April 1st, Central Iowa DSA Update

In this newsletter -- Get Involved – Organize for Change, Become a DSA Member – Build Power With Us!

By Central Iowa DSA
Posted on March 31, 2025

April 1, 2025 Central Iowa DSA Update

In this edition, we dive into a mix of exciting updates and thought-provoking topics that reflect the changing landscape of our work and community. From insights into team processes to upcoming events and discussions, there’s plenty to explore. Don’t miss out on key announcements and opportunities to get involved—read on to stay in the loop!

Each monthly newsletter will be available on our website, centraliowadsa.org.

✊ Get Involved – Organize for Change

📅 General Meeting – Second Sunday at 4 PM

Our next general meeting will be on Sunday, April 13 at CCI at 4 PM (RSVP Link). DSA general meetings are a space for members and newcomers to connect, learn, and take action on issues that matter locally and nationally. Join us to collaborate on campaigns, hear committee updates, and shape the future of our organizing efforts!

Count Me In!

🌹 Become a DSA Member – Build Power With Us!

By becoming a DSA member, you strengthen our collective power to challenge the systems that exploit us. The best way to support this work is by signing up for monthly dues, which sustain our organizing efforts and build long-term power. Right now, we have a critical opportunity—if we bring in just 23 new constitutional members before April 8, we can secure an additional delegate for national convention!
Can you help us make it happen? If you’re a lapsed member, now is the time to rejoin. If you’re already a member, reach out to a friend and invite them to join!
🔗 Join today and set up monthly dues!

I’m Joining!

🏛️ Civic Engagement – Take Action This Month

🔹 Defend Public Transit – The CIDSA transit group will be gathering interested members to make public comments at the upcoming April 7 city hall meeting (5 PM at City Hall, 400 Robert D Ray Drive).  The city government is holding a public information session and opening for public comment on the transit budget.  Please consider joining the transit working group to oppose plans to cut the DART budget!

🔹 Tenants Round Table – Our housing group is hosting a Tenants Round Table on April 5, 2025, from 12:00 to 1:30 PM at Ritual Cafe. Join us to discuss housing issues, share experiences, and build solidarity among tenants in our community. This event is inspired by the success of the Worker’s Round Table, and we hope to gain support as we work together to address tenant concerns.

🔹 Push Back Against Congress – Our International Working Group has partnered with the DSA International Committee to launch a letter-writing campaign opposing the FORCE Act (H.R. 450), which aims to entrench Trump’s anti-Cuba policies. Send a letter NOW and tell Congress: Stop using Cuba as a political pawn—oppose H.R. 450!

📚 Political Education & Study Groups

📖 CIDSA Reading Group

On Sunday, March 16, we gathered at Moberg Gallery to discuss Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam. Our conversation centered on the decline of social engagement, the evidence supporting it, and the factors that may have contributed to it. We explored Putnam’s arguments—ranging from decreased political involvement to the isolating influence of television—as well as our own experiences with shifting community structures.

Want to be part of these thought-provoking discussions? Our Reading Group meets monthly, and we’d love to have you join us for the next sessions! For April we are reading The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte by Marx, Karl. You can join us April 19, 2025 (Saturday) 2:00-4:00 pm at Moberg Gallery! Here’s the full line up

💡April Reading Selection:
📕The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte by Marx, Karl
📅 April 19, 2025 (Saturday) 4:00-6:00 pm at Moberg Gallery

💡May Reading Selection:
📕The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon
📅 May 18, 2025 (Sunday) 4:00-6:00 pm at Moberg Gallery

💡June Reading Selection:
📕*The Wretched of the Earth *by Frantz Fanon
📅 June 15, 2025 (Sunday) 4:00-6:00 pm at Moberg Gallery

📕 Socialist Study Group

The socialist study group is our second reading group. This group will focus on collectively reading and studying more classic socialist texts on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. There will also be a follow-up “Bolshevik brunch” to discuss the texts in a more relaxed atmosphere. Keep an eye out for the first Bolshevik brunch in May! The texts for this month are Socialism, Utopian and Scientific by Engels and “Dialectical and Historical Materialism” by Stalin. Both texts are also available for free on the Marxists Internet Archive. Our first meeting will be at the Des Moines Central Library on 4/26 at 11:00 am. Please fill out the interest form here if you’re interested in joining!

