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National Conference of the Young Democratic Socialists
New York City
Click here for the conference flyer
Click here for the facebook event
Click here for a list of affordable hostels
When: Friday, March 5 - Sunday, March 7
Where:
111 E 33 St.
New York, NY 10016
For Conference Registration, Housing, and Travel Scholarships click here. Register before February 19th and save $10. The deadline for requesting travel subsidies is February 8th. The deadline for requesting housing is February 19th. Day passes are available for sale at the door. Those who only want to attend the event with Cornel West can purchase a ticket for $10.
POLITICAL CONTEXT
Obama’s first year in office has been disappointing for the left. Although we never had astronomical hopes for our 44th president, we did expect some progress. Unfortunately, Obama has continued many of the Bush policies we hoped he and he promised to stop.
He has failed to close Guantanamo, he hasn’t ended the war in Iraq, he hasn’t endorsed robust health care reform let alone pass anything, he hasn’t dealt with the roots of the financial crisis by reforming the banking industry, he has let down the labor movement by failing to push for EFCA, and his efforts to stem job loss and foreclosures have been anemic at best.
As Obama and the Democrats fail to deliver in this time of crisis many are questioning their leadership and even the system itself. Unfortunately, the strongest reaction has been in the form of the Tea Party movement, whose strength was recently displayed in Massachusetts by the election of Scott Brown to the US Senate.
Our nation is teetering between two choices. We can choose fear, the way of Massachusetts, and slip into a reactionary period, reverting to know-nothing right wing antics and the self destructive policies that have defined the last thirty years. Or we can choose change…REAL change for a change. Real change means accepting that the system in which we live is making us poorer, sicker, more violent, and less free. If we want real change we must, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said more than 40 year ago, “move toward a Democratic Socialism.”
FEATURED SPEAKERS
Workshops and panels will feature organizers and trainers from the anti-racist, feminist, youth, queer rights, labor union, green, and peace movements, as well as noted activist scholars and voices from the democratic left.
We are still developing the full program, but the preliminary list of speakers includes:
Cornel West, a champion of racial justice since childhood, is one of America’s most provocative public intellectuals. His writing, speaking, and teaching weave together the traditions of the black Baptist Church, progressive politics, and jazz. The New York Times has praised his “ferocious moral vision.” Currently the Class of 1943 Professor at Princeton University, Dr. West burst onto the national scene in 1993 with his bestselling book, Race Matters, a searing analysis of racism in American democracy. Race Matters has become a contemporary classic, selling more than half a million copies to date. In West’s long awaited life story, BROTHER WEST: Living and Loving Out Loud, he offers a compelling exploration of his heart behind the human mind. Themes include Faith, Family, Philosophy, Love and Service. Cornel West has published 19 other books and has edited 13 texts. Honorary Co-Chair of the Democratic Socialists of America.
Gayatri Spivak, is best known as a post colonial theorist but she describes herself as “para-disciplinary, ethical philosopher.” She has applied deconstructive strategies to various theoretical engagements and textual analyses: from Feminism, Marxism, and Literary Criticism to, most recently, Postcolonialism. Spivak has published numerous books and interviews including In Other Worlds: Essays in Cultural Politics and Death of a Discipline. She is currently a University Professor and the Director of the Center for Comparative Literature and Society at Columbia University in New York City.
Bertha Lewis, is the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Organizer of ACORN, the largest community organization in the country. Appointed in May 2008, Ms. Lewis oversees the operations of its 400,000 strong membership, which is active in over 110 cities across the country. A 16 year veteran of the organization, Ms. Lewis was most recently the Executive Director of ACORN’s New York affiliate and is a founding Co-Chair of the New York Working Families Party.
Jose LaLuz, is a Vice Chair of the Democratic Socialists of America. While at AFSCME, union of public sector employees, Jose LaLuz led one of the largest organizing drives in the trade union movement. He is regarded as the principal strategist in the fight for passage of public sector collective bargaining legislation in Puerto Rico, which paved the way for the unionization of more than 120,000 public employees.
Liza Featherstone, is the author of Selling Women Short: The Landmark Battle for Workers’ Rights at Wal-Mart, and co-author, with United Students Against Sweatshops, of Students Against Sweatshops. Featherstone is a contributing writer to The Nation magazine, where she writes about labor and social justice issues. Her writing also appears in Slate, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsday, Columbia Journalism Review, Salon, Left Business Observer, and Dissent, and many other publications. Featherstone teaches in the Union Semester program at CUNY’s Murphy Institute for Labor Studies, as well as in the political science department at the CUNY Graduate Center and in the Journalism School at New York University.
