DSA Sustains Growth Since 1982 as Rivals' Chapter Counts Shrink
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Oct 7
DSA Sustains Growth Since 1982 as Rivals' Chapter Counts Shrink
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Oct 7
Summary
The Democratic Socialists of America’s rapid rise has outlasted many peer movements because members set goals, elect leaders and can amend the organization’s constitution, the report argues.
That structure contrasts with staff-run, foundation-funded groups whose local chapters often have little control over national leadership, making it harder to retain activists beyond protest surges.
Sunrise Movement illustrates the strain: one former member said it fell from more than 500 chapters in 2021 to fewer than 90 by 2023, despite once claiming over 80,000 members.
Black Lives Matter’s national network is portrayed as even weaker, with many chapters dissolved, split off or gone dormant after the movement helped drive the largest protest wave in U.S. history.
The piece places DSA in an older membership-based tradition—alongside groups like the 100-plus-year-old NAACP—arguing that democratic participation builds longer-term loyalty and institutional durability.