2 Douglass-Debs Dinner 2019 www.madsa.ga Metro Atlanta DSA « 2019 Douglass-Debs Dinner 2019 Douglass-Debs Dinner Program Welcome Councilman khalid Chair, Metro Atlanta Democratic Socialists of America Dinner Keynote Address Sara Nelson International President, Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO Introduced by Richard Honeycutt, Vice President, CWA District 3 Awards Presentation of Douglass-Debs award to Highlander Research and Education Center Accepted by Annie Thomas, Regional Organizer, Project South Introduced by Eric Robertson, activist Presentation of Douglass-Debs award to Renitta Shannon GA State House Representative 84 Introduced by Charmaine Davis, Southeast Regional Administrator, Women’s Bureau, U.S. Dept. of Labor Presentation of an award for Creative Activism Daniel Hanley Activist with Black Lives Matter, Atlanta Light Brigade, MADSA, and many others Introduced by Milt Tambor, founder and MADSA chair, 2006–2017

«Cover design by Brandyn Buchanan«Photo by Steve Eberhardt « Printed by East Atlanta Copy Center

www.madsa.ga Douglass-Debs Dinner 2019 3 Metro Atlanta DSA « 2019 Douglass-Debs Dinner We Have a City to Win By Councilman khalid, Chair, Metro Atlanta Democratic Socialists of America

onight, Metro Atlanta Democratic Social- supported the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions Tists of America’s (MADSA) 13th annual (BDS) movement to end Israel’s apartheid re- Douglass-Debs Awards Dinner celebrates the gime and free Palestine. courageous work of our comrades. In the past MADSA contingents again participated year, our members and allies have led important in the annual MLK Day and Pride marches, as local, statewide and national movements to ad- well as an August anti-racism march hosted by vance our goals of social and economic justice. the Atlanta Alliance for Black Lives. We joined We began 2019 with a People’s Inaugu- more protests with Project South, the Council ration in Hurt Park to protest the election of on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Georgia, Georgia’s illegitimate governor Brian Kemp. the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights The event included speakers from Atlanta (GLAHR), Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, and J Jobs With Justice, Black Votes Matter, DeKalb Street, and others. County Democrats, DeKalb Young Demo- MADSA members stood in solidarity with crats, Georgia Street Groomers, GLAHR, the organized labor in strike lines with the Commu- International Socialist Organization, Mijente, nications Workers of America (CWA), Uber and Our Revolution, the Public Policy Reform As- Lyft drivers, and actions by the Coalition of Im- sociation, Inc., Socialist Coalition of North Georgia, Southerners mokalee Workers. Tonight we are honored to have as our keynote on New Ground and United Campus Workers of Georgia. Our de- speaker the dynamic labor leader Sara Nelson, president of the As- mands included a repeal of the “use it or lose it” rule, which now sociation of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO, whose courageous threatens to purge over 300,000 citizens from the voting rolls for actions ended a government shutdown. 2020 Elections. This dizzying amount of community organizing would not We joined the Direct Action Hunger Alliance, Atlanta Home- have been possible without the leadership of our 2019 chair, the less Relief, and the Housing Justice League to protest the deaths indefatigable Erin Parks; interim Chairs Gregory McKelvey and Jen of several houseless people last winter. Members also picketed the Garcia; and outgoing executive officers Jose G. Perez, Barbara Joye, Sine die of the Georgia General Assembly’s 2019 legislative session Q Benford, Jeff Corkill, and Alexander Hernandez. Together they in opposition to Republicans’ forced birthing bill and anti-voting- lead the Southeast in a national symphony movement of Demo- rights legislation. We rallied against Georgia Power’s energy policies cratic Socialists declaring that “another world is possible.” and against appalling conditions at the DeKalb County Jail. DSA’s national membership has surpassed 56,000, including 29 To oppose the rising tide of racist extremism, members of elected officials nationwide. Atlanta has been one of the nation’s MADSA joined the Frontline Organization Working to End Racism fastest-growing chapters, now with more than 700 official members. (FLOWER) coalition, which successfully counter-protested white The answer as to why is simple. Nowhere in America can capitalism’s supremacists’ Rock Stone Mountain rally in February and engaged failures be more clearly seen than in the American South, where At- in another antifascist demonstration in Dahlonega in September. lanta tops the list of America’s most economically immobile cities, Many MADSA actions this year focused on justice for immi- Georgia has the third-highest percentage of uninsured citizens and grants, especially the undocumented. Members of our Immigrant people of color, and LGBTQIA individuals still fight not only for Rights working group twice visited incarcerated immigrants at the basic protections from discrimination but for their very lives from Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Ga. with El Refugio; engaged militarized police. in a letter-writing campaign to urge the abolition of the Immigration It is no wonder, then, that this year’s biennial national DSA and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE); and anti-ICE protests in convention was held in Atlanta — the first DSA convention held Atlanta. In July, MADSA members helped GLAHR’s “ICEwatch” in the South in more than 20 years. Twelve hundred delegates from patrols document ICE activity during raids. chapters across the country (including from MADSA, along with Concern for our brothers and sisters transcended our nation’s dozens of local volunteers) converged on the downtown Westin to borders. This September we joined coalition partners to rally against debate and decide the next step for our national leadership. The Brazil’s right-wing Bolsonaro Government whose burning of the event attracted international attention. rainforest threatens not only Brazil’s indigenous peoples I was honored to give the convention’s opening and closing — but all life on Earth. We mobilized two weekends of October speeches, in which I urged DSA members to focus on translating Global Climate Strikes with Extinction Rebellion and other groups. the message of Democratic Socialism to their local communities by Georgia Tech’s Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) pushing local, socialist legislation and running for city, county and

