2019 Winter Fundraising Appeal

A Message from the National Committee

The NC wants to draw comrades’ attention to important upcoming events: the LABOR NOTES conference next April 17-19, and the Socialism2020 conference July 2-5, both taking place in Chicago. The LN conference occurs every two years, and we encourage members to attend this large and growing gathering of the dynamic activist sectors of the labor movement. Two years ago LN reported that 3000 attended, and the upcoming conference should be particularly important following the Chicago teachers’ strike. Early registration is open at the LN

We would like members to plan as much as possible to arrive Friday morning (April 17) as we’d like to have as short meeting Friday afternoon, mainly to introduce ourselves to each other before sessions begin.

We particularly want to emphasize the significance of Socialism2020, in view of the changes that have occurred beginning with the 2019 conference. While from its inception it was the annual project of the former ISO, it’s now a much more open space, put together by an independent organizing committee with major sponsorship by Haymarket Books, JACOBIN and DSA.  While some anticipated that the ISO dissolution would reduce attendance at the 2019 event, in fact the turnout was quite robust — including former ISOers and many DSAers as well as new participants. There’s every reason to expect the Socialism conference to be a growing and dynamic institution of the U.S. socialist revival. 

Solidarity is invited to submit proposals for panels that we could organize on our own initiative or in partnership with others, and we’re in the process of developing a list of possibilities on themes including the roots of socialism from below, labor insurgencies and the menace of white nationalism among others.  (More specifics will be forthcoming — if you have suggestions please contact David at cfc@igc.org.) 

Because Socialism2020 promises to be an attractive event with opportunities to interact with important layers of activists as well as politically engaged scholars, we want to work to maximize our own members’ attendance. In addition, because 2020 is not a convention year for Solidarity, rather than organizing our own summer school —  a considerable expense and logistical effort  — we’ll organize our members and friends to attend Socialism2020 and work out plans for getting together there, as we did in 2019.

Accordingly, the NC will target our annual year-end fundraising appeal, from now through the end of January, to helping those comrades who need assistance with the costs of attending Socialism2020. While conference registration is not overly expensive, travel and housing costs are likely to be burdensome for some members and we will need to minimize that obstacle. Members who need a subsidy will be encouraged to request it.

Please contribute generously to make this effort successful!  You can donate by check (to Solidarity, or for a tax-deductible contribution to Center for Changes, 7012 Michigan Avenue, Detroit MI 48210) or online you can Make a Donation.  Thanks for everyone’s participation.