About DSA North Star
DSA North Star: The Caucus for Socialism and Democracy is committed to a truly democratic socialist agenda within the organization Democratic Socialists of America through electoral organizing, grassroots engagement and concrete political action. Our Statement of Principles provides a detailed description of our goals for Democratic Socialists of America and our strategy for building a strong, socialist mass movement in the United States.
Members of the North Star Steering Committee
are elected by the members of North Star.
For 2024 the steering committee consists of
Bill Barclay, co chair, Ventura, Ca
Barbara Joye, co chair Atlanta, Ga
Michael Dover
Cleveland, Ohio
Duane Campbell
Sacramento, Ca.
Susan Chacin
East Bay, Ca.
Terry Altherr
Boston, Ma
Walter Reeves
Atlanta, Ga
Jone Lewis
New York, NY
You may contact the steering committee using the
contact form.
Members of the North Star Steering Committee
are elected by the members of North Star.
For 2024 the steering committee consists of
Bill Barclay, co chair, Ventura, Ca
Barbara Joye, co chair Atlanta, Ga
Michael Dover
Cleveland, Ohio
Duane Campbell
Sacramento, Ca.
Susan Chacin
East Bay, Ca.
Terry Altherr
Boston, Ma
Walter Reeves
Atlanta, Ga
Jone Lewis
New York, NY
You may contact the steering committee using the
contact form.
What is DSA North Star?
Our caucus is a group comprised of members of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) who advocate within the organization for a democratic socialist tendency that empowers working people and oppressed groups by promoting democratization of the economy through strengthening unions, co-ops and other formations that grant control and agency in the workplace to ordinary people.
We know that right now, the greatest danger to the working class and marginalized communities is government control at the national, state and local levels by Republicans, the Tea Party and the alt-right. The 2016 election of Donald Trump to the presidency, as well as the Republican-controlled House and Senate, present not only material harm to the working class, people of color, the LGBTQIA community, women and people with disabilities but also an existential threat to the values that democratic socialists and all progressives hold dear: equity, justice, collectivism, empathy and acceptance. Only a truly democratic socialist vision grounded in grassroots organizing and political action can defeat Trumpism.
To achieve this vision, we support and develop initiatives within DSA that strengthen the power of working people and oppressed groups through electoral organizing that furthers getting democratic socialists and progressives who share our values in office. We cannot realize our values in the political world or right historic injustices unless we have elected leaders who are truly committed to listening to the people rather than corporate lobbyists. We also support strengthening—not cutting!—the social welfare state, which gives working people and the poor the stability they need to care for themselves and their families and engage with the democratic process. Large scale social change in this country has only come about through coalition-building between various interests and movements recognizing that their oppression is interconnected and that their goals, while not always identical, are aligned. For this reason, we prioritize DSA’s work with many different organizations and movements, both within and outside the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and to our political left and to our right, that have the aim of shifting US politics to the left of their currently conservative state. To enact meaningful change socially, politically and economically, we cannot merely build DSA as an organization: we must also build a mass movement comprised of many different individuals and organizations—this is what we mean by coalition-building. Efforts that grant more economic empowerment and democratic control to the people and that prioritize human rights and human needs over profit are the best way in which to bring about a democratic socialist society and economic system in the United States.
If you would like to learn more about our values and goals as a caucus, please view our Statement of Principles. If you are in agreement with them, please sign on to our statement and join our caucus. We look forward to working with other DSA members from all backgrounds, ages and walks of life to promote a democratic socialist agenda in our organization and best take advantage of the opportunities presented to us to organize against Trump, the Republicans and corporate Democrats. We have the chance to build a coalition of progressives and form a movement for democratic socialist principles, and we must seize this moment!
