Hey comrades,
We're excited to announce that, starting this month, our chapter meetings will take place the second Tuesday of every month, in person at the UNO Community Center in North Adams and on Zoom. (As always, the Zoom link will be shared when you RSVP.)
At this month's meeting -- Tuesday, February 10, 6:30pm-8pm -- in addition to chapter updates, we'll discuss what the Berkshires can learn from the fight against ICE in Minnesota, what it takes to organize an effective general strike, and how you can help create the conditions that make one possible. (A preview: Get involved with the chapter's renewed mutual aid efforts, ICE Legal Observer training, and support for the labor movement!)
There are also a handful of other chapter and community events coming up, including a free screening of the film Matewan, the Western Mass Zine Fest, and a leftist cooperative board game night.
Coming together for these meetings and events strengthens our community: the foundation for effective, organized resistance. Our ability to fight back is only as strong as the bonds we form with each other. Join us.
In solidarity,
Maro, Kevin, Heidi, Victor, and Brad
Berkshires DSA Steering Committee
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February 2026 General Chapter Meeting (Hybrid)
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Tuesday, February 10
Doors open at 6:15pm
Meeting: 6:30-8pm
UNO Community Center
157 River St, North Adams, MA
RSVP here (Zoom link with RSVP)
This month, in addition to chapter updates, we'll discuss what the Berkshires can learn from the fight against ICE in Minnesota, what it takes to organize an effective general strike, and how you can help create the conditions that make one possible. Get involved with the chapter's renewed mutual aid efforts, ICE Legal Observer training, and support for the labor movement!
Here's the agenda.
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Community Event: Matewan Film Screening
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Wednesday, February 11, 5:30pm
North Adams Public Library
74 Church St, North Adams, MA
RSVP here
Join the Western Mass Area Labor Federation and the North Adams Public Library for a free screening of John Sayles' classic 1987 film Matewan.
From the Criterion Collection: Written and directed by John Sayles, this wrenching historical drama recounts the true story of a West Virginia coal town where the local miners’ struggle to form a union rose to the pitch of all-out war in 1920. When Matewan’s miners go on strike, organizer Joe Kenehan (Chris Cooper, in his film debut) arrives to help them, uniting workers white and black, Appalachia-born and immigrant, while urging patience in the face of the coal company’s violent provocations. With a crackerjack ensemble cast—including James Earl Jones, David Strathairn, Mary McDonnell, and Will Oldham—and Oscar-nominated cinematography by Haskell Wexler, Matewan taps into a rich vein of Americana with painstaking attention to local texture, issuing an impassioned cry for justice that still resounds today.
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Community Event: John Sayles Author Talk: Crucible
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Wednesday, February 18, 6pm
North Adams Public Library
74 Church St, North Adams, MA
Independent filmmaker, screenwriter, actor, and novelist John Sayles will be at the North Adams Public Library to discuss his new historical novel, Crucible, about Henry Ford's empire in Detroit during the 1920s-1940s, featuring labor disputes, racial tensions, and a failed Amazon rubber plantation.
The "simple and potent" message of the book, described by Kirkus: "Unchecked corporate power is a path to the mistreatment of humans, but people have the capacity, together, to win back their dignity."
Learn more in The Berkshire Eagle.
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BDSA at the Western Mass Zine Fest
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Saturday, March 7, 10am-2pm
MCLA's MOSAIC Gallery
51 Main St, North Adams, MA
We're excited to be tabling at the Western Mass Zine Fest. Stop by our table for radical zines about socialism, labor organizing, political education, and other issues that are important to our members. We'd also love to feature member-made zines! Email [email protected] to get involved.
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Leftist Cooperative Board Game Night
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Wednesday, March 18, 7pm-9:30pm
Steeple City Social
5 Eagle St, North Adams, MA
RSVP here
Join us for an evening of leftist cooperative board games! We’ll be playing “Strike” and “Space Cats Fight Fascists” (both created by the Northampton, MA-based co-op TESA Collective) and discussing real-life labor organizing lessons.
Come hang out and get to know your comrades better.
All experience levels welcome.
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Are you a DSA member with an action or event to share? Email [email protected] to be considered for inclusion in the newsletter.
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Looking for a low-lift way to support the chapter? Join our flyering team! We needs help putting up flyers around the county to spread the word about our work. Email [email protected] for details.
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