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THE LATEST
Paul Collins, former YDS Anti-Racist Coordinator, debates Socialist Alternative in Boston on whether Socialists should support progressive Democrats. View the video on YouTube here.
The 2007 Socialist Summer School was a great success. Detailed report in the next few days.
(Picture Above: Sunday group photo from 2007 Socialist Summer School)
Congratulations to the Young Democratic Socialists and our local activists for a great year. Check out a brief recap of a year's work:
YDS Year in Review: Click on Links for Full Reports
In November, we organized with a democratic socialist perspective in local elections and ballot issues;
In January, we came together from all across the country to rally with United for Peace and Justice in Washington, DC. At the demonstration we reminded the new Congress that they were elected primarily on the anti-war vote;
In February, hundreds joined together for our annual outreach conference, "Justice Beyond Borders," in New York City;
In March, we coordinated peace actions with the National Youth and Student Peace Coalition for the 4th anniversary of the Iraq War;
In April, our chapters and organizing committees held labor justice-themed events to celebrate the legacies of Cesar Chavez and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for the Student Labor Week of Action. In Chicago, we came together to celebrate the Coalition of the Immokalee Workers' victory over McDonalds;
In May, we continued our National Immigrant Rights Project by joining May Day rallies.
In June, we joined thousands of activists and movement builders at the United States Social Forum in Atlanta.
Now, for our members and friends, we now give you a preview of our new Blog: The Activist;
New York City Young Democratic Socialists & Stuyvesant HS YDS at May Day 2007.
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YDS Winter-to-Spring Organizing Drive
If you are involved in a YDS chapter or organizing committee, please draft an overview of how your group is doing, what you've accomplished, any problems you might have run into, what you hope to do the rest of the semester, and how national YDS can support your efforts. Contact the YDS National Organizer (david@dsausa.org) if you are interested in starting a new YDS group at your high school, college, university or community.
As always, please contact our national office if you would like us to mail you or your group organizing materials in the mail or as email attachments (YDS chapter guides, buttons, literature, stickers, sample meeting fliers etc.). These are very useful when setting up a table at important events like your campus activities fair.
Contact us for help organizing teach-ins, trainings, or visits from YDS organizers to strengthen existing chapters and help new ones get off the ground. We can also put you in touch with democratic socialist faculty members on campuses across the country. YDS can be reached at: yds@dsausa.org or 212-727-8610
Intern with YDS! Click here for information about positions available in our ongoing internship program or view postings here on our Idealist site. We´re looking for graphic/web designers, grassroots organizers, event planners, researchers, fundraisers, office support, writers/editors, and more!
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YDS is the youth section of the Democratic Socialists of America. We are the only US members of the International Union of Socialist Youth, the largest political youth coalition in the world. With members and local chapters across the US, YDS works to transform our society - on the job, in the streets, in the classroom. We are a broad, diverse network of young activists who share a vision of a more humane future. Instead of waiting for some final, magical instant when a utopia appears, we organize and struggle every day to redistribute power. Building democratic socialism is a long struggle, and we take it one step at a time.
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DEMOCRACY AND SOCIALISM
Socialism is one of the most misused words in the American political vocabulary. Contrary to misrepresentations by both conservatives and liberals, socialism is not about breadlines, fur hats, or police states. Rather, we fight for the extension of democracy into all aspects of social life, including the economy. We are proud of the relative democratic freedoms enjoyed by US citizens. But without economic democracy, this political liberty is weak and incomplete. People must have a voice in the economic decisions which affect their lives. Democratic socialism also means fighting non-economic inequalities of power- including racism, sexism and heterosexism in all their forms. A radical democracy is the only way to ensure a world in which class, race, and gender do not decide our futures.
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