4 Douglass-Debs Dinner 2019 www.madsa.ga Metro Atlanta DSA « 2019 Douglass-Debs Dinner

state elected office. Following the convention, MADSA elected its ists to local offices and passing policies that prove that in a socialist youngest, most diverse board ever to do just that. South, “y’all” really does mean everybody. Myself as chair; Membership Secretary Brandyn Buchanan, Solidarity Forever, Treasurer Cole Reardon, Membership Secretary Nate Knauf, and At- Large Officers Catie Elle, Rara Imler, and Q Benford will focus not just on supporting Bernie in 2020 but electing Democratic Social- Highlander Research and Education Center ince 1932, Highlander has initiatives, includ- Sbeen a catalyst for grass- ing the Montgom- roots organizing and move- ery bus boycott, the ment building in Appalachia Citizenship Schools, and the U.S. South. Through and the founding of popular education, participa- the Student Non- tory research, and cultural violent Coordinating work, the Center helps to cre- Committee (SNCC). ate spaces — at Highlander In 1961, after years and in local communities — of red-baiting and where people gain knowledge, several government hope and courage, expanding investigations, the their ideas of what is possible. state of Tennessee At Highlander, leaders, net- revoked Highlander’s works, and movement strands charter and seized its come together to interact, land and buildings. build friendships, craft joint The school contin- strategy and develop the tools ued its work the very and mechanisms needed to next day as the High- advance a multi-racial, inter- lander Research and generational movement for Education Center. (L-R) Martin Luther King, Jr., Pete Seeger, Charis Horton, Rosa Parks, and Ralph David Abernathy at social and economic justice in Highlander, 1957 From 1961-1971, it our region. was based in Knox- Known for its support of labor, immigrant, and especially civil ville, and in 1972 it moved to its current location near New rights movements, Highlander has been a target of rightwing attacks Market, TN. in the past. On March 29, 2019, arsonists set fire to the main office In the late 1960s and 1970s, Highlander played a vital role fos- building; a white supremacist symbol was found nearby. An inves- tering organizing in Appalachia, supporting anti-strip mining and tigation is ongoing. However, an outpouring of support is enabling worker health and safety struggles, among other efforts. In the 1980s the center to continue with its work. and 1990s, Highlander expanded its work to support grassroots Here is a summary of the Highlander Center’s rich history: groups fighting pollution and toxic dumping, and supported the After visiting Danish folk schools, Miles Horton, a native of emerging anti-globalization movement by sponsoring workshops Savannah, TN, conceived the idea of a school in the South where on economic human rights and trade and globalization issues and teachers would work with both Black and white students to address by forging connections with international activists and organizers. community problems. In 1932, Horton, Don West, Jim Dombrows- Today, Highlander continues to fight for justice and equality, ki and others founded the Highlander Folk School in Monteagle, encouraging the use of culture to enhance social justice efforts, and TN. They focused first on organizing unemployed and working helping organizations in diverse constituencies develop innovative people, and by the late 1930s Highlander was serving as the de-facto strategies and alliances. The center fiscally sponsors the Stay Together CIO education center for the region, training union organizers and Appalachia Youth (STAY) Project, which supports young environ- leaders in 11 southern states. During this period, Highlander also mental and civil-rights activists in central Appalachia; the National fought segregation in the labor movement, holding its first integrat- Bail Out Collective, who are building a community-based movement ed workshop in 1944. to support our people and end systems