What is YDS
The Young Democratic Socialists (YDS) is one of the country’s biggest multi-issue radical student and youth organizations. As the youth section of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)—the largest socialist organization in the U.S.—we have chapters on campuses and in communities nationwide. We work, often within coalitions of other like-minded organizations, on a wide variety of issues and have coordinated teach-ins, rallies, conferences, and conventions that have succeeded in reaching beyond the youth and student community. In addition, each year YDS holds a national conference with presentations by long-time DSA activists, occasionally with speeches/discussions by some of the most prominent members of DSA such as Barbara Ehrenreich and Cornel West, as well as many other nationally and internationally recognized progressives.
YDS helped introduce many student activists to the labor movement as well as other social, economic or political struggles, with many of the organization's alumni going on to work in labor organization, politics, education, journalism, community groups, and the non-profit sector. In the late 1990s YDS chapters, most notably at Ithaca College and the University of Arizona, became heavily involved in the national movement against the prison-industrial complex. Our chapters forced colleges to cancel their contracts with food service provider Sodexho Marriott because its parent company, Sodexho Alliance, owned stock in Corrections Corporation of America, a for-profit prison company. Also, we are especially proud of the significant contributions we made to the movements against apartheid in South Africa and in U.S. intervention in Central America
During the Bush era, YDS focused much of its national and local energy on fighting right-wing ideological, economic, social, and political assault. This entailed defending the labor movement and the social gains of the LGBTQ, racial justice, and women’s movements. Our chapters and members worked in working-class communities and on campuses in support of workers’ rights. While YDS values and contributes to all struggles against oppression, as socialists we raise the great unspoken issue of American politics—social class—and connect it to the various injustices in American life.
Starting in 2006, YDS experienced rapid growth in membership and chapters. A focus on state schools outside of the northeast and a narrowed Activist Agenda (national priorities) helped the organization diversify its base and solidify its work. Because of an increase in participation, YDS was given larger organizing roles in national events such as the Student Labor Week of Action, sponsored by Student Labor Action Project. We also played a modest, but important, role in providing a socialist voice in the immigrant rights movement. Today, solidarity with this struggle remains part of our Activist Agenda, especially around work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and Renegotiate NAFTA campaigns. This period also saw the revival of the YDS magazine, The Activist, in blog form and our newsletter, The Red Letter.
The election of Barack Obama brings unique opportunities and challenges for YDS. Despite absurd right wing claims that Obama is a socialist, his administration creates some breathing room for progressive social movements. The current economic crisis has also introduced “socialism” in a flawed, but unprecedented, way to many young people. At this time, a socialist voice among youth is more crucial than ever. From our work on higher education affordability to anti-imperialist activism against war, we shall continue to bring our democratic socialist perspective into coalitions and movements fighting for economic & social justice and human rights.
