Piedmont Triad DSA Elects New Leadership; Community Out-Organizes Proud Boys

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: ptncdsa@gmail.com 

On Saturday, August 29th, Piedmont Triad DSA membership gathered for an afternoon meeting at the Forsyth County Central Library in downtown Winston-Salem and voted to elect new chapter leadership, ultimately choosing Jesse S. and Evelyn A. as co-chairs, Kema L. as treasurer, and Caroline T. as secretary.

Community members and DSA allies from across the Triad stood in solidarity with the Piedmont Triad DSA chapter as it conducted normal chapter business: committee reports, upcoming event reminders, and encouraging members to clean and stock the Free Fridge. At around 2:30pm on Saturday, a group of Proud Boys congregated outside of the library and a handful of them entered the room where the DSA meeting was taking place in an attempt to intimidate members and disrupt the meeting. While DSA chapter leadership went over committee updates, the Proud Boys observed the meeting from the back of the room as community members and DSA allies stood between the two groups. At least one member of the Proud Boys ate a number of pumpkin spice donut holes from the snack table before all the Proud Boys ultimately left the room without incident when the meeting ended.

“It was great to see the support from DSA allies that allowed for the Piedmont Triad DSA to have an otherwise normal general meeting–which are open to anyone who, in good faith, is interested in learning more about our meaningful work to improve working class lives,” said Jesse S., one of the newly elected chapter co-chairs. “Everyone can make a difference and it starts at the local level, working together to build resilience and solidarity. Getting involved is easy. Help how you can and ask for help when you need it.”

“I am so full of pride and joy for my fellow DSA comrades and the community members who came to support us. I can’t wait to help lead this DSA chapter into being one of the biggest forces in Triad politics,” said Evelyn A., the other newly elected chapter co-chair. “The Proud Boys clapped after our speeches, so I assume they are also in agreement,” she added.

Half of the chapter’s new leadership hails from Winston-Salem and the other half is based in Greensboro, reflecting the chapter’s growing regional footprint. Earlier in February of this year, the chapter officially expanded from the Winston-Salem area to become the Piedmont Triad chapter, now covering the nine counties of Forsyth, Guilford, Davidson, Davie, Stokes, Surry, Randolph, Rockingham, and Yadkin. In July, Piedmont Triad DSA reached 250 dues-paying members across this region. Nationally, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has over 120,000 dues-paying members and is the largest socialist organization in United States history. 

Piedmont Triad DSA hopes the Proud Boys in attendance learn all about Democratic Socialism from the literature and pamphlets they took from the tables. Anyone else interested in learning more can find upcoming events on the PTNC DSA website: www.ptncdsa.org 

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