The Political Justice Committee is focused on centering those on the margins in our socialist organizing work. Our aim is to create tangible material and political change for our communities while remaining unapologetically socialist. Our belief is socialist revolution is not possible without truly liberational politics centering the struggles of all oppressed people.
Our Values
Inclusion: We achieve this through an intentionally non-hierarchical approach to our meetings and structure. Our Committee Steward is not the head of the Committee, but a facilitator and resource to help members achieve their aims. This approach requires member participation and collective deliberation.
Individual and Collective Growth: We promote this growth by providing members with the opportunity to develop their organizing skills. We treat everyone in the Committee with equality and strive for accessibility in our work and Chapter as a whole.
Solidarity and Collective Liberation: In line with the mission of the Committee This requires accountability from all of our members, and a commitment to continue our education to develop standpoints of those whose experiences we do not directly share.
What We Do
We aim to develop and contribute to community education, build coalitions, prioritize accessibility, and develop a Chapter membership that is reflective of our community. To do so, we:
Host regular political education events that connect the struggles faced by marginalized communities with a broader socialist politics
Work in solidarity alongside organizations with similar aims
Host regular socials that build community around a shared politics and liberational project
Prioritize the issues facing communities on the margins
“Politics does not reflect majorities, it constructs them.”
This Subcommittee works to build inroads with the Latine community by establishing a connection with already existing groups, promoting and supporting events hosted by other organizations, working on translational services, and coordinating with and providing mutual aid to the Latine community.
This Subcommittee works to develop and promote an understanding of the injustice experienced by disabled people, and aims to expand accessibility and inclusion within the Chapter and within our community. We work to engage people with disabilities in contributing to the work of building a socialist world, recognizing that this work can and should take many different forms.
This Subcommittee works at the intersections of queerness, class, and other forms of marginalization. We seek a return to radical queer consciousness and promote solidarity with all suffering at the hands of capitalism. We promote political education for our local queer community, host social events, and bring our community into the organizing sphere.
This Subcommittee continues the tradition of feminists connecting the oppression of women and the capitalist system. True liberation requires us to recognize the economic as well as cultural forms of oppression that contribute to gender discrimination and oppression.
This Subcommittee purposefully tracks the status of Kansas and Missouri legislation being introduced in both chambers, prioritizing those bills aiming to strip the rights and freedoms of marginalized communities. Members also engage in power mapping and narrative building to share findings in quarterly reports with the Chapter and the broader public, generating asks to win material change.
This Subcommittee, or Club, functions as a form of political education for our members, the Chapter, and the broader public. Our book selections and discussions focus on marginalized groups and how class and identity intersect and form unique lived experiences, yet connect to a system of capitalist exploitation.
The Political Justice Committee Book Club for “Capitalism & Disability” Selected Writings by Marta Russell
The Political Just Committee tabling at an event
History & Highlights
The Political Justice Committee formed in early 2025 with a small group of members interested in having a political home for marginalized communities within the KC DSA. Since forming the Committee, we have:
Developed 5 Subcommittees and a Book Club, all focused on areas of marginalization and connecting these struggles to a socialist vision
Voted on a Committee-wide campaign called Bodies in Struggle, focusing on bodily autonomy around abortion, trans access to gender-affirming care, and other related struggles around autonomy
Reflected greater diversity in our Committee membership through the work of our various subcommittees
Enshrined a regular practice of having socials after our Committee meetings to truly develop a sense of community and camaraderie between our members
