The Bay Area branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation held
a successful Northern California Regional Conference which took place
Oct. 29. About 150 activists, organizers and individuals with various
levels of experience participated throughout the day-long event.
Participants came from all over Northern California, including
Sacramento, San José and Santa Cruz. Members from the PSL’s Los
Angeles and Albuquerque branches journeyed to the Bay Area to
contribute to the conference.
The conference came at a time of political awakening, as new
people from all ages and social backgrounds realize that the system
of the 1 percent must be overturned to make way for the needs of the
99 percent. This was reflected in the range of workers and young
people present and their contributions to discussions.
The conference opened with a powerful display of the many fronts
in the struggle in which the PSL participates—from the fight for
more public education, presented by Antionette Marquez, a
fourth-grade teacher and member of Teachers for Public Education; to
the organizing of students for progressive politics, presented by
Jiddou Sirker, member of the Progressive Student Union of Oceana High
School; to union resistance to the continuous attacks on workers’
wages, pensions and health care, presented by Powel Lito from Unite
Here, Local 2; to the fight against imperialism and racism,
presented by Omar Ali of the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War
and End Racism); as well as the continuing Occupy movement, presented
by Sarah Carlson from the PSL.
Each speaker presented inspirational vignettes of those struggles
and how they can continue to grow. Peta Lindsay gave a concise
analysis of the role of elections under capitalism. Sarah Ismail and
Bethany Woods followed, giving personal and moving descriptions of
why they joined the party.
The plenary was closed by Leila Allahham,
who explained why the working class needs a revolutionary party, and
Richard Becker, who analyzed the Occupy movement and how it can win.
The discussion that followed showed that the crowd had been moved by
the presentations.
There were then two workshop sessions, “Introduction to
Socialism” and the “Revolutionary Tide in Latin America.” After
a lunch break, people could choose one of three workshops: “Police
Brutality,” “Labor” or “Arab Spring.”
People came back to the closing talks with exuberance, sharing
with each other the various discussions they had in their workshops.
A powerful four-member panel presentation closed the conference.
Chris Banks gave an in-depth analysis of Cuba and its response to the
global economic crisis. Guest speaker Dr. Henry Clark, of the West
County Toxic Coalition, spoke on capitalism’s disease of
environmental degradation and the ways in which it particularly
affects communities of color.
Finally, Meghann Adams spoke about the commonalities that the
working class faces every day. She said the reason she joined the PSL
was the realization that this system is corrupt and cannot be fixed.
The final speaker was Gloria La Riva, who addressed the question “Is
Socialism possible in the United States?” Participants felt
that it was a realistic aim and very worth striving for.