Frances Fox Piven, is widely recognized as one of America’s most thoughtful and provocative commentators on America’s social welfare system. In the 1960s, Piven worked with welfare-rights groups to expand benefits; in the eighties and nineties she campaigned relentlessly against welfare cutbacks. A veteran of the war on poverty and subsequent welfare-rights protests both in New York City and on the national stage, she has been instrumental in formulating the theoretical underpinnings of those movements. She currently teaches at the Graduate School of the City University of New York, author of The War at Home: The Domestic Costs of Bush’s Militarism, Poor People’s Movements, Why Americans Don’t Vote, and The New Class War, and is an Honorary Chair of the Democratic Socialists of America.
Christine Kelly, is a professor, author and longtime activist. She teaches political science at William Paterson University and her specialties include social and political theory, social movements and youth politics. She is the author of numerous articles and review essays which have appeared in journals like New Political Science, Logos and New Politics. Her first book Tangled Up in Red White and Blue: New Social Movements in America is now being followed by Chimes of Freedom: Student Protest and the Changing American University (Rowman & Littlefield), due out the end of 2009.
Christian Parenti, is the author of The Freedom: Shadows and Hallucinations in Occupied Iraq (New Press) and a former visiting fellow at CUNY’s Center for Place, Culture and Politics. His articles and ground-breaking reporting regularly appear in The Nation magazine and in several other progressive publications. Parenti is the author of numerous other books including, The Soft Cage: Surveillance in America from Slavery to the War on Terror and Lockdown America: Police and Prisons in the Age of Crisis
Stephen Eric Bronner, distinguished Professor of Political Science and Comparative Literature at Rutgers University and author of the new book: Peace Out of Reach: Middle Eastern Travels and the Search for Reconciliation. His other works include Blood in the Sand: Imperial Fantasies, Right-Wing Ambitions, and The Erosion of American Democracy and Socialism Unbound. He is the Senior Editor of Logos: A Journal of Modern Society and Culture. Member of Democratic Socialists of America.
Joseph Schwartz, Chair, Department of Political Science, Temple University and Chair of Steering Committee of the Democratic Socialists of America and vice Chair of Democratic Socialists of America. Schwartz is the author of the recently released book, The Future of Democratic Equality.
*Corey D. B. Walker, Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at Brown University, author of the forthcoming book, Between Transcendence and History: Theology, Critical Theory, and the Politics of Liberation.
*Invited but not yet confirmed
PLANNING YOUR TRIP / FUNDRAISING / GETTING TO NEW YORK CITY:
People come to YDS conferences from all over the country. If you are coming from out of town, it is important to plan your trip as early as possible. We’re committed to ensuring that everyone who wants to come to “Democratic Socialism: Real Change for a Change” is able to attend. We’re offering travel scholarships and housing accommodations for those coming to NYC by plane, bus, car, or train (more info below), on a limited, first-come, first-served basis with preference given to YDS activists. However, we highly recommend that you fundraise to help cover costs. Click here for great tips on travel planning, economizing and fundraising, from getting cheap plane tickets, hosting events to raise money, to hitting up your student government for funds. Please remember that plane tickets are typically cheaper the further in advance you purchase them and that Student Government Associations often require plenty of advance notice if you are requesting special funds from them. Do plan ahead!
CARPOOLING - NEED / OFFER RIDES TO NYC?
If you are within driving distance of New York City and are in need of a ride, let us know and we can check to see if others planning to attend in your area can offer you one. If you have extra space in your vehicle, please let us know. We encourage you to carpool to the conference with other friends and activists. There will be space on the on-line registration form to offer or request rides.
HOUSING ACCOMMODATIONS IN NEW YORK CITY:
We are working to provide out-of-town conference goers with free housing. If you live in New York City, or have friends/family that can house additional conference attendees, please notify us. Here is a link to affordable hostels in NYC.
REQUESTING HOUSING OR TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIPS:
You can request or offer housing assistance and/or travel scholarships once the on-line registration forms are available (by Jan. 1st). YDS has a limited budget to help subsidize travel costs. Preference is given to YDS members and those wanting to start YDS chapters. If you request a travel scholarship, please fill out the appropriate information on the registration form or contact us at the email address below with your details. We will respond to you shortly to let you know if your scholarships request has been granted how much financial assistance YDS can provide.
REGISTRATION & COSTS:
Registration costs for the entire conference will be based on a sliding scale of $20 - $75. Special consideration for low-income individuals will be made with priority given to YDS members and those starting chapters. On-line registration forms are available here. Registration fees include conference materials, admission to all conference sessions, the plenary talks, two lunches, two breakfasts and admission to the Saturday night party.
QUESTIONS OR CONFERENCE IDEAS:
If you have any questions about the conference, do not hesitate to contact us (see contact info below). If you have ideas or suggestions you would like to propose to conference planners, if you would like to volunteer to help with preparations or to assist during the conference itself, don’t hesitate to email us at yds@dsausa.org or call us at 212-727-8610.
Workers and Students of the World…Relax - Saturday Night Party
Saturday night Party is free for all conference-goers and friends of YDS. Directions to party will be available at registration tables.
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