Symone Baptiste
Template:TOCnestleft Symone Baptiste is married to Brandon Rey Ramirez. She is a Director & Writer/Producer based in Los Angeles. Her short directorial debut, Sixteen Thousand Dollars, tackled reparations through a socialist lens. The film, backed by the DSA Fund, won the Jury Award for Best Narrative Short at the 2020 Bushwick Film Festival, Programmers’ Best Narrative Short at the 2020 Pan African Film Festival & Best Comedy Short at the 2020 Queens (NY) World Film Festival. Symone is a member of the DSA AfroSocialist and Socialists of Color caucus and is an advocate for marginalized voices.[1]
Statement on Anti Blackness in the DSA
Statement on Anti Blackness in the DSA was released in February 2021:
We as the AfroSocialist and Socialists of Color Caucus stand in solidarity with the Black woman in DSA North Texas who was wrongfully suspended by DSA North Texas Co-chairs. This action by the DSA North Texas Co-chairs is racist and in particular anti-Black. This is not an isolated incident of racism but represents a pattern of anti-black and white supremacist actions within DSA which must be acknowledged, held accountable and systematically rooted out. There is a pattern of anti-black behavior that stems from the founding of DSA North Texas that has led to each generation of Co-chairs either perpetuating or being complicit in anti-black racism.
Signatories included Symone Baptiste Los Angeles Democratic Socialists of America .[2]
Screening and Q&A
Monday, January 18th, 2021.
Screening and Q&A on Sixteen Thousand Dollars: A Comedy Short on Reparations with filmmaker Symone Baptiste; creative team members Brodie Reed and Ellington Wells; and moderator Bianca Cunningham.
Join the Democratic Socialists of America Fund, DSA’s Afrosocialists and Socialists of Color Caucus (AFROSOC), and Dissent magazine for a discussion of the film and the issues it raises about reparations.[3]
Fight for Racial and Economic Justice
The Fight for Racial and Economic Justice: A Virtual Discussion with Darrick Hamilton, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Symone Baptiste, Olufẹemi Taiwo, and Bianca Cunningham. Wednesday, December 16th at 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/5pm PT.
Edited by Kate Aronoff, Peter Dreier and Michael Kazin.
Socialist Majority Caucus
DSA's Socialist Majority Caucus signatories list as of April 25 2019 included Symone Baptiste of Los Angeles Democratic Socialists of America.
Bernie 2020 Working Group supporters
Katrina Bergstrom July 27 2019·
DSA-LA members!
You should have received a link last night to vote for the creation of DSA-LA’s Bernie 2020 Working Group - please vote YES today!
Voting is open for one week. ... See More — with Alex Wolinetz, Amarnath Ravva, Zenaida Huerta, Angelica Duenas, Olivia Gamboa, Shawnee Badger, Wendy Fagioli Ruiz, Marlin Medrano, Bobbie McGowan, Joshua Smith, Henry Huerta, Ezra Pugh, Lisa Kendall, Jeanna Harris, Kristina Meshelski, Nick Roth, Erika Feresten, Tina Fredericks, Jeanine Rohn, Jane Demian, Frances Yasmeen Motiwalla, Andrew Swetland, Aaron Balanta Holloway, Hsingii Tseng Bird, Josh Goodman, Isaac Lieberman, Ankur Patel, Sophie Eupp, Brandon Rey Ramirez, Chris Roth, Taiji Miyagawa, Symone Baptiste, Gabe Gabrielsky, Reed Heisley-Shellaby, Rachel Miller, Jack Suria Linares, Jeremy White, Mason Mineo, Gabbi Pierce, Rebecca Prediletto, Don Ward, Mark Masaoka, Rachel Reyes, Jessica Salans, Nina Eliasoph, Francisco Cendejas, Una Lee Jost, Paul Song, Don Irwin, Chris Myers, Charles Du, Eugene Pesikov, Katrina Bleckley, Kat Valentine, Rob Quan, Jenni Chang, Tom Pike, Evan Geary and Maikiko James.
DSA Facebook group
Members of the California Democratic Socialists of America, statewide Facebook group, as of March 16, 2017 included Symone Baptiste.[4]