From
May 30th to
June 1st,
activists, socialists and progressives from around the country will gather in
New York City for the 2014 Left Forum.
This
year's Left Forum will likely be one of the biggest yet. Events over the past
few years have radicalized thousands of workers, youth and students who have
lived through the betrayals of the Obama administration, the dysfunction of the
Congress, and the domination of big business while the economy sinks deeper into
recession. This year is different because this radicalization is combined with
both the lessons of past defeats and the energy of recent victories.
In
2013, we saw socialist ideas storm back onto the scene of US politics when
Socialist Alternative ran candidates in cities across the country. We saw Ty
Moore come within a few hundred votes of winning local office in Minneapolis,
and Kshama Sawant defeat a 16 year incumbent for her seat on the Seattle City
Council. In Seattle, we successfully transformed our campaign for local office
into a mass movement to win a $15/hr minimum wage.
Just
a few weeks ago, we saw the first major step towards victory in this campaign.
On May 1st the Mayor of Seattle, buckling under the weight of this movement,
moved a bill for $15/hr to the city council for a vote, the first of its kind in
the nation. Though Socialist Alternative has some sharp criticisms of the
Mayor's bill, what is undeniable is that this turn of events has shattered the
idea that bold working class demands are unwinnable. The fight for 15 in Seattle
has shown that working class and socialist politics are not only effective, but
vital.
The
discussions that will be taking place at this year's Left Forum reflect this
turning point. The theme of this year's Left Forum is "Reform and/or
Revolution". In their conference theme statement,
Leftforum.org says,
"As the system fails so many so badly, activists for democracy, sustainability,
equality, and the abolition of oppression and exploitation increasingly grasp
their shared demand for basic social justice. Fifty years of anti-communism,
anti-radicalism, hesitant social criticism, and activists' mutual suspicions are
fading into irrelevance." The theme of this year's Left Forum echoes the burning
desire of workers and youth to see a determined and independent mass force for
social and economic justice enter into the fray.
Recommended
Sessions
Socialist
Alternative's presence will be bigger than ever at the 2014 Left Forum. We are
leading and co-sponsoring numerous panels that reflect the scope and diversity
of our work.
Kshama
Sawant, Socialist Alternative City Councilmember in Seattle, will be
speaking at two plenary sessions over the weekend. Kshama will speak on Saturday
alongside Chris Hedges, and she will close the Left Forum on Sunday with Amy
Goodman from Democracy Now!
Jess
Spear and
Jesse Lessinger, Socialist Alternative members from Seattle
and leading organizers with the 15 Now campaign, will be leading the discussion
on the
Fight
for 15 in Seattle and Beyond.
Beyond
the wage issue, Socialist Alternative will be holding panels on issues of gender
and race.
Eljeer
Hawkins, Socialist Alternative member in New York who's been active in
campaigns to end stop-and-frisk policy, will be leading a panel along with
Glenn
Ford, Chief Editor of Black Agenda Report, on the
Program
for a New Black Freedom Movement.
Socialist
Alternative members in New York will be leading the panel on Abortion
Rights, Race and Class.
The
panels we are leading at Left Forum demonstrate the international character of
our work as well.
Alan
Akrivos, SA member from New York and leading member of Occupy Astoria, will
be discussing the struggle in Greece and the work of our sister organization
Xekinima in our panel on
Fighting Fascism and Austerity in Greece.
Eljeer Hawkins will be discussing the recent election in South Africa and
the events leading up to it in a
panel about South Africa.
In
the past year, our organization has seen the tremendous excitement that our
campaign in Seattle has generated among working people who are hungry for an
alternative. But we have also seen that big business is ready to fight back
against any gains for working people. Join us at Left Forum, take part in the
discussions, and find out how you can get involved in Socialist Alternative.
Help us fight for an alternative to capitalism and a socialist
future.
No comments:
Post a Comment