All Out for the August 30 Harlem Film Showing Under the Stars of Bob Avakian’s Talk —

THE TRUMP/PENCE REGIME MUST GO!
In The Name of Humanity, We REFUSE To Accept a Fascist America—A Better World IS Possible!

August 20, 2018 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

 

From a reader:

On Thursday, August 30, at the Marcus Garvey Park Amphitheater, Harlem, New York City, there is going to be an open air screening of the film of Bob Avakian’s talk THE TRUMP PENCE REGIME MUST GO! In The Name of Humanity We Refuse To Accept a Fascist America. A Better World IS Possible!

Sponsored by Revolution Books, The Bob Avakian Institute, and the Revolution Books Education Fund, it will be a special evening—watching the film of Bob Avakian’s talk under the stars with hundreds of others. As our new poster publicizing the showing says, “If you haven’t heard Bob Avakian, you haven’t heard the hard truth of how we got to a fascist Trump/Pence Regime and how only we can end this nightmare.” We encourage everyone reading this to mark your calendars to attend—and start spreading the word for—what should be a truly special evening.

Why this film matters

Right now millions of people are being confronted by the heinous workings of this system—immigrant children kidnapped from their parents by the government... white supremacists and Nazis marching on Washington... the right to abortion being savaged... global warming worsening, with its effects felt more disastrously throughout the world... all driven forward by the Trump/Pence regime that is simultaneously threatening the fire and fury of nuclear war and destruction. But most people don’t understand how we got here and what it will take to actually end this nightmare.

Just look at some of the clips from the film: “What are we facing?” or “The direct line from the Confederacy to the fascists of today” or “Why is it that the Democrats can only try to resolve this on the terms of the system?”

This outdoor screening is a rare chance for people from many different backgrounds who don’t regularly mix to come together and collectively engage this and take up the moral challenge and call to action Avakian puts forth. Bob Avakian is the most radical revolutionary on the planet, and in this one-hour talk, with depth, passion, and humor, he leads us to fully confront the history of the USA, the larger contradictions facing all of humanity at this moment and how we can actually bring about a resolution to these contradictions that would be in the interests of humanity and the planet. This film is also a doorway to all those who agonize over the state of the world to learn more about and engage Avakian’s work on emancipating humanity—on getting free once and for all.

Matthew Shipp, composer and musician, said this about the film: “Avakian skillfully weaves together the unique challenge we confront with the very specific brand of American fascism we face with Trump, the white nationalist Christian fascism of Pence, together with a historical context of how we got here—while issuing a very specific call to action now because this is a true worldwide emergency.”

Organizing for hundreds from different sections of people

A recent planning/organizing meeting I attended paints an initial picture of the vibrancy and ferment of a movement around this film beginning to take root and how this contributes to building a movement for an actual revolution as well as the broader—and more immediate—goal of driving out the fascist Trump/Pence regime. The meeting included people fresh from the confrontation with the neo-Nazis and white supremacists in DC who brought greater appreciation of how important this film is to understanding the roots and agenda of the Trump/Pence fascist regime. We started by watching the trailer of THE TRUMP/PENCE REGIME MUST GO!, the clip on why the Democrats are not the answer, and the video “Bob Avakian Through the Years,” which features footage from Bob Avakian’s speeches starting with a 1969 appearance at a Black Panther rally. Someone who has gotten involved more recently in the movement for revolution commented that the video of BA through the years shows how “he has remained true to his revolutionary convictions from the beginning” and how he has an ability “to speak in the moment, to speak in real terms ... that people can absorb and understand ... one of the best signs of a leader.” All this is part of a growing movement for revolution with people learning what we have as the How We Can WIN pamphlet lays out, what our strengths are, a lot of which resides in leadership, and specifically the leadership of Bob Avakian, who is able to combine high theoretical and scientific breakthroughs with a deep and visceral feel for the masses of people and the ability to break things down and connect in a living way.

The meeting was abuzz with ideas about how this can really contribute to the struggle to drive the regime from power and introduce people to the leader of the revolution, Bob Avakian: “Let’s get to the students right when school starts” (City College of New York [CCNY] opens three days before the showing); “If we get over 200 people to the showing, that would be a big deal... different kinds of people from around Harlem, the city, and even people visiting from other parts of the world”; someone else: “A place like Harlem that concentrates America was never great ... and now Nazis marching in Inwood (Black and Latino community in upper Manhattan) ... has massive implications for locking down the country.” The woman who remarked about BA through the years: “There’s good news to spread. How we can get out of this mess and make revolution ... there is the answer, and you can start at Marcus Garvey Park.”

People wrangled with how to build a mass movement around the showing, getting people involved, doing outings together, and summing up what people are saying and how we can get them involved in spreading the word with a lot of emphasis on social media. At the end of the meeting, people did videos of people saying why they’re going on the 30th, some did them as individuals and some in groups—and we will be getting these out right away. One particular need was people talking about how to be raising funds in everything we’re doing, and helping people see that donating funds is a crucial way to contribute and be part of the movement for revolution and the struggle to drive the regime from power... and right now the importance and potential impact of the film showing.

A Host Committee of voices of conscience is coming together in the lead up to this evening, to lend their name to publicity, and to help ensure the success of the showing: Herb Boyd, author, educator, and activist; Carl Dix, Revolutionary Communist Party, USA; Nkosi Anderson, PhD candidate, Union Theological Seminary; David Orenstein, professor of anthropology, Medgar Evers College; Pastor Doris Johnson from Jamaica, Queens; and Rev. Luis Barrios, professor of Latin American and Latina/o Studies, John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Over the next 10 days the Revolution Club, Revolution Books, and people involved in Refuse Fascism who appreciate the depth of the argument brought out by BA in this film will be going all out to build for this showing—and you are needed and can participate in many different ways.

One key element is groups of people coming together to organize yourself and your friends to go together—this could be groups of students or even a class at CCNY and Medgar Evers College, which opens up on the 27th, or it could be some of the courageous resisters who just went down to DC together bringing their friends who were impressed by what they did down there, or a group of people around the Revolution Club coming together to raise funds for this film showing by selling hundreds of “America Was NEVER Great!” stickers. The basic idea is people like you inspiring and organizing your own friends to come together for this experience.

Other elements of our plan include making Harlem buzz with this film showing, with posters up in stores and where people live, lively scenes with flyers and tables at the various events in Marcus Garvey Park. We are reaching out to important Harlem institutions like the Schomburg Center and the Fortune Society, as well as legal organizations and teachers and professors, right as school is opening up. And we have a team of phone bankers who are reaching out to hundreds of people the movement for revolution has met over the last six months as well as any of the people who have seen the movie already and have a special role in sharing this with others.