SF Mission District Fundraiser:
“The Revolution Tour is spearheading the revolution we need”
| revcom.us
From a reader:
On November 30, 25 people came together at a café in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District to celebrate and raise funds for the National Revolution Tour. Half of the people were from the community, including seven from an immigrant women’s organization. There have, in recent months, been several fundraising picnics to support the tour in this immigrant community, whose residents are in the crosshairs of the Trump/Pence regime. Several immigrant women instrumental in initiating these events, inspired by the vision of a more just world possible through revolution, called this event, with a theme similar to the previous ones, “A World Without Borders, A Much Better World Is Possible and We Must Struggle to Achieve It!”
People came despite very cold and rainy weather, which kept attendance down. People there included seven women from an immigrant women’s domestic worker organization, activists, and veteran revolutionaries. One of the attending revolutionaries remarked poetically that on his way to the event the sky was dark, and full of ominous clouds which made him feel gloomy. But when he looked more carefully at the darkened sky, he noticed rays of sunlight piercing the clouds. He went on to remark about the event, “The world is full of darkness now, but when you look carefully, you can see rays of lights, you can see rays of hope of revolution, which is based on the new communism. And the Revolution Tour is spearheading the revolution we need.”
What he said captured the spirit and mood of the event. There was a genuine spirit of revolution and internationalism. The room was decorated by enlarged displays of 5 Stops and 6 Points of Attention for the revolution, and BA’s two quotes: “American Lives Are Not More Important Than Other People’s Lives.” And “Internationalism—The Whole World Comes First.” These two quotes in particular were welcomed by people.
In the lead-up to the event, some local merchants contributed money and food to pay for the venue and help feed those who came. $308 was raised at the event, successfully securing enough to match the $300 put up as a matching donation by people who were inspired by the gathering but were unable to attend. This included a retired teacher, an active teacher, and progressive church people.
An immigrant woman, a key initiator of this fundraising event, told people that she was inspired by the 5-2-6 when it first came out, and was especially inspired by point 3 of the Points of Attention for the Revolution.1 She talked about the horrors of the Trump/Pence regime, and how these horrors came from this system. She pointed out that the Democratic Party, as represented by Obama, committed terrible crimes against people around the world. And despite Obama’s pro-immigrant rhetoric and election promises, he became the “deporter-in-chief” by deporting more immigrants than any previous president. What can we expect from Trump, she asked, but more horrendous crimes against the people of the world? Because this is a fascist regime. We need, she said, to drive out the Trump/Pence regime as part of the struggle for a better world. She encouraged immigrant women to speak out about what they thought about the quotes by BA.
A member of the Los Angeles Revolution Club and the Revolution Tour came especially to be part of this event. He gave a lively and inspiring talk on the purpose and mission of the tour. He went into some detail about the tour’s accomplishments in major cities like LA, Chicago, and NY. The immigrant women present commented they learned a lot of what the tour has accomplished.
The Revolution Club member spoke up about how the tour members have been throwing themselves into the #OUTNOW campaign because this is a necessary step the revolution needs to take, which is to remove this fascist regime from power.
At one point the floor was opened up for comments. One woman described how she had come to the U.S. from Mexico out of necessity, driven by terrible conditions for her and her family, to come North. She congratulated people who are on the tour who are organizing people for a better world. She felt bad she had not been able to attend the #OUTNOW protests because she had to earn money for the family’s survival. She appreciated how the movement for revolution was reaching out and organizing people like herself to fight. Another woman spoke to the quote from BAsics about how American lives are not more important than other people’s lives. She liked this quote very much “because we want to live with dignity and want to be respected as human beings.”
There was music at this event, including music played by a longtime supporter for the movement for revolution. And a poem was read by an immigrant revolutionary titled “Los peligros del silencio—donde yo vivo” (“The Perils of Silence—Where I Live.”)
After the program, there was lively engagement as people shared a generous meal provided by local businesses and supporters. Some of the women expressed their desire to continue to do work in supporting the tour as well as to engage in the works of BA, starting with BAsics.
And there is some beginning discussion about organizing another fundraising party in the beginning of new year.
1. We fight for a world without borders, and for equality among different peoples, cultures and languages. We do not tolerate insults, “jokes” or derogatory names about a person’s race, nationality, or language. [back]
$33,000 Is Needed by January 1
Donate $25, $50, $100, or another amount
You can also make this a monthly donation
Click here to learn more about the tour and follow its progress.
Get a free email subscription to revcom.us:
