A few years ago, I would’ve just laughed at this exchange, which was posted in a local Facebook Group earlier this week, in reply to a comment about the recent permitting ordinance for public food shares. I was very familiar with this type of person in my years of housing advocacy. This wannabe Dirty Harry vigilante, enraged at the existence of lesser-thans, driving down his property values, typing unhinged screeds against whatever Untermenschen he deemed deserving of his verbal undressing that week. But this instance bothered me on another level because A) It was targeted at Melissa S. and Mandee C., two key organizers of Palm Beach DSA’s local food share in Lake Worth. B) Rather than just being the unhinged ravings a local dipshit who watched too many 1970’s vigilante movies, it was a reflection of the fascism we are all currently living under.
Criminalization of homelessness is something we have been dealing with for a long time. Criminalization of dissent (particularly against the genocide in Palestine), criminalization of immigration, criminalization of blackness and browness, criminalization of any expression of gender or sexuality outside the patriarchal binary, and so on and so on, have all existed for a very long time. Those outside the privileged status the hegemonic ruling class have always had to struggle to navigate a system that was not built for them.
But this new outright war on homelessness, war on “illegals”, war on the disabled, war on queer and non-gender-conforming people, etc., has forced many of us to consider the real possibility of annihilation under this fascist regime that most of us have not likely seen in our lifetimes.
Many of us are living in fear, feeling lonely, and isolated wondering if we’re next. Knowing, not wondering, that no one will come to save us. Knowing that all the institutional powers that supposedly existed to protect our rights have failed us.
Knowing, that right now, all we can rely on is each other.
We need solidarity, and we need it every day.
Everyday solidarity looks like sharing food, like Melissa, Mandee and the several other volunteers do twice a week at our weekly foodshares. It looks like recording someone being abducted by ICE for being undocumented, and asking for their information so their loved ones can know what happened to them.
Solidarity is responding to oppression and state violence and the fallout of capitalist decay as it happens. Solidarity is doing what we can to try to keep each other from being crushed. Solidarity is acting when you see suffering, rather than turning a blind eye and going about your day is everything is normal.
In a world where mere existence is deemed criminal, solidarity is complicity.
In a world where feeding people in need is deemed “complicit” in criminality, complicity is a duty.
Solidarity Forever.
– Anand Rao
[The above statements are the views of an individual DSA member and not of the chapter]
Chapter Updates
2025 National Convention Report
The National Convention, hosted by DSA every two years, is DSA‘s highest decision-making body. The convention provides a platform for at-large delegates and delegations from local chapters to gather and engage in a deliberative democratic process, enacting the D in DSA. At the convention, delegates elect the National Political Committee, vote on resolutions that set DSA‘s national priorities and campaigns, and make decisions about DSA‘s constitution and budget. Various caucuses and factions within DSA organize to advance their preferred candidates and policy positions during the convention process, representing DSA‘s large-tent character.
Personal Experiences with Convention and Thoughts on How It Went
Hazel (Delegation Chair)
I’m overall happy with the convention results, although I disagreed strongly with the method used to pass the Democracy Commission reforms. With that said, many of the individual DemComm planks were good. It was an interesting experience to have over a thousand people listening to debate on a resolution I co-authored. It didn’t pass, but I’m still glad that I proposed it. It was really cool to meet so many DSA members from across the country, some of which I already knew from online interactions, although all the constant social interaction was a little overwhelming. I cried when we all sang Solidarity Forever at the end, and I left the convention feeling pretty optimistic about the future of DSA.
Rogelio (Delegate)
I endorsed myself to join the convention delegation, not knowing a lot about the internal workings of the national DSA. Since then, I got involved in the internal debates and discussions about policy positions and committee members. I also learned a lot from Hazel, since I was not acquainted with caucus lines and struggles before.
I looked forward to voting from a left-leaning and anti-imperialist perspective within DSA. I mostly aligned with the Springs of Revolution recommendations. I also ranked Luisa M 1 and Sarah M 2 for the NPC vote. I liked their outreach to our chapter and agree with their general advocacy for principled stances within DSA. I was excited to vote Yes on For a Fighting Anti-Zionist DSA.
I was also excited to talk to all kinds of DSA members. I met people from DC Metro, Central Tennessee, Northwest Indiana, Houston, Denver, Silicon Valley, and so much more. One thing that stands out is the variety of chapter sizes (50-1200 from the people I met). A lot of chapters have 10-20 people show up to meetings regardless of size, but some chapters have up to 80 people show up to general meetings. I also talked to someone from Metro DC who was involved in breaking up South Florida DSA into the current tri-chapter situation. He explained the branch structure they have for Metro DC. We could do something similar for Palm Beach?
I learned a lot from the convention peer exchange. We had many international guests who provided examples and insight into struggles similar to ours around the world, including representatives from Progressive International, the Partido dos Trabalhadores (Workers’ Party, PT, Brazil), Frente Amplio (Broad Front, FA, Chile), La France Insoumise (France in Revolt, LFI), etc. We are not alone!
Rashida Tlaib was an awesome keynote speaker. Afterwards, I passed by Hasan Piker in person and watched his interview with Tlaib live during lunch. I also saw Black Red Guard from YouTube was a delegate. Very cool!
I also cried during the closing ceremony.
I’ll conclude by sharing a part of a statement by delegate Zach B from Broward: “my basic take is because of the nature of Florida completely lacking a functional Democratic Party and [DSA in Florida] lacking electeds, “left wing DSA” arguments around electoralism dominate […] I’d argue we have the most Zionist county Democratic Party with [Debbie Wasserman Schultz] and [Jared] Moskowitz and no opposition to that within Local Dems. Also a Democratic Party completely in support of deathly sanctions on Cuba and Venezuela. […] We also have a major ICE presence with one of the largest detention centers being [b]uilt in our backyard [:] “Alligator Alcatraz” Krome in [Miami-Dade County has the] deadliest detention center in the US. Broward is the county that spends the highest percentage of budget on police of every large county in [this] country. It makes sense for a strong focus on anti-imperialism and abolition to dominate [DSA in Florida].”
Howard (Delegate)
I want to give my gratitude to our chapter for sending me to the DSA convention in Chicago. I was very impressed with my fellow participants from our chapter who were not only well prepared but good company also. This was my first DSA convention and I know it will be my last.
Before going to the convention, I decided to save our group money by paying for the event myself. I will describe why I feel this worked out for the best.
I will be 72 in less than a month and for whatever reason I discovered that I had some technical problems. When I was checking in, I discovered that to receive the agenda and to vote I needed to use a smartphone. I was not able to receive this information on my smartphone. I asked for help but there were some problems that after repeated attempts with help I could not resolve this issue. [After] the first day I decided to allow the alternate to take my place and he did a good job as all the other delegates did.
The left in America is going through an amazing transformation. Now is both a terrifying time but also a time of opportunities for Socialists. DSA has seen remarkable growth and it is now around 80,000 members. We are still adjusting to this growth.
There were about 1,300 delegates and they were mostly young. I was clearly one of the oldest delegates. This is not a bad thing as I am increasingly becoming aware it is necessary for us older comrades to pass on the torch to the younger comrades. This does not mean for us older comrades to leave the struggle but to pass on leadership.
Sometimes we are not aware of barriers because of who we are. I walk around in my white skin which shelters me from experiencing what my comrades from color experience. While it was a diverse group mostly beside so few older comrades there were very few African Americans; this was pointed out by Representative Rashida Talib who was a speaker. I know we have good hearts and we need to find a way to increase African American participation and discover why this is a problem.
My fellow delegates will inform you of many of the proposals voted on and again thank you for this opportunity you gave me.