📍 Des Moines Central Library – April 26 at 11:00 AM

 📄  Study Group Interest Form

Disclaimer: The use of referenced material is intended solely for educational purposes and does not equate to an endorsement of author views or actions by Central Iowa DSA or its affiliated groups. To see what we do stand for, please visit our website at www.centraliowadsa.org.

📨 Electoral Working Group

The Electoral Working Group builds working-class power through strategic campaigns and endorsements. We support candidates and ballot measures that advance socialist policies, protect workers, and expand public services. Our work includes canvassing, voter outreach, and holding elected officials accountable. By winning elections and policy fights, we challenge corporate control and push for a fairer, more democratic society. Join us to build real political power for the many, not the few!

Working Groups and Committees

CIDSA has several committees and working groups where members can get involved in organizing efforts across various issues. Whether you’re interested in media and outreach, political education, labor rights, housing justice, or public transit, there’s a place for you to contribute! These groups provide opportunities to take action, learn new skills, and connect with comrades working toward shared goals. Below is a list of CIDSA’s committees and working groups and a brief overview of what they do.

  • Communications Committee – Manages outreach through newsletters, social media, and text campaigns to engage members and the public.
  • Political Education Committee – Organizes reading groups and events like Socialist Night School to deepen members’ understanding of socialism and organizing.
  • Transit Working Group – Advocates for a stronger, fully funded public transit system through community engagement and direct action.
  • Labor Working Group – Supports union efforts and worker organizing by providing solidarity, resources, and direct action opportunities.
  • International Working Group – Promotes global solidarity and raises awareness about American imperialism through education and advocacy.
  • Housing Working Group – Organizes tenants, advocates for equitable housing policies, and mobilizes for local housing justice initiatives.
  • Electoral Working Group –  Organizing to build political power through elections and policy advocacy.
  • Queer Liberation Working Group – Fighting for LGBTQ+ rights and liberation through activism and solidarity.
  • Des Moines City Budget – Pushing for transparency, advocating for a people’s budget, and demanding funding for critical services like transit, housing, and worker protections.

Upcoming CIDSA Meetings

Meeting details may be subject to change. For the most up-to-date information and addresses, or to RSVP if applicable please subscribe to our chapter’s google calendar.

Upcoming State and National Meetings

So far, thousands of UTLA members have reported being impacted by the most destructive wildfires in California history, and reports are still pouring in. Members are facing displacement, unexpected costs, and for many, the loss of their home. Donate to United Teachers Los Angeles disaster relief fund.

What We’re Reading

Justin - Ecology of Fear by Mike Davis
Even in the early chapters, it’s clear how well he unpacks complex social and environmental issues. His writing is dense with historical detail and factual information, but his style makes it approachable and engaging. The book explores the recurring natural and social disasters that have shaped Southern California - earthquakes, fires, riots, and more - and how these events have been handled at various levels of government, along with their social impact. Although I have no personal ties to California, I’m drawn to the book out of a broader interest in how governments respond to crises, especially as climate disasters become increasingly common. Davis offers a critical and revealing look at past responses that feel deeply relevant to our future.

Samantha - The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas S. Kuhn
This is a super approachable book on the history and philosophy of science and specifically scientific revolutions, which has been applied outside the field, including to political and social revolutions. Science traditionally views progress as a steady, cumulative process, but Kuhn argues that science advances through a series of paradigm shifts when existing frameworks are overturned by new, revolutionary theories, and that these shifts usually happen during periods of scientific crisis. His concept of “paradigms” also suggests that major shifts in political ideologies or societal norms also occur in similar patterns of disruptive, transformative change. The book’s political relevance lies in its critique of how entrenched power structures resist change, mirroring how scientific communities might reject paradigm-shifting ideas that challenge authority.

Michael - The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia Novel by Ursula K. Le Guin
I’m reading The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia by Ursula K. Le Guin, which contrasts the anarcho-socialist society of Anarres with the capitalistic opulence of Urras. The protagonist, Shevek, defects from the collectivist yet rigid Anarres to the wealth and freedom of Urras, only to find that its abundance comes at the cost of deep inequality and exploitation. While Anarres fosters communal responsibility and rejects materialism, it struggles with social conformity and bureaucratic stagnation, whereas Urras thrives on innovation but hoards knowledge and wealth for the elite. Le Guin presents no simple answers—through Shevek’s journey, she forces us to question what true freedom means and whether any society can ever fully achieve it.

Interested in being featured in the “What We’re Reading” section? Shoot us an email with a review! It doesn’t have to be political or DSA-related. We would love to hear from you!

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