Прощай, Comrades: A Message from the Outgoing RSL Editor
As the radical artist and resistance leader George W. Bush so poignantly observed: newspapers are indispensable to (democratic) socialism. I have had a little summin’ summin’ here and there to do with the creation of this one, but now the time has come for me to do a little summin’ summin’ elsewhere. I rest easy knowing that this peaceful transition of power leaves The Red Star-Ledger in Bradley Philbert’s eminently capable hands. Mine will be too busy pumping my own gas.
— Natasha Abner, Chair, NNJDSA
Hello, Cousins: A Message from the Incoming RSL Editor
To begin, Natasha’s many underappreciated summin’ summin’s have been invaluable to our collective cause in NJDSA. Her passion and organizational savvy will be profoundly missed, and I suspect we’ll look with envious eyes toward Michigan (one more place where #BernieWouldHaveWon) knowing the Wolverine State has regained a welcoming, good-hearted comrade with a socialist tenacity worthy of its nickname.
And now to confess: I worked for a chain of startups in college, several of which involved journalism and media. So even while I’m sad about Natasha’s departure, I’m almost equally distraught to realize that taking over the editing of RSL means I’m literally back on my bullshit.

Still, it’s an exciting time to dial in with you groovy comrades. We’ve got two slates of delegates to pick in the next several weeks for the 2017 Convention in Chicago and a promising OC budding, all pink and Spring-like, in South Jersey. Plus, the rapid onset of June means it’s time for Pride month, which the new DSA Queer Socialists Working Group tells me is going to be a memorable one. (More on that below.)
Speaking of DSA Working Groups: Did you know there are DSA members around the country working on racial justice, disabilities, feminism, graphic design, labor, religion, social media, veteran’s issues and even on translating key DSA documents into other languages? If you’re struggling to find something in your chapter to get involved in, or if you’ve recently joined and want to know more, issues-based and operational working groups are a great place to start.
But we’re a grassroots organization here at NJ DSA, and that means working in our communities alongside comrades, friends, and neighbors, too. So I hope you’ll show up and #trysocialism, #resist, #persist, or #coexist with your chapter at any of the following upcoming events:
- Central NJ DSA Executive Committee Elections
Saturday, May 27 at 2 PM, Princeton AAUP (11 Stone St, New Brunswick)
- North NJ DSA Monthly Meeting and Delegate Elections
Saturday, June 17 at 12:30 PM, Elizabeth Public Library (11 South Broad St, Elizabeth)
Don’t forget to stay looped-in using your chapter Facebook pages, the statewide listserv and our calendar of actions.
— Bradley Philbert, Treasurer, NNJDSA
Stand by for news, including updates on May Day, #StandWithCarimer, Jersey Pride, Medicare for All canvassing, the Abortion Bowl-a-Thon, and a disturbing report on Congresscritter Rodney Frelinghuysen!
SNJDSA Update
The South Jersey Organizing Committee started this month with their inaugural South Jersey Jacobin reading group event on May 18 at Treehouse Cafe. SNJDSA also held its first general meeting on Sunday, May 21 at the Camden County Library’s South County branch, where 25 members adopted bylaws, discussed the Socialist International debate (“Withdraw” was the word of the day), and formed their issues-based committees on electoral politics, healthcare, labor, and political education.
May Day, #StandWithCarimar
It seemed like NJDSA members just couldn’t escape the gravity of injustices happening at 970 Broad Street in Newark. That’s the Federal Building for those unfamiliar, and early May brought dozens of members out to protest the litany of inhumanities unfolding inside the building and in communities across Jersey.

On May Day, NJDSA joined with chapters in New York to protest unfair labor practices at B&H in Manhattan, then gallumphed back across the Hudson to rally in solidarity with Movimiento Cosecha for A Day Without Immigrants. We started in Lincoln Park, marched from there (under full police escort!) to the Federal Building, which houses the ICE operations partly responsible for the 30% increase in deportations and 20% increase in arrests of immigrants in New Jersey this year. Those detained and undergoing deportation proceedings faced brutally inhumane conditions even before President Trump took office, and by all accounts things could get worse. After a few hours chanting, chatting, and — yes — dancing at the Federal Building, the NJDSA contingent marched nearly a mile down Broad Street to NJPAC to confront the current slate of Democratic gubernatorial candidates and demand justice for all, regardless of national origin or immigration status. (Murphy and Johnson supporters outside met us with chants of “Who do we want?! Phil Murphy!!” and promises of “radical incrementalism.” True story.)
NJDSA returned to the Federal Building in Newark on May 9 to stand with Carimar Andujar, the founder of UndocuRutgers, who faced possible deportation. And while Carimer walked freely into and out of her immigration appointment that morning, the thing to remember — and the thing that is not news — is that our inhumane and unjust detention and deportation policies are not new and are not stopping.
We must continue to stand up and fight back for every member of our community, full stop.
NJDSA at Jersey Pride

Standing up and fighting back sometimes looks like dancing in poom poom shorts and riding a Surrey bike, though, and with that in mind, please consider joining the Jersey Shore contingent of NJ DSA at Jersey Pride on June 4 in Asbury Park!
We’ll be participating, radicalizing members of the LGBTQIA+ community and anyone else who’ll listen, standing against the patriarchy, misogyny, ableism, and heteronormativity that oppress queerfolk everywhere, and protesting the pinkwashing involvement of ghoulish capitalist concerns like Bank of America (which helped secure the awful HB2 repeal in North Carolina) and CIGNA (home to some of the worst anti-trans policies of any healthcare provider).
Those interested — family and allies alike — should meet at the parade staging area (in the municipal building lot on the corner of Main and Cookman) at 10:30 AM on June 4 to prep before the parade’s noon start time.
North Jersey Medicare for All Canvassing
By Liz Martin
Following the March/April resolutions in Central NJ and North NJ DSA chapters to campaign for Medicare for All legislation, as well as the April 9 canvassing in New Brunswick, North NJ DSA members were out knocking on doors in Montclair for affordable healthcare.

