Chris Lowe

Chris Lowe

Chris Lowe... has worked as a professor of African and African American history, as a professional editor, and as a researcher for non-profits and trade unions. He conducted Ph.D. research in the 1980s and 1990s in Swaziland in southern Africa on Swazi politics in the colonial era. Organizing focuses have included the anti-apartheid movement, the Labor Party, anti-war organizing, and advocacy for public health and for universal publicly funded health care. Chris is active with Health Care for All Oregon, and serves on the board of Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, in addition to his JwJ work.

Health Care for All Oregon

March 2, 2019 Valdez Bravo is with Connie Harrigan Lee and Sally Sincic, Mary Closson, Carol Greenough, Massene Mboup, Andrea Salinas, Chris Lowe, Laurie Julia Cremona Wagner, Debby Schwartz.

Thank you to everyone who came out to learn more about and support Health Care for All Oregon tonight! And thank you so much to Chris Ramey and Rep. Andrea Salinas for hosting at your lovely home! And also to Rep. Rachel Prusak and Sen. Rob Wagner for speaking! And to Karen Reynolds for sharing your powerful story about the shortcomings of our health care “system.”

We can, we must - we will - do better here in Oregon and across America.

2023 PDSA Convention Delegate Nomination List

Chris Lowe is a 2023 Portland Democratic Socialists of America delegate nominee for the biennial DSA national convention to be held in Chicago, Illinois August 4-6, 2023.

My orientations in the broadest sense are to building persistent organized strength in DSA, and a belief that the best way to do that in the short and medium terms is through active engagement in coalitions to achieve transformational reforms that can liberate the working class and groups facing oppression from the fears and hardships that hold them down. Those are the outlooks that will shape I participate and vote at the National Convention if I am a delegate.

Currently I'm an at-large member of the Portland DSA Steering Committee, and actively involved with the Health Justice WG and the ERA Campaign. I was a founding signer of the application for a local charter in November 2016, and a delegate to the 2017 National Convention and the 2021 (virtual) National Convention. I was active in the Portland Clean Energy Fund and the Universal Preschool Now! ballot measure campaigns. I'm not active in any of the major ideological caucuses in the chapter or nationally, and am wary of the risks of sectarianism, though I work well with comrades from across the spectrum of views. I'm a member of the Middle East and Africa Subcommittee and the Climate and Economics Subcommittee of the DSA International Committee.

I've been a socialist since the 1970s & was active inter alia in the anti-apartheid movement of the 1980s, the anti-war movements of the 1990s and 2000s, the Labor Party of the 1990s, and Portland Jobs with Justice. I have a Ph.D. in African history with teaching fields in the comparative history of slavery, history of colonialism and imperialism, U.S. and international working class and labor history, and African American history. I approach debates over historical materialism and socialist theory from the standpoint of history.

Officials Portland Tenants United

2019 officials of Portland Tenants United,

• Co-chairs Anthony Bencivengo, Margot Black.
• Secretary Sammy Black
• Treasurer Ethan Harrison
• DTO chair Marianne Harper
• OAC chair Tabby Keefer
• Comms chair Mary Anne Funk
• Membership chair Lee-Nora Isaak
• At large Dom Belcastro, Shamus Cooke, Lauren Everett, Jake Henceroth, Allen Hines, Paige Kreisman, Chris Lowe, Alli Sayre, Leeor Schweitzer, Tamberlee Tarver, Evan Wellington

DSA’s Cuba Letter

Chris Lowe signed an April 2003 Statement on Cuba, initiated and circulated by prominent Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member Leo Casey, calling for the lifting of trade sanctions against Cuba.

“a statement circulating among democratic left/socialist folks, largely by members of Democratic Socialists of America, condemning the recent trials and convictions of non-violent dissenters in Cuba”.

The petition criticized Cuba's poor human rights record, but shared the blame for Cuba's problems with reactionary elements of the U.S. administration...

The democratic left worldwide has opposed the U.S. embargo on Cuba as counterproductive, more harmful to the interests of the Cuban people than helpful to political democratization. The Cuban state's current repression of political dissidents amounts to collaboration with the most reactionary elements of the U.S. administration in their efforts to maintain sanctions and to institute even more punitive measures against Cuba.

Many of the petition's 120 odd signatories were known members of DSA.

Portland JwJ Executive Board

Portland Jobs with Justice Executive Board of 2015;

• Co-Chair - Laurie King, PhD
• Co-Chair - Romeo Sosa, VOZ Workers Rights Education Project
• Co-Chair - Ibrahim Bilal Mubarak, Right to Survive / Right 2 Dream Too
• Co-ChairNew - Grant Swanson, AFSCME Local 88
• Finance - Dave Cutler, SEIU 49
• Fundraising - Joel Spector
• Membership - Fernando Gapasin, PhD, UAW (retired)
• Global Justice - Allen Hines, Portland Central America Solidarity Committee
• Faith Labor Committee - Violeta Rubiani, Northwest Workers Justice Project
• Health Care Committee & Acting Rules Committee - Chris Lowe, PhD
• Immigrant Rights Committee & Acting Secretary - Peter Parks
• Portland Rising - Martin Hart-Landsberg, PhD
• Outreach - Amanda Hill, OFNHP-AFT
• Media - Justin Norton-Kertson
• Personnel Will Layng, SEIU 49

Democratic Socialists of America Unity

Chris Lowe Oregon, supported the Democratic Socialists of America Unity grouping, established for the 2017 Democratic Socialists of America National Convention in Chicago.

Portland DSA Facebook group

Members of Portland Democratic Socialists of America public Facebook page, as of March 2017 included Chris Lowe.

DSA connection

Portland Democratic Socialists of America, May 2, 2017.

At #pba17 this morning. No more cuts! People over profit! #ORpop — with Emily Von W. Gilbert, Chris Lowe, Connor Smith, Olivia Katbi Smith, Siobhan Burke, Jamie Partridge and Emily Golden-Fields.

DSA Social Democratic Caucus Caucus Closed FB group

Members of the DSA Social Democratic Caucus, closed Facebook group, as of March 2, 2018, included Chris Lowe

Public Facebook group

Members of the Olympia Democratic Socialists of America public Facebook group, as of June 7, 2018 included Chris Lowe;