We know that right now, the greatest danger to the working class and marginalized communities is government control at the national, state and local levels by Republicans, the Tea Party and the alt-right. The 2016 election of Donald Trump to the presidency, as well as the Republican-controlled House and Senate, present not only material harm to the working class, people of color, the LGBTQIA community, women and people with disabilities but also an existential threat to the values that democratic socialists and all progressives hold dear: equity, justice, collectivism, empathy and acceptance. Only a truly democratic socialist vision grounded in grassroots organizing and political action can defeat Trumpism.
To achieve this vision, we support and develop initiatives within DSA that strengthen the power of working people and oppressed groups through electoral organizing that furthers getting democratic socialists and progressives who share our values in office. We cannot realize our values in the political world or right historic injustices unless we have elected leaders who are truly committed to listening to the people rather than corporate lobbyists. We also support strengthening—not cutting!—the social welfare state, which gives working people and the poor the stability they need to care for themselves and their families and engage with the democratic process. Large scale social change in this country has only come about through coalition-building between various interests and movements recognizing that their oppression is interconnected and that their goals, while not always identical, are aligned. For this reason, we prioritize DSA’s work with many different organizations and movements, both within and outside the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and to our political left and to our right, that have the aim of shifting US politics to the left of their currently conservative state. To enact meaningful change socially, politically and economically, we cannot merely build DSA as an organization: we must also build a mass movement comprised of many different individuals and organizations—this is what we mean by coalition-building. Efforts that grant more economic empowerment and democratic control to the people and that prioritize human rights and human needs over profit are the best way in which to bring about a democratic socialist society and economic system in the United States.
If you would like to learn more about our values and goals as a caucus, please view our Statement of Principles. If you are in agreement with them, please sign on to our statement and join our caucus. We look forward to working with other DSA members from all backgrounds, ages and walks of life to promote a democratic socialist agenda in our organization and best take advantage of the opportunities presented to us to organize against Trump, the Republicans and corporate Democrats. We have the chance to build a coalition of progressives and form a movement for democratic socialist principles, and we must seize this moment!
About the name "North Star"
We democratically chose the name North Star for our caucus because of the aspirational ideals that the North Star has symbolized throughout many time periods and cultures. As we navigate the political landscape within the United States, we orient ourselves by the values of democratic socialism, which act as our “North Star” to guide our organizing and our priorities. As we keep in mind our ultimate aim of democratic control of the economy by working people and the redress of economic, social and political injustice that has been inflicted upon people of color, the LGBTQIA community, women, people with disabilities and many other marginalized groups, we must prudently choose actions that will bring us closer to democratic socialism and align ourselves with allies who can help us toward this goal. Through expanding democratic control of the people over the political and economic spheres, we journey closer and closer together toward our ultimate goal of democratic socialism within the United States.
We also chose the name “North Star” to pay tribute to the important contributions of radicals, thinkers, activists and organizers throughout US history. One of the greatest fighters for freedom and justice, former slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass, called his newspaper The North Star. Its slogan contained the phrase, “Right is of no sex--Truth is of no color.” Through our name, we hope to pay homage to Douglass and the many others who came after him to build a world based on economic and social justice. The democratic socialism that we advocate will be a form of socialism shaped democratically by the people, making it an inherently grassroots and authentically US form of socialism. Our duty, as democratic socialists, is to empower working class and oppressed people to break the chains that bind them to capitalism, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism and other forms of exploitation so that they may obtain this greater democratic control over their own lives and their own society.
We also chose the name “North Star” to pay tribute to the important contributions of radicals, thinkers, activists and organizers throughout US history. One of the greatest fighters for freedom and justice, former slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass, called his newspaper The North Star. Its slogan contained the phrase, “Right is of no sex--Truth is of no color.” Through our name, we hope to pay homage to Douglass and the many others who came after him to build a world based on economic and social justice. The democratic socialism that we advocate will be a form of socialism shaped democratically by the people, making it an inherently grassroots and authentically US form of socialism. Our duty, as democratic socialists, is to empower working class and oppressed people to break the chains that bind them to capitalism, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism and other forms of exploitation so that they may obtain this greater democratic control over their own lives and their own society.