DC DSA Launches Fall Reading Series on Global Riots and Uprisings

The Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America will host a set of “Reading Groups” this fall, open to members and non-members, focused on recent riots and uprisings around the globe. The program’s syllabus opens with a Karl Marx passage and plans to dissect protests such as the anti-deportation riots in California and Minnesota, the 2025 Los Angeles ICE demonstrations, and the Minneapolis uprisings that began in January, all of which involved arrests, charges and property damage.

Participants will also explore how mass movements responded to the 2008 stock-market collapse and the COVID-19 pandemic. Parallel reading groups will tackle themes like abolishing work, prison and family, the impact of Cold-War foreign policy, border violence, and DSA’s electoral tactics following recent wins in Washington and New York City. The chapter serves the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia region, and its efforts come as the Democratic Party confronts a growing radical wing within its ranks. The DSA announced it now exceeds 120,000 members nationwide, making it the largest socialist organization in U.S. history.