Michael (Alternate, seated as Delegate for most of Saturday, and Sunday)
As a whole, I believe the convention was a success for DSA’s left. The anti-zionist resolutions and NPC results were a highlight. Seeing that many proud socialists working together was beautiful, and a sight every socialist in Florida should experience. This convention has further entrenched in myself the belief that DSA (as the largest socialist organization in the imperial core) is the best shot we have for drastic change in The States. By showing that we can work together to defeat our common threat, I walked away feeling more confident than ever in DSA, and I know that this is the place to be. From Lake Michigan to the closing “sing-along” event, Chicago was an amazing experience, and I’m thankful for Palm Beach DSA allowing me the chance to experience it.
Resolution Result Highlights
The Democracy Commission reform package passed (CB01: Democracy Commission Comprehensive Structural Reform Proposal), which:
Establishes an archive of DSA meeting minutes, convention results, and standing policies, chapters report minutes to national with a standardized form.
Specifies that delegate apportionment based on number of members in good standing, rather than so called “constitutional membership”, which no longer exists.
Separates “conduct expulsions” from “political expulsions” and specifies that political expulsions must be transparent and must not be conducted through the grievance system.
Specifies that the NPC will recommend questions for chapters to discuss at least quarterly.
Standardizes the organizational forms of national bodies.
Expands the size of the NPC (from 14 + 2 YDSA votes worth half a vote each to 25 + 2 YDSA votes worth a full vote each)
Specifies more detail about the NPC’s activities, such as that it must meet at least 4 times per year.
Establishes details of affiliation agreements that chapters must agree to in order to receive a charter to be a DSA chapter from national and specifies enforcement mechanisms for chapters that fail to do so.
Re-authorized the democracy commission to oversee implementation of these reforms.
Two related proposals to use all-member polls rather than convention delegates to elect the NPC and to determine federal endorsements both failed (CB02: One Member, One Vote for National Leadership Elections & R06: One Member, One Vote for Federal Endorsements).
Going forward, the method for electing delegates is standardized to be Single Transferrable Vote (a form of ranked-choice voting) (CB04: Fair Representation via STV Delegate Elections).
National will not use generative AI, and chapters are discouraged from using it (Approved via Consent Agenda, R02: No AI Images!).
National will deprioritize X/Twitter in favor of other social media sites and encourage chapters to do the same, and DSA will explore the feasibility of collaborating with Tesla Takedown to organize a boycott of X/Twitter (Approved via Consent Agenda, R49: Resolution on the Use of X.com).
Staff are now allowed to be members of caucuses (but still must not use the resources available to them as staff to promote particular political positions within DSA) (R27: Staff Relationship to Members in a Democratic Organization)
We passed the national equivalent of the Anti-Zionist Resolution, with the expulsion and elected discipline clauses intact (R22: For a Fighting Anti-Zionist DSA).
NPC Elections
The National Political Committee (NPC) is DSA‘s governing board that manages the organization between National Conventions. The NPC serves as the primary leadership body for day-to-day decisions and implementation of convention priorities.
Here’s the factional breakdown, roughly in order from right to left within DSA’s internal political spectrum (click hyperlink for NPC candidate bios):
Socialist Majority – 4 (Christian Araos, Clayton Ryles, Jeremy Cohan, Katie Sims)
Groundwork – 5 (Ashik Siddique, Kareen Elrefai, Cara Tobe, Frances Gill, Eleanor Babaev)
Carnation – 1 (Abdullah Farooq)
Bread & Roses – 3 (Hayley Banyai-Becker, Cerena Ermitanio, Ella Teevan)
Reform and Revolution – 1 + 1 YDSA (Sarah Milner, Daniel Salup-Cid)
Marxist Unity Group – 3 (Cliff Connolly, Amy Wilhelm, Sidney Carlson White)
Red Star – 3 (Megan Romer, John Lewis, Hazel Williams)
Springs of Revolution – 4 (Ahmed Husain, Andrew Thompson, Luisa Martinez, Francesca Maria)
Libertarian Socialist Caucus – 1 (David Jenkins)
Unaffiliated – 1 YDSA (Sara Almosawi) (Maybe aligned with Springs of Revolution?)
