Dear Friend,
My name is Cyn, and I'm a student
organizer and one of your delegates to DSA National
Convention! I'm writing to
share a little about me and why
I need your help getting delegates like me to Chicago this
August.
I grew up in New Jersey, and
I got swept into socialism during Bernie's first
presidential run and the simultaneous teachers' strike wave. I saw a
mass movement of people willing to fight for someone they didn't know,
and it changed my life. I
joined YDSA (Young Democratic Socialists of America) on my college
campus, and since then I've cut my teeth as a socialist labor and
electoral organizer as the Co-Chair of National YDSA and UC Berkeley
YDSA, a Head Steward in UAW Local 2865, a member of Unite All Workers
for Democracy, and the Field Coordinator for Eduardo Martinez for
Mayor of Richmond. Through the Bernie campaign, the
teachers' strike wave, and the meteoric rise of the socialist
movement, I learned about the class nature of society and became
empowered to fight it through organizations like DSA.
The National Convention is central
to the democratic functioning of DSA, as well as our ability to make
effective political interventions in the world. At convention,
member-organizers from across the country gather to synthesize our
experiences, debate strategy, elect new leadership, and decide our
organization's political priorities. One of the most
important debates we'll have at the convention is about YDSA, the
place where I came into my own as a socialist organizer. I believe that democracy is power. Only if
we give YDSAers the right to shape their own organizing will young
socialists like me develop into sophisticated political leaders who
will sustain our movement. It's really important to me
that I can get to convention and vote on the future of YDSA.
So
I'm asking you: please pitch in so my fellow delegates and I can get
there!
Friend, the political success of
our National Convention –– and DSA more broadly –– is deeply dependent
on grassroots fundraising. Getting just one delegate to
convention costs $1,300. Without the financial support of people like
you, students like me who can't afford to get to Chicago on our own
couldn't vote on the political direction of our movement. And then
DSA's decision-making would be beholden to the very class that is
responsible for the social crisis of our times. Chip
in now so working-class and low-income DSA members like me can shape
the future of our organization.
Coming out of Convention, I hope to
see a strong, democratic DSA that is prepared to unite people across
the left political spectrum and root democratic socialism in the
working class. Please
join me in supporting our National Convention delegates who are
working to make that happen.
Solidarity,
Cyn H.
UC Berkeley YDSA
East
Bay DSA
