In 1958, Chicago Socialists established an annual dinner in honor of Socialist Party icon Eugene V. Debs. The dinner was sponsored by the Socialist Party USA and was celebrated in many cities until the decline of the (now reborn) SPUSA.
In the 1980s, the tradition was taken up by the Chicago Democratic Socialists of America and renamed the Debs/Thomas/Harrington Dinner. Today the Chicago DSA chapter holds an annual event now known as the Debs/Parsons/Randolph Dinner.
In 2025, we will reclaim the SPUSA tradition of hosting a Debs Day Dinner!
Our event will be held on Saturday, June 14, 2025. The Debs Day Dinner will commemorate the anniversary of June 16, 1918, the day Debs gave a speech urging resistance to the military draft. He was later arrested, convicted under the Espionage Act for sedition and was imprisoned until Christmas Day, 1921.
Specifics to be announced soon!