of pretrial detention and ulti- Highlander’s commitment to ending segregation made it mately mass incarceration; and the Power U Center for Social Change, a critically important incubator of the civil rights movement. which recruits and consolidates a core of Black and Brown work- Workshops and training sessions at Highlander helped lay ing class youth whose leadership is uplifted and developed, building the groundwork for many of the movement’s most important power through civic engagement in Miami, Florida. v www.madsa.ga Douglass-Debs Dinner 2019 5 Metro Atlanta DSA « 2019 Douglass-Debs Dinner Renitta Shannon enitta Shannon defeated a four-term incum- stealing employee wages. Renitta published a piece in Rbent Democrat with a bold progressive mes- The Brown Girl’s Guide to Politics during Pride month sage in 2016. In January 2017, she was sworn into on “Why it Matters to Elect Queer Black Women the Georgia State House of Representatives, to to Public Office.” She closed out her second year in represent the 84th district. Representative Shannon office by leading a legislator's boycott of Governor- utilizes her impactful public platform to fight stig- Elect Brian Kemp’s first public address, for running mas and create legislation for marginalized com- what she called “a gubernatorial campaign of hate munities. Her experience in community organizing against half of Georgia, targeting Black and brown work around economic, racial, and gender justice voters, the #LGBTQ community and women." equipped her to serve in the Georgia State House. In 2019, Georgia along with the rest of the Renitta speaks on national platforms, about country saw unprecedented attacks against abor- her personal abortion story and the importance tion rights. When Georgia’s Republican party tried of reproductive justice and freedom. She has been to pass a bill to effectively outlaw abortion in the a consistent advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, and in state, Renitta, in an effort to stop the bill from 2017 she came out as bisexual, making her the first coming to a vote, spoke against the bill and then bi-sexual legislator to serve in the Georgia General refused to cede the podium, resulting in her being Assembly. In her first year as a legislator, Renitta was named Most Valu- physically removed from the House floor by House security. “I was able Legislator in The Nation magazine’s 2017 “Progressive Honor Roll,” determined not to just let them pass a bill to outlaw abortion like for her work on sexual assault policy. some tax bill that nobody cares about,”said Representative Shan- Committed to making sure immigrants do not experience the non. Renitta serves on the board of Spark Reproductive Justice, and same systemic injustices Black Americans have faced for hundreds of consistently sponsors legislation to drive racial, economic, and gen- years, Renitta was awarded with the “Champion of Immigrant Rights der equity. Award” by Asian Americans Advancing Justice, in her second year in Renitta is also the co-founder of Her Term, a Georgia-based office. In mid-2018, Renitta was the keynote speaker at the Center for initiative committed to targeting, recruiting, and electing progressive Reproductive Rights conference, where she discussed “Why Advanc- women into office. Her work has been featured in Time magazine, ing Respectability Politics Hurts the Fight for Reproductive Rights.” Cosmopolitan and Elite Daily and continues to maintain her as a highly She was also a part of the “Making Change at Walmart” tour, giving sought-after public speaker. Stay connected with her work on Face- speeches holding Walmart accountable for paying poverty wages and book//Instagram: @renittashannon. v Anyone Can “The smartest Do Arts Catnet bookstore in A loosely organized network town” of progressives creating art: –Creative Loafing happenings, performances, Open 7 Days assemblages, chants. 208 Haralson Ave. NE Join us. Atlanta, GA 30307 404-681-5128 Brian Sherman [email protected] www.acappellabooks.com

