WELCOME TO BOSTON DSA

Welcome to the fastest-growing socialist organization in the country. We need you (and your friends) to pitch in, show up, and drag a new world into being. There’s no time to lose, and everything to win.

The Democratic Socialists of America has its roots in the surges of socialist activity in the early 20th century, which at its peak had six-figure membership for the Socialist Party and hundreds of mayors and state legislators across the country. In 1982, a merger of Michael Harrington’s Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee with the New American Movement led to the creation of DSA, bringing together feminist, anti-racist, and anti-imperialist currents from across the American Left. DSA is a “big tent”: We're a mass organization for everybody who wants to work together to win socialism.

Since 2016, national DSA membership has grown massively, to over 85,000 members in all 50 states. Here in the Greater Boston, our active membership grew rapidly, as a small donuts-and-conversation group suddenly took on hundreds of new members. An all-volunteer force built the chapter as we know it (its structure, processes, and culture, right down to this handbook). We’re figuring it out as we go, as we all seek to understand and act in a new political context.

We're a mix of experienced union and community organizers, newly minted socialists, and everyone in between. This guide is to help you get started. We've got a beautiful movement to build!