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| What We’ve Been Up To: |
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| On December 10th, we joined our partners in Missouri Jobs with Justice for an end-of-the-year celebration to recognize all our hard work and victories in 2024. We had a lot to celebrate, from the restoration of reproductive rights to our state, to the raising of our minimum wage to $15 an hour and the creation of guaranteed paid sick leave for all workers, to the establishment of Columbia, MO as an LGBTQ+ Sanctuary City: all fights that we took an active and integral role in this year. We are excited to build on these victories and win more for working people in the year ahead! |
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| We spent the month of November building power! Our last general meeting on November 15 was one of our biggest in years with folks from across Mid-Missouri forming a standing room only crowd to celebrate our victories with Amendment 3 and Proposition A, as well as strategize for continuing to secure victories for working people during the incoming Trump administration. On November 16th, our members joined other local organizations–Missouri Job’s with Justice, Abortion Action Missouri, Planned Parenthood Great Plains, and LiUNA Local 955–for the Columbia Power Camp hosted by Missouri Organizing and Voter Engagement Collaborative (MOVE), where we learned about organizing tactics and creating change through shared interests. And on November 23, we hosted DSA 101, where our regional DSA organizer spoke about the history of mass political movements, what DSA is doing to organize around the country, and the way to build a working class power through DSA. |
| What We’ll Be Doing: |
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| Our next General Meeting will take place at 3 PM on Sunday, January 12 at 404 Tiger Lane. This month’s meeting will serve as our biannual convention, where we will discuss our work in the year ahead and go over our Bylaws Proposal to ensure our organization is structured to thrive within the challenges we face going into 2025 and beyond. All dues-paying DSA members and everyone else interested in learning more about DSA are welcome! RSVP here |
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| A People’s Rally will be held in Columbia, MO on Saturday, Jan. 18, starting at 1 PM. We will be gathering at Courthouse Plaza for speakers, music and solidarity. Mid-MO DSA will be joined by more than a dozen organizations in a growing list of co-sponsors. The event will be aligned with the National People’s March, to be held in Washington D.C. on the same day. The local event will be non-partisan, issue-focused and will offer a progressive alternative agenda for action during the new state and federal administrations on many key issues such as: reproductive rights and bodily autonomy; LGBTQI, gender and sexual rights; economic justice; immigration rights and mass deportation; climate change and justice; wars and militarism; health and universal healthcare; democracy reforms, racial equity and white supremacy/hate, and advocacy for public education. The People’s Rally is about one thing: our power. We will take a stand to build the power to live our lives freely and cooperatively; to collectively care for each other and the Earth. |
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| Want to learn more about DSA or interested in getting more involved? Have an idea for something you think DSA should be doing in the community? Just want to grab coffee and chat with some fellow lefty folks? Join us at 2 PM on Sunday, January 19 for our monthly DSA Office Hours at Shortwave on 9th. RSVP here |
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| On January 4th, Mid-MO DSA members will be volunteering time at Room at the Inn in service to our unhoused neighbors. In 2025, we are recommitting to mutual aid and community defense through community self-reliance. |
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| The Columbia Ceasefire Coalition is holding weekly marches to demand that Columbia city officials call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Those interested in attending should meet at Speaker’s Circle before 2 PM every Saturday to join the march to City Hall. |
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| If you like our newsletter and the work we’re doing in the community, please consider becoming a dues-paying member of DSA. Socialists believe in one struggle: the struggle of working people against domination by the powerful few. Workers fighting for their fair share of the profits, women and LGBTQ+ folks fighting for bodily autonomy, protestors fighting for a free Palestine, BIPOC activists fighting to end white supremacy, renters fighting for affordable housing, environmentalists fighting to combat climate change, and organizers fighting to end mass incarceration are all engaged in this same struggle. To win these fights, we must stand in solidarity. Mid-Missouri DSA shows up for local workers demanding a fair union contract. We march every Saturday to end the bloodshed in Gaza. We gather signatures and knock doors to raise the minimum wage, guarantee paid sick leave, and restore the right to reproductive freedom. We fought to make Columbia an LGBTQ+ Safe Haven and expand access to Plan B. Around the country, DSA works to advance the fight for justice at home–winning things like historic tenant protections and climate investments–and abroad–joining campaigns like the Uncommitted Movement. DSA electeds like AOC and Rashida Tlaib have lead the charge for Medicare-for-All, a Green New Deal, student debt cancellation, union rights, and a ceasefire in Gaza. We are committed to engaging in this one struggle, standing side-by-side with one another to organize and fight for a better world. Will you join us? |
| What Our Friends Are Doing: |
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| For the past several months, Mid-Missouri Peaceworks have been holding daily peace vigils in support of the people of Gaza from 12:15-12:45 PM by the City Hall Keyhole. All are welcome to join any day you can! |
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| The Boone County Community Bail Fund provides essential services to low-level offenders who would otherwise be held in jail simply because they cannot afford to post bail. The Bail Fund posts bails of up to $3,000 for Boone County residents and arranges reminders and rides to help them appear at subsequent court dates. You can support them by making a one time or recurring donation or by contacting them at comobailfund@gmail.com to volunteer to answer phones, provide rides, help with fundraising, or otherwise get involved! |
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| CoMo Mobile Aid Collective provide direct aid and immediate assistance to unsheltered friends here in Columbia. Their street teams proudly serve 200+ meals every week throughout the year, their mobile medical clinic of qualified nurses, EMTs, and medical students have a variety of assistance available, and they partner with Unchained Melodies Dog Rescue to ensure beloved pets have access to food, flea and tick treatment, first aid, vet appointments as needed, and lots of treats. You can support their efforts by making a one-time donation or becoming a monthly donor! |
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| Abortion Help Mo can help you find an abortion care provider and help you pay for your care. You can go to their website or text Right By You‘s confidential and anonymous helpline at 855-458-0866 for assistance. You can also donate to the Missouri Abortion Fund, which provides financial assistance to Missouri residents who cannot afford the full cost or abortion care. |
| Have you been mistreated by your employer or landlord? You’re not alone! Contact the Columbia Solidarity Network to see if they can help! Call or text (573) 246-0646 or emailcolumbiasolidarity@gmail.com. |
| What We’re Reading, Watching, and Listening To: |
| Follow us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | TikTokGet involved: Interest Form | Email List SignupContact us: midmodsa.org | midmodsa@gmail.com | (573) 319-1381 Not a dues-paying member? Join DSA today! |