6 Douglass-Debs Dinner 2019 Metro Atlanta DSA « 2019 Douglass-Debs Dinner Sara Nelson ara Nelson has been the International President including serving as strike chair and leading com- Sof the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, munications for nearly 10 years at AFA’s United AFL-CIO since 2014, and is currently serving her chapter. She is passionate about AFA’s mission to second four-year term. She stands up against cli- achieve fair compensation, job security, and im- mate change, supports the Green New Deal, and proved quality of life for aviation’s first responders calls on airlines to stop enabling deportations. as well as a safe, healthy and secure aircraft cabin Sara is a leading voice on issues facing women in for passengers and crew. She believes flight atten- the workplace and across the country, encouraging dants can play a pivotal role in strengthening the women everywhere to “Join unions, run unions!” labor movement, with more public contact than in Sara is acclaimed for highlighting aviation safety almost any other job and access to every corner of and security risks in 2018-19 during the longest gov- the earth. ernment shutdown in U.S. history and for calling for Sara led AFA’s efforts to achieve 18 legisla- a general strike. In February, called tive victories in the FAA Reauthorization Act of her “America’s Most Powerful Flight Attendant,” ob- 2018, including achieving a two-hour increase in serving that the same week she called for a strike “a minimum legal rest for flight attendants and other handful of air traffic controllers on the East Coast did efforts to combat fatigue on the job. Before that, not show up to work, briefly grounding flights in New York. Hours later, she led the 90-day campaign to reverse national security policy to President Trump announced a deal to reopen the government.” InStyle keep knives and other weapons off planes. She also crafted the magazine placed her on their 2019 Top 50 Badass Women list. “CBS campaign for “100,000 Eyes in the Skies,” which successfully re- Sunday Morning,” The Nation, The New Republic, Cosmopolitan, Salon and sulted in mandatory training for flight attendants to recognize and “PBS NewsHour” have also featured her work. report human trafficking. Sara became a United Airlines flight attendant in 1996 and has Sara grew up in Corvallis, Oregon and earned a bachelor’s degree been a union activist since nearly the beginning of her flying career, from Principia College, with majors in English and education. v

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Solidarity Greetings Atlanta Grandmothers for from Milt Tambor, Peace congratulate Metro author, A Democratic Atlanta Democratic Socialists Socialist’s Fifty of America for honoring Year Adventure progressive leadership in Complimentary copies Atlanta for the past 13 years. available, contact Thanks, and keep it up! [email protected] Find us on Facebook. www.madsa.ga Douglass-Debs Dinner 2019 7 Metro Atlanta DSA « 2019 Douglass-Debs Dinner In Memoriam Nikolas Kral (1963–2019) ur community mourns the loss of shelves filled with books on anthropology, ONikolas Kral, a dedicated fighter neuroscience, and other topics. for justice and a friend to MADSA and Beyond his work with Atlanta Light the local movement. Brigade, Nikolas was an active social During his time in Atlanta, Niko- justice organizer and regularly partici- las was known and respected as an pated in community meetings and direct ever-present working class coordinator action, putting his own body on the line behind the Atlanta Light Brigade, letting in many instances, including multiple his righteous lights shine on campaigns arrests with Moral Monday Georgia’s and rallies across the full spectrum of campaign for healthcare rights. human rights: Black Lives Matter, Medi- Nikolas continued his work once he care for All, Fight for $15, the People’s moved to Philadelphia a few years ago, Climate March, Forrespect.org, Occupy but before he left he passed on the art Our Homes Atlanta, #StopTPP, and the Bernie campaign are only of the Light Brigade to friends here in Atlanta. He was a warm, a sampling of the struggles illuminated by his work. humble, and generous person who was always excited to share his A visit to the home of Nikolas Kral immediately revealed his com- art with us, even after he left Atlanta. We’re sad that he will not mitment to these struggles. Imagine a room filled wall-to-wall with return to us for another collaboration, but here in Atlanta we will dozens of black corrugated plastic boards, battery powered, LED keep his legacy alive and let it shine. v strands, and large bags packed with a vast library of LED letters amidst –Daniel Hanley Richard Rhodes (1937–2019) tlanta legendary activist Richard Rhodes bian and Gay Rights in 1987 made him an activist. Apassed away on July 21, 2019, just a few In 1988 he and Melinda Daniels became the first weeks short of his 82nd birthday. openly gay man and lesbian woman from Georgia A native of Tampa, Florida, Richard was to be delegates to the Democratic National Con- caught up in the Johns Committee frenzy in Flor- vention, held that year in Atlanta. Subsequently ida from about 1955–1965, as the state declared Richard was also a delegate to the 1992 DNC, and war on gay men, harassing them outside gay bars also the first openly gay man to head the DeKalb and arresting them inside the bars on trumped- Democratic party, in 1993. up solicitation charges. Always a wit, Richard For good measure, he and Gil Robison ran for would laugh that “they always sent the hottest the Georgia House of Representatives in 1988 as undercover cops inside to entrap gay men!” He the first openly gay candidates. Neither won, but also reported that patrons could be arrested for there is now an LGBT caucus of five in the Geor- loitering in the bars if they did not have a drink gia House of Representatives. in their hand. “I always had a drink in my hand!” Until his sudden passing from a stroke, Richard Richard retorted. would tout “if you want to know anything about be- Similar to the Joseph McCarthy witch hunt tactics, those arrested ing old and LGBT in Atlanta, come to me!” He lived up to his hype, were asked to name names, and Richard discovered that he was on the serving as president of the gay men’s group Prime Timers, and also list. Within a matter of days, he fled Florida for upstate New York, and as president of the Atlanta chapter of SAGE (formerly known as Se- although he was an only child, did not tell his parents where he was nior Action in a Gay Environment). In SAGE he had a motto “Elmo: for several years. “My folks were law-abiding citizens and if they knew Enough, Let’s Move On” for those who tended to dominate discussions. where I was, they would give me up to the authorities, so I didn’t let We mourn his passing and celebrate his considerable accomplish- them know where I went. Don’t ask, don’t tell.” ments fomenting freedom for all. v After returning to Florida in the late 60s, Richard moved to At- –Dave Hayward, coordinator of the Atlanta LGBTQ history lanta in 1971. The second National March on Washington for Les- project Touching Up Our Roots