We re-elected the same Co-Chairs, Megan Romer and Ashik Siddique.
Announcements
Apply for 2025 Cuba Delegation
Sign the No Contract, No Coffee! Pledge To Act In Solidarity With Starbucks Workers United
Upcoming Events
General Meeting
8/16 Saturday, 12:30 p.m.
823 N A St, Lake Worth Beach, FL 33460
Zoom sign up here
Steering Committee Vacancy – Secretary
We have a vacancy for the Secretary position on the Steering Committee. Secretary responsibilities include taking notes during meetings, responding to chapter emails, updating Google and Discord calendars, and submitting state and federal paperwork. The secretary attends General Membership meetings (typically once a month, second Saturday of the month) and Steering Committee meetings (once per two weeks).
We are accepting nominations during our August General Meeting. Nominees must be members in good standing.
Logo Design Contest
We’re looking for a new chapter logo that reflects our values, energy, and identity as the Palm Beach County chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. This logo will be used on social media, t-shirts, banners, flyers, and more, so we want it to be flexible, striking, and proudly socialist.
Whether you’re a seasoned designer or a creative comrade with a vision, we want to see your take!
Design Guidelines:
• Must include at least one recognizable symbol of DSA, such as the rose and/or the handshake (stylized or reimagined is fine).
• Include Palm Beach County (or a reference to it) in the design — this could be text or a creative visual element (e.g., palm trees, ocean, sunshine).
• Should be visually strong in both color and black-and-white.
• Must look good at various sizes, including: Social media profile pics, T-shirts and stickers, print and digital banners/flyers.
• Must be your original work (please do not use generative AI images or stock images)
• Fun, bold, clear, and cool — something people will be proud to wear and rally behind!
Submission Requirements
• Submit in PNG or JPG format for review.
• If selected, you must be able to provide a vector file (SVG, AI, or EPS).
• Optional: submit a short explanation of your design (max 150 words) — your vision, symbolism, or style choices.
Submission Deadline: August 16 (by General Meeting) Please send submissions to info@palmbeachdsa.org with the subject line “Logo Design Submission”.
Membership Committee Meeting
Saturday, August 16 @ 3 PM
We’re building a socialist base in Palm Beach County—and we want you to be part of it. Join us Saturday, August 16, at 3:00 PM at the Quaker Meeting House or on Zoom for a conversation about the future of our chapter’s Membership Committee.
At this meeting, we’ll be presenting a proposal to make membership work a sustained and strategic part of our chapter’s core activity. This includes:
Onboarding and welcoming new members with intention and care
Growing and sustaining our base through outreach and engagement
Building a culture of belonging, accessibility, and political community
Strengthening the infrastructure that keeps people connected and coming back
We know that a strong socialist movement starts with strong relationships—and that begins with how we bring people in and keep them engaged.
Whether you’re a longtime member or newly joined, this is a chance to give feedback, share your vision, and help shape how our chapter lives its values.
Let’s make our chapter a political home for everyone who wants to build power together. See you there!
!! Upcoming DSA 101 Event – Saturday, September 6, 11 am !!
New to DSA? Want to meet our newest members and interested folks? Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 6, at 11 am. We will be holding a Palm Beach DSA 101 Zoom gathering for all of our new comrades! More details to come!
Reading Group
The next meeting is next week. We are reading American Exceptionalism and American Innocence: A People’s History of Fake News, by Roberto Sirvent and Danny Haiphong.
Wednesday, August 20, 7 pm: Intro and Chapters 1-11
Wednesday, September 17, 7 pm: Chapters 12-21 and afterword
All meetings are on the PB DSA Reading Group Discord Server. Ask Hazel F. or Rogelio P. for details.
Action Social
Come for a relaxed evening of food, conversation, and connection.
