Socialism 2026: Full Schedule

4:30pm CDT

Friday September 4, 2026 4:30pm - 6:00pm CDT

Rural communities are often written off as politically unreachable, but organizers across the country are building power through relational networks, trusted institutions, and local leadership. This session explores practical strategies for rural organizing and introduces a toolkit designed to help organizers build trust, grow a base, and develop leaders in rural communities.

Speakers

Bo Belotti

Bo Belotti is a community organizer from Virginia and first year Masters of Public Policy student at Georgetown University. Bo has spent the last 10 years engaged in movement work, starting with their local school board while they were still in high school. They attended Virginia... Read More →

Vida Rangel

Vida is a community organizer and public servant with a long history of working to improve the lives of those in her communities and improving the systems we all live under. As an autistic queer nonbinary transgender Latina woman, her commitment to community and to working families... Read More →

Friday September 4, 2026 4:30pm - 6:00pm CDT
Hyde Park A

Left Strategy

10:00am CDT

Journalism, Authoritarianism and Struggles Against ICE

Saturday September 5, 2026 10:00am - 11:30am CDT

Hyde Park A

This panel will explore journalism and other writing about the solidarity networks and mutual aid efforts that emerged in Minneapolis, Los Angeles and other US cities in response to the Trump administration's ICE surge. Speakers include the 2026 Daniel Singer Prize winner Diane de Vignemont, whose winning essay is entitled "Minneapolis Protests Sound a Lot Like the French Resistance," as well as Adam Goodman (Professor at University of Illinois Chicago and author of The Deportation Machine) and Memo Torres (journalist with L.A. TACO and host of the "Daily Memo").

Speakers

Adam Goodman

Adam Goodman, Professor at University of Illinois Chicago and author of The Deportation Machine

Memo Torres

Memo Torres, journalist with L.A. TACO

Diane de Vignemont

Diane de Vignemont, journalist and winner of this year's Daniel Singer Prize

Sponsors

Daniel Singer Foundation

Saturday September 5, 2026 10:00am - 11:30am CDT
Hyde Park A

Fighting the Right

12:00pm CDT

Socialism, Liberation Theology, and the Black Church: Lessons from Black Socialist Preachers Past and Present

Saturday September 5, 2026 12:00pm - 1:30pm CDT

Hyde Park A

Taking inspiration from James Cone’s “The Black Church and Marxism: What Do They Have to Say to Each Other” (1980), this session will explore the organizing of early Black socialist Rev. George W. Woodbey and discuss perspectives on liberation theology, the Black church, and socialist organizing today.

Speakers

Andrew Reginald Hairston

Andrew Reginald Hairston is a Black socialist who lives and works in the American South. He serves in leadership at Ebenezer Third Baptist Church in Austin, TX and attends ACTS Community Baptist Church in Oklahoma City.

Charles Holm

Charles Holm is a ‘white’ abolitionist-socialist based in Nebraska and has a PhD in Black Studies from Texas. A former union organizer in Atlanta, he is currently an adjunct instructor in northwest Iowa and is writing a book about George W. Woodbey.

Saturday September 5, 2026 12:00pm - 1:30pm CDT
Hyde Park A

Religion & Spirituality

1:30pm CDT

Public Educators Meet-Up

Saturday September 5, 2026 1:30pm - 3:00pm CDT

Hyde Park A

Join this meet up to strategize and build solidarity with other teachers on the front lines of the struggle to fight the dismantling of public education under the Trump administration.

Saturday September 5, 2026 1:30pm - 3:00pm CDT
Hyde Park A

Meet-up, Subtype 2

5:00pm CDT

Building the People's Embargo for Palestine: Strategy, Assessment, and the Path to Freedom During the Time of Genocide

Saturday September 5, 2026 5:00pm - 6:30pm CDT

Hyde Park A

Last year, the Palestinian Youth Movement launched the People’s Embargo for Palestine (PEP), a grassroots campaign uniting the international movement for arms embargo under a single banner: by intervening in the weapons supply chain, we can stop the genocide on Gaza. Sharing powerful campaign lessons from the U.S., and Europe, this session will share key insights into the PEP’s strategy and framework while equipping participants on how to identify local targets and take on PEP in their locales.

Speakers

Lena E

Laith A

Sponsors

Palestinian Youth Movement

People's Embargo for Palestine

Saturday September 5, 2026 5:00pm - 6:30pm CDT
Hyde Park A

Anti-colonial Politics

7:00pm CDT

Minnesota 15 Anti-Repression Committee Meet Up

Saturday September 5, 2026 7:00pm - 8:00pm CDT

Hyde Park A

Meet up for those interested in helping organize a national network to defend the Minnesota 15. Please come with your questions and ideas for actions! Minnesota 15 Anti-Repression Committee.

Saturday September 5, 2026 7:00pm - 8:00pm CDT
Hyde Park A

Meet-up