8 Douglass-Debs Dinner 2019 www.madsa.ga Metro Atlanta DSA « 2019 Douglass-Debs Dinner Bruce Dixon (1951–2019) f there was ever a preeminent activist, vision- campaign for Congress, in which he met activ- Iary organizer and journalist seeking justice and ists galore. Then shortly after, Bruce, along with the truth about oppressive systems everywhere, it friends Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford, cre- was most definitely Bruce Dixon, who joined the ated an on-line journal called the “Black Com- ancestors on June 28, 2019. Through his work, he mentator” and in 2006 they developed the “Black also provided the opportunity for others to have a Agenda Report,” which is a weekly journal of voice. He was 68 years old. news, commentary and analysis from the Black left Born of a working-class Black family on the published each week and is still on-going. southside of Chicago, Bruce immediately took to In 2009, Bruce joined the Green Party, and, the streets as a young man in order to improve not surprisingly, became a Green Party leader in and advance opportunities for the Black commu- Georgia. nity and against racist policies. Indeed, “Presente!” Bruce, you will always be In the 1960’s he joined the Black Panther Party loved, honored and appreciated for your remark- alongside Fred Hampton and was involved in orga- able career and commitments, along with your nizing work in Chicago’s housing projects. Not sur- energy and relentless devotion to truth-telling and prisingly, he worked and organized diligently against the notorious Daley seeking justice in the and the world. You have been and machine (named for Mayor Richard J. Daley) and for Harold Washington, will remain an inspiration for us all. I know you would expect noth- who was to become the first Black mayor of Chicago in 1983. ing less! In fact, I know you would also give us our marching orders, Bruce moved to Atlanta in the early 2000s, and yet again his and we will follow your lead! v organizing was transformative. He worked in Cynthia McKinney’s –Heather Gray Gary Alvin Washington (1951-2019) ary Washington was a lifelong labor activ- economic and racial, since Black workers were Gist whose profound commitment to peace the most mistreated and disrespected among and to racial and economic justice infused At- Mead’s workforce. Gary worked closely with lanta’s progressive community for decades. Two October League activists who led the strike, but of Gary’s many outstanding contributions to he was—then and later—an independent thinker trade unionism in Atlanta were his leadership in who worked closely with many on the left without the Mead Packaging strike of 1972, and, later, his aligning fully with any. He remained a steward in premiering and for many years producing and Mead’s union shop for decades afterward. anchoring the “Labor Forum” radio program on While Gary was militant on issues of racism WRFG (89.3FM). That show, devoted to promot- and economic injustice, he also proudly identi- ing unions and workers’ self-determination in all fied as an anti-war and anti-nuclear activist even walks of life, continues today, produced by Dianne though those movements were predominantly Mathiowetz, who took it on when Gary became ill. white. He became active in the 1970s in Geor- Raised mostly in Atlanta, Gary was deeply gians Against Nuclear Energy and later in the moved as a youth by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Atlanta Peace Alliance. Gary’s commitment to powerful nonviolent witness. His parents taught him early about the peace steadfastly connected it to justice and included a critique of evils of Jim Crow segregation, and he always refused to ride in the colonialism and imperialism, and his work often involved educating back of Atlanta’s then-segregated buses even as a child. But he got young whites on those connections. a taste of the more militant wing of the Black liberation movement Gary was what his mother (who was also his mentor) might have as a teenager living in New York City when he joined the Black Pan- called “a character.” He had a sharp wit that he employed for social thers. He proudly identified as a revolutionary for the rest of his life. change. He also never minded being the only Black person in a Gary was a voracious reader who attended both Morehouse Col- crowd that gathered relative to an issue of concern to him. In fact, lege and Georgia State University. His nickname when he started he took pride in crossing racial divides in a variety of ways, ranging working at Atlanta’s Mead plant in the early 70s was “Schoolboy,” from political to outrageous, and people were rarely too racist or too but in truth he got most of his insights on his own as an organic hopeless to be reached, in his view. That approach holds lessons for intellectual. Gary often greeted friends with a stack of articles or us in today’s “cancel culture.” books to share and discuss. Gary was one of a kind and he will be keenly missed by scores, The Mead strike was Gary’s first exposure to the power of col- probably hundreds, of social justice Georgians. v lective bargaining. He threw himself into a conflict that was both –Kate Fosl www.madsa.ga Douglass-Debs Dinner 2019 9 Metro Atlanta DSA « 2019 Douglass-Debs Dinner

