Features
Fascism Doesn’t Belong in New Orleans, and We Should Start Acting Like It – Bob M
Recently, a performer with Waka Flocka at the Ohm Lounge wore a swastika on stage. A group of Nazis yelled “white power” and threw Nazi salutes walking down Decatur. Outside of John Stanton’s Nazis FAFO article, these displays have met little to no outcry from public officials or prominent community members. If there’s a room full of people not immediately leaving or interrupting a show when a fascist symbol of hate is adorned, what does that say about our city?
We must loudly reject fascism’s presence in New Orleans. While ICE abducts a child with cancer months after they were hanging out on the St. Charles parade route, how does this make you feel? Will the people claiming it’s antisemitic to oppose the genocide in Gaza loudly condemn the owner not shutting down the performance featuring a swastika? When Nazi symbols start appearing more in our city, will you be a patron at the Kit Kat Klub in Cabaret while fascism floods all around you, letting the good times roll?
Local cyclist Eric Gabourel’s piece about punching fascists speaks about how fighting fascism isn’t just about literally fighting them. We need unions and electeds to stand against fascism, not just in word but in action. City Council releases statements about the mayor’s travel patterns but not condemning skinheads doing Nazi salutes on Decatur. At venues that allow symbols of hate, workers need to organize and shut them down until they are safe. Neighbors in the French Quarter and CBD should picket places that patronize fascists. People who are outraged should join organizations fighting fascism. Thankfully, people have been marching and rallying. If you haven’t joined them, then show up to the next one. Mass movements require a mass of people, so get your mass out there!
Resistance to fascism is in the very soil of New Orleans. We brag about fighting fascists at the WW2 Museum but hear nary a word about the club blocks away hosting a performer wearing a swastika. We honor the French and Spanish heritage of our city but dishonor their fights against fascism. When we uplift the heroes in the struggle against Jim Crow, we must continue their legacy of resistance.
Let’s do better, New Orleans. Only you can prevent fascism.
Help Public Sector Unions Defeat State Anti-Labor Bills
New Orleans City Workers Union AFSCME Local 2349, the Louisiana Federation of Teachers (LFT), and the Louisiana Association of Educators (LAE) are calling on you to denounce HB 293 at the state legislature. HB 293 has moved out of the House and has reported favorably out of the Senate Labor Committee. This is our LAST CHANCE to stop a bill that will cancel our union membership yearly, void our contracts every year or every time there is a change in cost, force us to sign up through our bosses, allow our bosses to drop our membership any time, and as a whole will make it incredibly hard for us to keep our unions. HB 293 will decimate public sector unions in our state.
As public employees in Louisiana, we have suffered enough. We do not need a bill written entirely by a political PAC and brought by a legislator who works for a union-busting law-firm. No Louisiana worker asked for this bill, and no Louisiana worker was consulted about it. Please sign this and share.
Write your senators! Defend the public! Oppose HB 293!
Red Rabbits Recommendation
When you’re heading out to a protest or a rally (for example, we hear that there is a lovely gathering planned this Saturday at 3, at Jackson Square), you might want to think about leaving your phone at home. The cops use devices called Stingrays, which act like cell towers, but aren’t really cell towers at all. Your phone doesn’t know the difference and says, “Hey there, perfectly innocent looking cell tower, I’m Citizen Q’s cell phone, and I would like to be ready to make a call.” The Stingray says, “Wonderful! Thank you for registering with us,” and then promptly ignores your phone. However, now they have a record of your phone (and thereby you) at the event.
If you don’t leave your phone at home, then you’ll want to disable your phone’s biometric security access. That means your face recognition and/or your fingerprint access. If things go pear shaped and you get rolled up by the pigs, chances are they will be very excited to copy all the information they can from your phone. If your phone is locked, they can’t easily access it. However, if your biometrics are enabled, all they have to do is hold it up to your face or put your finger on the sensor, and the phone will unlock, revealing your innermost secrets as well as your grandmother’s chocolate cake recipe. They don’t need a warrant to do that. However, they can’t read what’s in your mind, so keep your phone PIN protected if there’s any chance someone else might end up with your phone.
