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It is without a doubt, Socialism 2009 embodied the spirit of an emerging Left. Not only with its energy and higher level of politics, but with a new generation of activists.
The weekend of June 18 – 21, nearly 1,000 people from around the country, and a notable presence of internationals, participated in one of two Socialism conferences being held this year. Under the banner, “Building a New Left for a New Era”, a sense of urgency from conference organizers in the International Socialist Organization and attendees filled the dozens of discussions that took place. An urgency to get organized and to fight back, now more than ever, as the opportunity presents itself for Leftists to swim alongside mainstream consciousness.
Credit: Amy Muldoon
Attendees were young and mostly in their 20s. Activists from other international organizations came from as far away as Australia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom. The mixed bag of guests provided for heated debates and intense discussions on the strategies and ideas that are to win members of our communities to organize against the system. Timely discussions included: “Eruption in Iran”, “Abortion Rights: Why We Need A New Movement”, “Afghanistan: Obama’s Vietnam?”, and “The Economic Crisis: How Bad Will It Get?”
The conference included many notable guests: Amy Goodman, Jeremy Scahill, Laura Flanders, Anan Gupta, Dave Zirin, and many more. The conference included a 60 minute preview to “Worker’s Republic”, a documentary chronicling the struggle at Republic Windows and Doors this past winter. “Worker’s Republic” is a solid piece and I anticipate its final release.
Haymarket Books anchored the conference with its wide selection of books and original titles. Socialism 2009 in Chicago showcased the debut of 7 new titles, including the highly anticipated “Sexuality and Socialism: History, Politics, and Theory of LGBT Liberation” by Sherry Wolf. Her talk on the subject was one of the opening talks of the conference and was well received by a packed room.
The Socialism conference is put on every summer by the Center for Economic Research and Social Change. Its main projects include Haymarket Books publisher and the bi-monthly magazine International Socialist Review. It is co-sponsored by the International Socialist Organization and it’s publication Socialist Worker and Socialistworker.org.
Socialism 2009 continues July 2 – 5 in San Francisco. Nearly 500 guests have already registered for the first ever West coast Socialism. Checkout socialismconference.org and get registered today.
The Sitch t-shirts were also at hand at the conference, check out these folks wearing their t-shirts. If you’d like your very own visit The Store
Credit: Emily Duke
Socialism 2009: San Francisco
With already 900+ people in attendance two weeks ago in Chicago, Socialsim 2009 in San Francisco has matched those numbers. This brings the Socialism 2009 attendance total to over 1800 people, nearly doubling last year’s single conference attendance.
It is a confirmation that people are becoming more open to radical, socialist ideas and are looking to get organized to demand change.
Look for videos of the conferences to be linked pretty soon.
Tags: Amy Goodman, CERSC, Dave Zirin, Haymarket Books, International Socialist Organization, International Socialist Review, Jeremy Scahill, Socialism 2009, the Left
9:52 pm. Activism, Politics.