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10 Douglass-Debs Dinner 2019 www.madsa.ga Metro Atlanta DSA « 2019 Douglass-Debs Dinner Frederick Douglass Eugene Victor Debs (1818–1895) (1855–1926) rederick Douglass was born a slave ugene V. Debs served two terms Fin rural Maryland but managed to Eas a Democrat in the Indiana Gen- learn to read and write, so by age 16 he eral Assembly, then became a full-time was teaching a Sunday school for other union organizer. As founder and presi- slaves. After escaping from his owner dent of the American Railway Union, in 1838 he fled to New York, changed the nation’s first industrial union, he led his surname from Bailey to Douglass, a successful strike for higher wages in and joined the anti-slavery movement. 1893. He later went to jail for leading He became black America’s most elec- a strike against the Pullman Palace Car trifying speaker and a famous writer, Company. In cooperation with Mother authoring several autobiographies and Jones, Bill Haywood and others, he The North Star and other abolitionist publications. After the helped found the Industrial Workers of Civil War, Douglass also became the first Black U.S. citizen to hold a the World. He also was the Socialist Party’s candidate for president high government position, including ambassador to Haiti. He dedi- five times between 1900 and 1920. He served two and a half years cated himself to building a racially integrated America where social in prison for opposing World War I as a capitalist venture that used values and economic options would be based on performance, not workers as pawns, and in 1920, while still in prison, he received over skin color, and supported equal rights for women. He died of a heart one million votes. Debs is the father of industrial unionism and demo- attack shortly after delivering a rousing speech at a women’s rally. v cratic socialism in the U.S. v Congratulations new MADSA officers!

(L to R) Standing: Brandyn Buchanan Rara Imler, Catie Elle, Q Benford; sitting: Cole Reardon, Councilman khalid, Nate Knauf. www.madsa.ga Douglass-Debs Dinner 2019 11 “My kid went to East Atlanta Copy Center and all I got was this union t-shirt!” –Sam, Austin, TX

• Printing • Copies •Banners • Posters • Blueprints •Business cards • Postcards • T-shirts • Photos • Design

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Georgia Unions – Working Together – Moving Forward 501 Pulliam Street SW, Suite 549 Atlanta, Georgia 30312 404-525-2793 (office) 404-525-5983 (fax) [email protected] www.georgiaunions.org CONGRATULATIONS Metro Atlanta Democratic Socialists of America 2019 DOUGLASS-DEBS DINNER HONOREES

Charlie Flemming Yvonne T. Robinson President Secretary-Treasurer Kenny Mullins Executive Vice President

