2/28: 2010 Massachusetts State Convention

The 2009 State Convention of the Socialist Party of Massachusetts, will be held on Sunday, 28 February, beginning at 1 pm in the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) office in Cambridge (this space is wheelchair accessible).

The State Convention will bring together socialists from across the state to work on statewide projects, campaigns, and organization. Special attention will go to organizing new locals, as well as to the role and organization of the state organization and how it relates with locals, and with members in unorganized regions. More information can be found in the preliminary agenda currently being developed.

Feel free to contact us for information about carpools, or with any questions.

Meetup event

2/27: Regional Antiwar Coalition Meeting

The next general meeting of the New England United regional antiwar coalition will be 1-5 pm on Saturday, 27 February, at Encuentro5 (33 Harrison Ave., fifth floor, by the Chinatown T stop on the Orange Line).

The meeting will open with a discussion about the current crisis in Haiti, "Who Killed Haiti and Why?: The US occupation and the fight to rebuild a country free from exploitation" (flyer).

More information -- Meetup event

2/21: Boston Local Business Meeting

The Socialist Party of Boston will meet at 5:30 pm on Sunday, 21 February 2010 in the Lucy Parsons Center. We've kicked off 2010 with a burst of activity that will only get more exciting as we head into the busy spring. After our State Convention next week, there are a series of important events we need to work on organizing, from International Women's Day on 8 March and the 20 March National March on Washington, to May Day. More details can be found in the preliminary agenda.

Members, supporters, and the curious are all invited to attend.

The Lucy Parsons Center is located at 549 Columbus Ave. in the South End, near the Mass Ave. T stop on the Orange Line, the Symphony T stop on the Green Line (E), and the #1 bus line.

More information -- Meetup event

2/11: Gaza Freedom March Report-Back

The Gaza Freedom March brought together hundreds of people from 43 countries, including high-profile leaders, to challenge the inhumane and illegal siege on Gaza. Organized by the US-based CodePink and UK-based Viva Palestina, the march brought hundreds of people to Egypt to bring badly-needed humanitarian supplies to Gaza and march against the ongoing blockade of Gaza.

To our dismay the Egyptian authorities did not allow the march to proceed and activists scrambled to make their voices heard despite the overt repression. Come hear the personal account of one woman's journey to Egypt with the Gaza Freedom March!

7 pm in Room 101 of Boston University's Kenmore Classroom Building, 565 Commonwealth Ave., Kenmore Square.

More information -- Facebook event -- Meetup event

2/7: Statewide Conference Call

The Socialist Party of Massachusetts will hold a statewide conference call at 8 pm on Sunday evening, 7 February.

These regular monthly conference calls help socialists throughout the state keep in touch and be more active and coordinated at the statewide level. Though there is no set agenda for the call, we expect to hear reports from across the state, coordinate statewide projects, and plan for the coming months.

The call is open to SP members. Other supporters may request call-in information by contacting us at spboston (at) spboston (dot) org.

Meetup event

1/30: Regional Antiwar Conference

The New England United antiwar coalition will hold its regional conference in room 34-101 at MIT (50 Vassar St., Cambridge), from 10:30 am to 6 pm on Saturday, 30 January.

Come to share analyses; to map regional campaigns to strengthen the antiwar movement; to plan for national and local spring antiwar mobilizations, and other efforts to stop the wars and bring the troops home now.

More information -- Meetup event

1/25: Deadline for submissions to The Socialist

Monday, 25 January is the deadline for submissions to the International Women's Day edition of The Socialist. The edition will be produced for the March 8th celebrations of IWD, which is important day for socialists to highlight the stories of women as the makers of history and, especially, the role of women in grassroots political struggles.

For more on the socialist origins of IWD see this article by the historian Temma Kaplan.

Email submissions and inquiries to Billy Wharton, wawharton (at) yahoo (dot) com. As a reminder, the Socialist WebZine publishes weekly so keep those submissions coming.

1/21: Envelope-stuffing party

We need volunteers to help stuff envelopes for our next mailing. All of our materials and labor for our mailings are donated by volunteers, and we can always use another pair of hands!

Join us in Braintree for conversation and pizza as we get the word out about our upcoming actions and events! Contact us for the location and directions.

More information -- Meetup event

Solidarity with the People of Haiti

A statement of the Socialist Party USA

The Socialist Party USA stands in solidarity with the people of Haiti after the devastating earthquake that hit the island. Estimates of the dead are more than one hundred thousand and significant parts of the capital city Port-au-Prince's infrastructure have been destroyed. The full extent of the damage will not be known for days and the country seems certain to be thrust into a humanitarian crisis even more serious than the one that exists on a daily basis.

While this disaster has natural origins, it occurred within a nation that had already been ravaged by capitalism. Haiti is a model case for the failure of the neoliberal economic model and the negative legacies of US militarism in the region.

Read the full statement here.

1/18: Shut Down Guanatánamo Bay Prison!

Honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.!
Shut Down Guanatánamo Bay Prison!
Stop torture! End arbitrary detentions!
Stop trying to fight terror with terror!

Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, 18 January, by demanding the US government close Guantanamo Bay and abolish torture. Witness Against Torture has put out a national call to action on this one year anniversary of Obama's promise to close the prison. Obama is on track to break this promise and not deliver hope to those who need it the most.

We will meet at the Park St. Plaza (by the Park St. T station on the Red Line) at 5 pm. Those who come early will have the opportunity to wear an orange jumpsuit to demonstrate the suffering of Guantanamo prisoners. We expect many commuters will see our action outside Park Street.

More information -- Meetup event -- Facebook event