Bulletins
Nominations for Delegates to National Convention
DSA National Convention will be August 8-10 in Chicago. Chapter delegates and at-large delegates from across the country meet to set our course for the following two years and elect our new National Political Committee (NPC), which functions as DSA’s highest decision-making body between conventions. If you’re interested in being one of our seven New Orleans delegates, please fill out this form by May 24th. After nominations, everyone will receive an OpaVote link to vote.
Nominations for 2025-2026 Local Council
Local Council is our democratically elected chapter leadership with responsibility for managing the overall direction of the chapter. Local Council consists of two co-chairs, one membership chair, one secretary, one treasurer, two at-large members, a steward for each of the official committees, and a representative of each administrative or currently-chartered campaign group. For a complete description, see our chapter bylaws. To nominate yourself or someone else, email a candidate statement to hello@dsaneworleans.org.
Submissions Open for 2025 Local Convention
New Orleans DSA’s annual Local Convention will be June 28. Submissions can include proposals to amend bylaws, resolutions for new campaigns, or they can be for other chapter business. Reach out to Jack RS for information on how to write a resolution, and stay tuned for a resolution writing workshop ahead of convention.
Brake Light Clinic & Health Fair
Our next Brake Light Clinic & Health Fair is June 14 at A.P. Tureaud Civil Rights Memorial Park, 1800 A.P. Tureaud Ave.! Last time we changed lights in 19 vehicles and distributed 96 hot meals. If you’re interested in volunteering you can sign up here.
Community Calendar
Friday, May 16
12:00-12:45p Free Palestine! Abolish ICE! Weekly Lunch Hour Rally – NOLA ICE Field Office, 1250 Poydras St.
Saturday, May 17
1:00-4:00p Canvassing (Bob Murrell, District A) – Signup
3:00p The People Stand with Palestine: Rally and March in Commemoration of Nakba Day – Jackson Square Amphitheater, 700 block Decatur St.
Sunday, May 18
1:00-4:00p Canvassing (Bob Murrell, District A) – Signup
3:00-6:00p Vigil for Unhoused Lives – Duncan Plaza, 343 Loyola Ave.
Monday, May 19
6:00-7:30p Make Entergy Pay Campaign Meeting – Care Forgot Beercraft, 1728 St. Charles Ave.
6:00-7:30p Jewish Voice for Peace General Body Meeting – Linktree
Tuesday, May 20
7:00p Sports Drink Community Night: All About Labor – Sports Drink, 1042 Toledano Ave.
Wednesday, May 21
6:00-7:00p DSA Chapter Orientation – Zoom
Thursday, May 22
6:00a-8:00p All Out for Mahmoud Khalil Bus to Jena – Signup
6:00p Eye on Surveillance Monthly Meeting – REACH Center, 2022 St. Bernard Ave., Bldg. C, 3rd Fl.
Friday, May 23
12:00-12:45p Free Palestine! Abolish ICE! Weekly Lunch Hour Rally – NOLA ICE Field Office, 1250 Poydras St.
Saturday, May 24
1:00-4:00p Canvassing (Bob Murrell, District A) – Signup
Sunday, May 25
1:00-4:00p Canvassing (Bob Murrell, District A) – Signup
Down the Road
May 29 Gaby Biro OPSB End of Year Community Town Hall – East New Orleans Regional Library, 5641 Read Blvd.
May 31 New Orleans DSA General Meeting – New Orleans Healing Center, 2372 St. Claude Ave.
June 14 Brake Light Clinic & Health Fair – A.P. Tureaud Civil Rights Memorial Park, 1800 A.P. Tureaud Ave.
June 28 New Orleans DSA Local Convention – New Orleans
August 8-10 DSA National Convention – Chicago
October 11 Municipal Election Day – Open Primary
November 15 Municipal Election Day – Runoff
Solidarity Means Action is the weekly newsletter of the New Orleans Democratic Socialists of America. Subscribe for updates every Friday at 8:00 am Central.