Vice Presidents

Ed Barlow, CWA Gregory Grant, ILA Louis Partain, IUPAT Randy Beall, SMWIA Patricia Gunn, APWU Eric Taylor, UFCW Randy Brown, IBT Graylin Heath, LIUNA Marion Williams, AFGE Greg Fann, AFSCME Christi Hulme, OPEIU Dorothy Townsend, AFSCME Edgar Fields, RWDSU Glenn Kelly, BAC Tommy Wright, USW Danny Painter, IBEW President Emeritus, Richard A. Ray

12 Douglass-Debs Dinner 2019 www.madsa.ga Metro Atlanta DSA « 2019 Douglass-Debs Dinner Patrons Continuing appreciation Wendell Bohannon Larry Keating for Metro Atlanta Yvonne T. Brooks Barbara and Jay Landay DSA’s good work Phillip LaPorte Janine Brown in peace and justice. Dian Matesic Bob and Jennie Caine In solidarity, Gus Cochran and Ray and Betsey Miklethun Rev. Kempton Haynes Cathy Scott Andrea Noel William Edmundson Nan Orrock Charlie Flemming Bobbie Paul Rev. Kempton Haynes Jose Perez Barbara Joye and Reid Jenkins Paul and Barbara Segal Brian Spears Henry Kahn and Mickey Gilmore Milt Tambor

www.madsa.ga Douglass-Debs Dinner 2019 13 Metro Atlanta DSA « 2019 Douglass-Debs Dinner Georgia’s Higher Education Union

CWA Local 3265

Walter Andrews Joe Beasley Anita Beaty Father Roy Bourgeois William Brennan Tyrone Brooks Helen Butler Charmaine Davis Mawuli Mel Davis Murphy Davis khalid kamau Charlie Flemming Sen. Vincent Fort Housing Justice League Eduard Loring Alice Lovelace Ann Mauney Rev. Tim McDonald Rev. Anthony Motley Nan Orrock Bobbie Paul Larry Pellegrini Killer Mike Render Ben Speight John Sweet Alexa Vaca Columbus Ward

14 Douglass-Debs Dinner 2019 www.madsa.ga Metro Atlanta DSA « 2019 Douglass-Debs Dinner

Solidarity forever Solidarity forever Solidarity forever Solidarity forever Solidarity forever Solidarity forever For the union makes us strong For the union makes us strong

When the union’s inspiration They have taken untold millions Through the worker’s blood shall run That they never toiled to earn There can be no power greater But without our brain and muscle Anywhere beneath the sun Not a single wheel can turn Yet what force on earth is weaker We can break their haughty power Than the feeble strength of one Gain our freedom when we learn But the union makes us strong That the union makes us strong

Solidarity forever Solidarity forever Solidarity forever Solidarity forever Solidarity forever Solidarity forever For the union makes us strong For the union makes us strong

It is we who plowed the prairies In our hands is placed a power Built the cities where they trade Greater than their hoarded gold Dug the mines and built the workshops Greater than the might of atoms Endless miles of railroad laid Magnified a thousandfold Now we stand outcast and starving We can bring to birth a new world Mid the wonders we have made From the ashes of the old But the union makes us strong For the union makes us strong

www.madsa.ga Douglass-Debs Dinner 2019 15 At nearly 100 square miles, the new City of South Fulton covers nearly as much land as Atlanta. Atlanta’s new twin city, established in 2017, is the fifth largest in the State of Georgia. With a population that is 90 percent African American, South Fulton is the blackest big city in America. Elected as part of South Fulton’s inaugural City Council, DSA Chair Councilman khalid is the first Democratic Socialist City Councilperson elected in Georgia and the first BlackLivesMatter organizer elected in the United States. Since winning office, he has led a progressive coalition that raised the minimum wage of city workers to $15 per hour; “banned the box” on employment applications; decriminalized possession of less than an ounce of cannabis; abolished Columbus Day (the first in Georgia); made Election Day a full, paid holiday; regulated single use plastics; and passed resolutions opposing Georgia’s “forced-birth” abortion bill and I.C.E. detention centers. As the new chair of the Metro Atlanta Democratic Socialists of America (MADSA), Councilman khalid plans to use his experience running winning city council, State House and Senate races to recruit more winning Democratic Socialist candidates and pass socialist legislation throughout metropolitan Atlanta and in Georgia’s General Assembly. Learn more at www.khalidCares.com.