Over the past two weeks there has been lots of fruitful discussion regarding the resolution “For A More Robust, Democratic, And Powerful Twin Cities DSA” written by myself, Brooke B, and Sean M. We have received excellent feedback and were able to expand on our intentions with this resolution through comradely discussions. Over this period we have noticed several themes of questions, critiques, and misconceptions regarding our resolution that I would like to respond to:
Concerns over a Slack Mandate:
We have been very specific in our phrasing regarding Slack and that it should be a “prioritized” communications platform. Claims that we are requiring members to not utilize other tools such as Signal or are de-prioritizing face to face communications are not accurate to what is being advocated. Slack is our official central communications hub currently. It is a pre-existing tool that we want to use better and to improve. We welcome discussion on how to do this and if alternative platforms would be better but we believe that this should be held after convention. This resolution simply states that if this is the platform we utilize now, we should make an effort to better use it while we have it. Lastly, we nowhere state Slack is a magic bullet. We include it as one part of several interconnected reforms.
Concerns over an organizational lack of focus/too many divergent priorities:
A critique is that our resolution invites or advocates for a major decentralizing of focus to the point that “nothing gets done” or that we are “flying into 10 different directions”. Our resolution accounts for the work already occurring and invested in by our chapter. As labor and electoral have been the overwhelming focus this past year in terms of discussion and external messaging, we maintain that we hold and develop on this course. This does not mean that labor or electoral work isn’t in need of further growth or that we believe this work is in any way “complete”. In addition to the work we have already developed this past year, we point to two other campaign areas that are already underway, that we believe need to be expanded on, and which should see their many interrelated campaigns and activities intertwined so that we do not have the issue of “going in 10 different directions”. The other priority discussed is strengthening our internal organizing and internal communications processes which are essential for breaking down the siloing that leads to disorganization/inefficiency in activities. We believe our organization has the capacity to engage on several fronts with equal intensity, if we can effectively activate, mobilize, and coordinate our large pool of on paper members.
What is the Gertrude Brown Community Land Trust (GBCLT)?:
The Gertrude Brown Community Land Trust is a new land trust founded by several local activists, some independent, and some with ties to local mutual aid organizations, that came out of the fight to protect and support residents of the Near North houseless encampment. Their mission is to purchase a plot of public land in the north Minneapolis area and construct radically affordable micro homes for houseless community members to own on that land. The GBCLT board that will govern the land is to be made up of both local activist organization members and houseless community members living on the land. It is a key step in breaking the constant cycle of eviction and precarity that our houseless neighbors are subjected to daily.
This is an effort that the Street Corps Working Group has been authorized to support by our Steering Committee and which was donated $500 by the chapter. Our volunteers have been integral in helping the organization do a fundraiser, draft a proposed logo, give civil engineering advice, and more. The project is in its early stages but whose goal is to purchase land soon. Our chapter has been so integral, with only a small portion of our overall chapter’s resources dedicated, that we are set to have a seat on this upstart organization’s board. This is a key effort to directly provide housing and a democratic resident controlled community to our most vulnerable community members. It is a key part of and is intertwined with our overall housing campaign that is made up of electoral, tenant organizing, and mutual aid efforts.
Relation to True North 2.0:
We do not believe that our resolution is necessarily in competition with the True North 2.0 resolution. That being said, much criticism received seems to directly or indirectly tie back to the True North 2.0 resolution and its associated slate of candidates and its stated priorities. Therefore, so long as these two resolutions are discussed in a competitive manner, we believe compared to that resolution, that ours is the best mix of expanding on our current work, matching our work to the political situation in the Twin Cities, and maintaining coherent and sustainable structures to do so effectively. Our resolution focuses on making our chapter more inviting and supportive of our working class members in order to give them the resources and organizing support they need to succeed and lead us democratically toward local victories.
From Shane M