consider yourself to be a part of the movement for social change, whether that’s anti-racism, abolition, trans rights, liberation of Palestine, and more. Is a buoy a part of the ocean, floating freely on the whims of the ocean current? Or are the water molecules, all in concert as waves cresting around the untethered, what constitute the movement? Our local chapter unanimously passed a membership Fall Drive through November 22nd to grow our numbers (almost 400 dues-paying members in good standing!), re-engage our current and lapsed members, and strengthen the fight against fascism with dedicated and passionate socialists! Make it official and join us today. DSA has exceeded its highest membership numbers ever. We have a better world to win, why wait? To be organized is to tie yourself to something larger than yourself, not just as a follower on social media or recurring donor, but to be an agent of change. In DSA, we are member-driven and member-run. When you pay monthly dues, you are funding a national organization that answers to its members, not to wealthy benefactors or monied interests. Members in good standing vote and introduce change in our local chapter and lead efforts in our community. Not sure if you’re already a member in good standing? Check out your status using your email address. You may need to create a login if you haven’t done so on the national forum. You can also reach me at [email protected] if you have questions or want to get involved with our Fall Drive. I leave you with a reminder from Karl Marx’s eleventh thesis: “Philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point, however, is to change it.”
The Police Are Not Here To Protect YouImagine a rectangular bread pan, half-filled with water. As it sits there, the water is all at one level. If you wanted all of the water on one side of the pan, with no water on the other, you could tip the pan to one side or take a rectangular piece of plastic and push the water over. The common factor here is the use of force. For most of human history, the world was in a state of scarcity. However, the technological advances that came out of WWII moved humanity into a world of abundance. We no longer have a production problem, we have a distribution problem. Which brings us back to our bread pan. Similar to the water, resources that should be flowing evenly through our society are abundant in some places and non-existent in others. The force that holds our society in this state is police violence. In 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that the cops aren’t actually obligated to help you (Castle Rock v. Gonzales). The police aren’t there to help you, they are there to be used against you in the enforcement of private property rights. From slave patrols literally capturing and returning people as property, to Tulane’s use of state troopers and an armored vehicle against students protesting against Palestinian genocide: the police value property over humanity. This is why the abolition of private property is fundamental to the socialist project. Owners of the factories, rental properties and banks that exploit us as workers direct a sliver of those profits to big burly people who make sure that the rest of the profits stay with the wealthy, leaving the rest of us to fight for scraps.
Red Rabbits Reminder: Chemical Attack TipsDid you hear about ICE tear gassing a children's Halloween parade in Chicago last weekend? Similar to how a significant portion of violence against women comes from their intimate partners, the perpetrators of a domestic chemical attack are more likely to be ICE agents or cops than ISIS or al-Qaeda. So, let’s talk about chemical agents: tear gas and mace. Tear gas is dispersed from a canister that is fired into a crowd. The canister is extremely hot, so if you touch it without gloves on, you will burn your hands. Treat tear gas with water—A LOT of water. Do a quick flush of the eyes, get the victim up and away from the gas, then go back to flushing the eyes once you’re in a safer spot. Don’t use milk—only water or saline. You’ll be in pain for a few minutes, but once you start flushing the tear gas out of your eyes, the pain will subside. Mace is a different affair. Sprayed out of a pressurized can, it will come from someone right up on you. It will debilitate you for at least 20-30 minutes AFTER you get treatment. Sudecon wipes (available online) are the best thing to use. Gently wipe the chemical AWAY from the eyes, then flush the area with tons of water and mild soap. Like find a water hose (no nozzle!) and gently flood the face for a long time. Leave your contacts at home and wear your glasses instead. If someone wearing contacts can fight through the pain to get them out, they’ll prevent worse damage to their eyes. When helping someone, get consent and keep talking to them, telling them what you’re doing and where you’re moving them. We are all we have. We are all we need. |
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Bulletins |
Sign the Petition to Say No to Angola’s Camp J for ICE DetentionGovernor Landry re-opened the Camp J area of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola as an ICE detention center. Known as "the dungeon," Camp J is a site so brutal and inhumane that it was shut down due to its deplorable conditions. This is part of Landry and Trump’s broader, deeply racist, and anti-immigrant agenda. They want to further criminalize, cage, and dehumanize Black, Brown, and immigrant communities in order to enrich their donors and hold on to power. Sign the petition to shut it down at bit.ly/NO-ANGOLA.
Fork & Knife Club Returns Next WeekJoin us Saturday, November 8th, at 11:00 am for the bimonthly Fork & Knife Club at the Healing Center, 2372 St. Claude #258. Last month we had 23 volunteers donate over 157 meals and stock 6 community fridges. Not a master chef? No problem! Volunteer to package meals to drop off at local community fridges. Can’t make it to the event and still want to donate food? We will come to you and pick up any donated meals or snacks! Sign up here to donate, package, or drop off meals.
Get Chevron Out of FQFDSA and others are launching a campaign to kick Chevron Out of French Quarter Fest in April 2026. Chevron is the title sponsor for the event, where they will have stages covered with their branding, despite being antithetical to the stated purpose of French Quarter Fest. If you would like to learn more about Chevron and why they oppose the interests of New Orleanians, make sure to check out the campaign website at https://www.chevronout.org/ (which is also where you can sign the petition). We will be meeting at the New Orleans Healing Center for our first Teach In event on November 18th at 6pm. Make sure to come out and learn from expert speakers about Chevron's impact directly. We'll also have stickers! If you would like to sign the petition and be added to our mailing list for this event and further organizing, sign up here.
Sign Up for Neighborhood CirclesWe’re making neighborhood circles to connect people where they live, work, and anywhere else they spend time. Use your circle to host gatherings, plan events, and organize around issues in your neighborhood. If you're interested in joining our newly formed neighborhood circles, opt in here. Neighborhood circles will follow the chapter's code of conduct and guidelines for respectful discussion.
2025 DSA Membership SurveyMembers in good standing are encouraged to fill out our quick 2025 Membership Survey for us to get a better sense of who our membership is overall and to guide our actions as a chapter.
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. |
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Community Calendar |
Friday, October 31Queer Soc Planning Meeting Critical Mass Community Bike Ride: Halloween
Saturday, November 1Early Voting No Troops, No Trump
Sunday, November 2Coffee with Comrades Poli-Ed Planning Meeting Chapter Orientation
Monday, November 3Early Voting NOSHIP IDF Off Campus
Tuesday, November 4Early Voting
Wednesday, November 5Early Voting Stop the Grain Train Weekly Meeting
Thursday, November 6Early Voting Stand Up for Palestine: A Stand-Up Comedy Showcase
Friday, November 7Early Voting DSA Neighborhood Social
Saturday, November 8Early Voting Fork & Knife Club
Down the RoadNovember 11 Direct Service & Health Justice Meeting |
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Solidarity Means Action is the weekly newsletter of the New Orleans Democratic Socialists of America. Subscribe for updates every Friday at 8:00 am Central. |
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