Draft:The People's Forum

The People's Forum is a nonprofit organization founded in 2018, focused on socialist and anti-imperialist organizing.: The organization describes itself as a "movement incubator for working class and marginalized communities".

The People's Forum midtown Manhattan space includes a bookstore and press called "1804 Books", a cafe called "People's Café", a library, a theater, a co-working space, and meeting rooms. The People's Forum hosts events and political education courses on socialist history and organizing.

Founders
Founding Board Members and staff of The People's Forum include
 * Claudia De la Cruz, central committee member and 2024 Presidential nominee for The Party for Socialism and Liberation,
 * Jodie Evans, co-founder of Code Pink and wife of People's Forum donor Neville Roy Singham,
 * Christopher Caruso, of National Union of the Homeless, and
 * Manolo De Los Santos, organizer

Issues
The People's Forum hosts events and organizes political actions in support of anti-imperialism, Marxism, national liberation, and abolition.

China
In September 2021, The People’s Forum hosted “China and the Left: A Socialist Forum,” which was focused on defending China. The event description lamented that other organizations "have abandoned an anti-imperialist analysis of China in favor of equivocating narratives about Chinese ‘authoritarianism’ and ‘hegemony’". A participating group has denied the persecution of its Uyghur population.

US tech businessman and socialist activist Neville Roy Singham has donated to The People's Forum, as well as many other organizations that promote Marxist and pro-China politics. Singham has been accused of funneling money to organizations that parrot the Chinese government's narrative. In January 2022, New Lines Magazine traced $65 million from nonprofits associated with Singham to various organizations that have defended the Chinese government, particularly for its role in the ongoing persecution of its Uyghur population. In August 2023, The New York Times published an exposé showing that Singham had funneled funds through various nonprofit groups and shell companies, some of which promote the Chinese Communist Party and Government of China. A pro-China newsletter that Singham began publishing in 2022 called Dongsheng is tied to the address of People's Forum.

Cuba
The People's Forum has organized to end the US blockade against Cuba. In July 2021, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel thanked The People's Forum, Code Pink, and ANSWER Coalition for their efforts.

In May 2023, members of The People's Forum visited Cuba for International Workers' Day and met with President Díaz-Canel. The 150-person delegation was organized by International Peoples’ Assembly and also included leaders from the Palestinian Youth Movement and the Party for Socialism and Liberation. Upon returning to the United States, the organizers from The People's Form claimed that they were detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection for hours and had their phones searched.

Venezuela
The People's Forum Executive Director was photographed with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro giving the thumbs up on the day of regional and local elections in November 2021. This election was called "neither free nor fair" by European observers, due to the banning of the opposition leadership.

Palestine
The People's Forum has been heavily involved with pro-Palestine organizing during the Israel–Hamas war protests, often alongside the Palestinian Youth Movement and the Party for Socialism and Liberation. One day after the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel, the People's Forum co-organized a protest "to stand with the people of Palestine, who have the right to resist apartheid, occupation & oppression", which was loudly criticized by politicians including New York State Governor Kathy Hochul. In March 2024, the Executive Director of The People's Forum, Manolo De Los Santos, gave a talk on Palestine and called for the destruction of the state of Israel. Despite backlash, De Los Santos refused to apologize for the speech.