April 11th to 17th, 2021
Sunday April 11th
Red Braid Member Meeting
Bi-weekly meeting of all members of Red Braid.
At this week’s meeting, we debriefed the recent Autonomous Tenants Union townhall, discussed campaign work in the Downtown Eastside, followed up on decisions from our Winter Assembly, and accepted a new member into Red Braid.
Monday April 12th
Tent city press conference (Olympia, WA)
A Red Braid member living in Olympia, Washington supported Wheeler tent city residents to hold a press conference critiquing the Regional Housing Council’s “Scattered Site Support Program,” which attempts to normalize homelessness while stripping away homeless people’s autonomy and agency.
Kyaw Din press conference
Alongside the family of Kyaw Din, who was murdered by the RCMP in 2019, Red Braid organized an online press conference. The Din family spoke to journalists about their request to Attorney General David Eby and the IIO to send Kyaw’s file to the Crown, as well as the many inconsistencies in the IIO’s report.
Praxis Committee
Weekly committee meeting to plan Red Braid’s internal and public education work.
We prepared for the fifth class in our political education series on fascism, which will focus on Antonio Gramsci’s theory of hegemony.
Tuesday April 13th
Maple Ridge Resistance
Weekly campaign meeting of a street community group in Maple Ridge.
This was our first meeting after a nearly month-long break due to Covid self-isolations. We set up a table outside a modular housing project, talked with people, and filled in our survey about supportive housing, rent subsidies, and homelessness.
COS Education Series: Dissecting Fascism
Political education for Red Braid members, which we call Conditions of Struggle (COS).
Red Braid members from Nanaimo and Olympia hosted our fifth COS class with the purpose of political education and recruitment of people outside of the Vancouver area. This week we read Antonia Gramsci’s “Relations between structure and superstructure,” from his Prison Notebooks.
Thursday April 15th
Bread, Roses & Hormones
Weekly meeting of Bread, Roses & Hormones, a campaign led by trans and non-binary people.
This week we discussed and critiqued government legislative and policy reforms to trans people’s access to identification and adequate healthcare. We also clarified tactics for relating to anti-trans protests.
Friday April 16th
Recruitment strategy meeting
Red Braid members met to develop a recruitment strategy for 2021. If you’re curious about becoming a member, learn more at www.redbraid.org/get-involved/. Or send us an email or get in touch over Twitter or Facebook.
Whalley People’s Resource Centre
The Whalley Centre is open every Friday from 11pm to 7am. It is run by the Surrey Street Council.
It was a slow night, with only about 15 people using the space. But there was lively conversation and activity throughout the night. As one Red Braid member said, “The Whalley Centre is more than a drop-in: it is a free cafe, restaurant, clothing store, patio bar, doctors office, library, and a place to talk politics.”
Donate to the Whalley People’s Resource Centre. The weather is getting warmer, but it is still cold at night. We need coats, blankets, gloves, socks, and clean underwear!
Saturday April 17th
Autonomous Tenants Union Network: Delegates meeting
Red Braid’s Eviction Defence Network is affiliated with the Autonomous Tenants Union Network (ATUN). Our delegate participates in regular ATUN meetings.
Marxist Center: Organizational Perspectives Panel and Discussion
Red Braid member Mercedes Courtoreille presented on Indigenous sovereignty struggles in an online panel alongside members of Philly Socialists, Unity & Struggle, and CounterPower.
Indigenous Leadership Council meeting
The Indigenous Leadership Council is holding community meetings once a week with our social base unless COVID prevents us. As we experiment with struggle, wish us power!
Upcoming events
Conditions of Struggle: Dissecting Fascism
Six bi-weekly online classes hosted by Red Braid members in Nanaimo, BC and Olympia, WA.
Class 6 in our political education series on facism is titled “… and how to fight it.” On April 27 at 5:30pm, we will discuss strategies for resisting fascism. Email organize@stopdisplacement.ca for the readings!
Publishing done in this period
Besides the various leaflets and local newsletters, we also published the following Volcano articles:
Red Braid, Lessons from the Furnace: Taking stock at Red Braid’s first anniversary
The Volcano, “The IIO is blocking our access to justice”: Din family speaks out against BC’s sham police oversight
The Volcano, Defining terms in Marxist Center
Listen Chen, Basebuilding means making revolutionary politics relevant
Ivan Drury, The shipwreck of the singular: On the future of the Marxist Center
