Twin Cities comrades at Pride

We received very positive reception with only occasional weariness. Many people who came up were eager for change, and were interested in getting more involved, signing up to our mailing list and taking our party info cards. Many others were at least interested in what we had to say, either asking us questions or taking some Party pamphlets. Party literature was so popular we eventually ran out before the end of the event. Over the weekend no one came to argue with us, and at most we received glares or open-ended questions on socialist countries or Russia.

On the second day of Pride we attended the Taking Back Pride march, a protest against corporate co-opting of pride, cops at pride, capitalism and for Palestine. A few of our members attended, marching with our banner and party flag. There were around ~100 people in attendance, with FRSO and their front organizations being the main groups leading the march. We marched along the same route as the Twin Cities pride march in front of them, disrupting their parade. This did lead to some boos and threats from the sidelines, but many in the crowds chanted along with us and shouted in support of our calling for a free Palestine and against police violence. Once the march reached the pride festival, it led a disruption of the Target, National Guard, and FBI (!) booths, and occupied the main stage for a few hours.

Overall, a total of 110 people across People's Pride and TC-Pride signed up to either join or request information and get on the mailing list. These impressive numbers by far exceeded our expectations. It also indicated several things about our Party and organizing. For one, it displays the Party's Twin Cities Club's potential for growth. Secondly, it shows that many people in our area, in Minnesota and especially the Twin Cities are very much open to leftist ideas, socialism, Marxism, and recognize the need for change and liberation. This was especially the case with Pride focusing on people of marginalized identities who have been radicalized by the repressive capitalist system.

If even a fraction of these people who've signed up or taken business cards apply to join the party and get vetted in, it will significantly improve the gender ratio and non-cis population in the club. Regardless it's important we continue to show up to future events surrounding progressivism or marginalized communities to build our clubs influence and support.

Our work through Pride weekend was a clear display of our capabilities as a club and our ability to flex organizational muscles, attending 3 events within 2 days. This demonstrated the power of our organization and our ability to responsibly divide tasks to achieve formidable results. Our capacity for such organizing work will grow as our club and district grows. Additionally, we gained further connections with other organizations, such as Twin Cities Trans Mutual Aid, and a greater comradely relationship with DSA that has opened new doors for future events, coalitions, and party strategy.

Our conclusion is that this event was overall a great investment, moving the needle for the party, with lessons learned for future events. This demonstrates the worth of considering increased investment for similar initiatives in the future. What this endeavor achieved was becoming a statistic indicative of party growth, as well as emblematic of the performance capabilities of the Twin Cities Club and Minnesota-Dakotas District.