On May 7, ten members of North NJ DSA’s Healthcare Committee met at Trend Coffee to train and canvas for Medicare for All. After the recent passage of the AHCA through the U.S. House of Representatives, many locals were eager to talk about health insurance and the benefits of single-payer healthcare. Currently, there are bills in both the NJ State Senate and Assembly that would create a public health insurance option for New Jersey. However, this action would not go far enough, and we need to push for full Medicare for All legislation in New Jersey. DSA members can call their state Senator and Assemblyperson (and encourage friends and family to do the same) to ask them to support Medicare for All legislation instead of merely a public option.
Abortion Bowl-a-Thon
Here’s a little leftist logic for you:
Healthcare is a human right.
Abortion access is part of healthcare.
Therefore, abortion access is a human right.
If that makes sense to you, you are not alone. Maybe you’re one of the 69% of Americans who support Roe v. Wade. Maybe you understand that a just society is one in which decisions about your life, your family, and your body may be made unencumbered by financial considerations. And maybe — just maybe — you’re one of the many individuals who helped NJ DSA’s Jacopins raise almost $3,000 for the New Jersey Abortion Access Fund at this year’s abortion bowl-a-thon fundraiser on April 29th! Thank you for helping us become a top fundraising team in New Jersey!

These fundraisers are annual benefits for the National Network of Abortion Funds, which provide money and logistical support for low income individuals seeking abortion services. Until our abortion access and healthcare policies in this country change, these funds are vital for ensuring that individuals can truly exercise control over their bodies. Bowlers raised over 1.7 million dollars at this year’s fundraisers! While this is a far cry from the guaranteed access and funding of true reproductive justice, it is stopgap that will save many, many lives. Though the bowl-a-thons are over, you can still donate online to support these funds and the individuals who use their services.
Frelinghuysen, Scion of Capitalist Nepotism, Targets NJ Activist
By Gabe Trevor
WNYC recently exposed Republican Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen’s efforts to pressure a member of the NJ-based Lakeland Bank’s board of directors into disciplining Saily Avelenda, an employee who also volunteers with NJ 11th for Change. Frelinghuysen referred to Avelenda as a “ringleader” of opposition within his district in a letter to the board member, and pressure from Lakeland grew so uncomfortable that Avelenda resigned this month.
Saily Avelenda is a first-generation Cuban-American whose work at Lakeland Bank earned her a recent promotion to senior vice president and assistant general counsel. Frelinghuysen represents New Jersey’s 11th congressional district, a Republican Party stronghold which includes most of Morris County and parts of Essex, Passaic, and Sussex counties. He also chairs the House Appropriations Committee, one of the most powerful positions in Congress. Frelinghuysen used this clout to destroy Saily Avelenda’s livelihood for petty political payback.
Congressman Frelinghuysen’s letter and the subsequent actions of Lakeland Bank are outrageous. Attempted economic sanctions in response to free political expression have been seen from fascist and white supremacist groups, often directed at leftist activists and academics. To see these tactics used by a sitting member of congress to attack a constituent is disturbing. But these events also highlight the hypocrisies and contradictions of the capitalist system.
Supporters of capitalism often argue for the freedoms the system offers, claiming that only under capitalism are rights to free political expression and association respected and upheld, or that only inside a free market can the free exchange of ideas occur. This does not even mention the false belief in a meritocracy that preaches how good work, long hours, and dedication to a company will be rewarded with advancement and job security.
Frelinghuysen’s actions show that, while politicians will revert to these moral declarations when challenged about an economic system they work to uphold, those same politicians will betray whatever norms necessary to maintain power. Saily Avelenda was unhappy with her representatives and participated in the sort of activism any middle school civics teacher might encourage: Lobbying a representative and participating in local politics.
Frelinghuysen has a family relationship with both NJ machine politics and capitalist raiders, so perhaps these contradictions aren’t too surprising: Congressman Frelinghuysen is an old money member of the New Jersey political elite and one of the wealthiest members of Congress; members of the Frelinghuysen dynasty have served in various high-profile political positions for centuries, going back to Senator Frederick Frelinghuysen, one of the framers of the Constitution of New Jersey. He’s also a direct descendant of William Proctor, co-founder of Proctor & Gamble.
So much for meritocracy.
Calendar
Actions and programs are added to the DSANJ Calendar as they’re announced. See event descriptions on the calendar for additional details. Members will be contacted via text, email, and Facebook for targeted resistance events. Please let us know if there are any events to add to the calendar!