Kathryn Eskew
Template:TOCnestleft Kathryn Eskew is an Orchard Park New York activist.
DSA Democrat
Kathryn Eskew (Orchard Park New York), , was a Democratic Socialists of America, Bernie Sanders delegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
- "I have been a staunch progressive Democrat for most of my life and will continue to advocate for the Bernie Platform long after this election is over!"[1]
NPC candidate
In August 2017 Kathryn Eskew stood for election to the Democratic Socialists of America National Political Committee, at the National Convention in Chicago.[2]
- I have been a closet socialist for much of my younger years and have actively come out in the past 15 years. Or longer. Currently I am employed in academia and am anticipating a major life change, retirement in the spring of 2018. In addition to my academic work, I also have a long relationship with the disability community as an educator and advocate. Politically I have been involved in numerous campaigns, from Eugene McCarthy to Bernie Sanders. I was an early supporter of Bernie in the Buffalo area and spent significant time working with others on the organization and implementation of the campaign in a conservative district. It was very validating to have my Bernie peers support my candidacy as a Bernie delegate to the DNC in 2016. Despite what happened in Philadelphia I remain committed to political activism. In addition to being involved in our local DSA chapter, I am also a member of our Socialist/Feminist group, and other progressive political groups in the Western New York area. Personally,
- I am a founding member of the reorganized DSA Chapter in Buffalo NY. We had a bit of a rocky start, and I found that my communication and organizing skills were useful as we increased our membership and reached out to the broader community. Over the past 2 years we have gone from a small group of fairly inactive members to a group of over 150 participants, most of them dues paying members. We have recruited new, energetic leadership, have established a working organizational structure, revised our by-laws to be more inclusive and reflective of our current membership and established a number of working groups and activities. I was instrumental in many of these activities and have now watched as our newer members are taking on more and more of the responsibilities for maintaining and expanding our DSA community.
- I have also reached out to other progressive groups and have been the DSA representative as we work to establish inter-group coordination especially as related to local efforts, protests, meetings and information sharing. Some of these groups include Liberty Union Progressives, Stronger Together of WNY, Erie County Progressive Coalition. I was recently elected to a position on my local Democratic Town Committee. Many of our Bernie people in WNY have been elected and are working to push the progressive movement to our local communities.[3]
Democratic Socialists of America Unity
Kathryn Eskew supported the Democratic Socialists of America Unity grouping, established for the 2017 Democratic Socialists of America National Convention in Chicago.[4]
DSA Disability Caucus/Working Group
Members of the DSA Disability Caucus/Working Group, closed Facebook group. as of July 16, 2017 included Kathryn Eskew .[5]
Disability Caucus
During the weekend of August 4-6, 2017 nearly 1000 people took part in the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) 2017’s national convention, where we deal with issues large and small.
On Sunday, the DSA Disability Caucus/Working Group wanted to insert phrasing referencing disabled comrades in the national priorities resolution, a document that articulates the political and social focus of DSA’s work in the next two years. Specifically, we wanted to have our disabled comrades recognized as an important identity group within DSA, alongside our comrades of color and our comrades in the LGBTQIA+ community.
The Disability Caucus and Working Group members at the convention decided to make a series of motions on the floor of the convention, including the aforementioned motion to add reference to disabled comrades to the national priorities resolution.
Signers of this post included Kathryn Eskew, Democratic Socialists of America - Buffalo.
Facebook discussion group
Members of the Democratic Socialists of America - Buffalo, public Facebook discussion group, as of March 12, 2017 included Kathryn Eskew .[6]
Socialist Majority Caucus
DSA's Socialist Majority Caucus signatories list as of April 25 2019 included Kathryn Eskew of Democratic Socialists of America - Buffalo.