Revolution #255, January 8, 2012
Getting BA’s Vision and Works Into Every Corner of Society
Two months ago, a major, multi-faceted fundraising campaign was launched to project Bob Avakian, his vision and his works, far beyond what it is today: “BA Everywhere... Imagine the Difference It Could Make!”
As we said in a recent editorial, “This is a battle with a very specific goal—to project this person’s voice and work into every corner of society. Because of BA and the work he has done over several decades, summing up the positive and negative experience of the communist revolution so far, and drawing from a broad range of human experience, there is a new synthesis of communism that has been brought forward—there really is a viable vision and strategy for a radically new, and much better, society and world, and there is the crucial leadership that is needed to carry forward the struggle toward that goal.”
A fund campaign, as we also emphasized in the editorial, “that unleashes and develops imagination, defiance and community in everything it does.” (Revolution #250, November 13, 2011)
This fundraising got off to an exciting, significant beginning in November-December, when we met and exceeded our goal of $23,000 for the production and release of the film, Occasioned by the Publication of BAsics: A Celebration of Revolution and the Vision of a New World, capturing how, in New York City in April 2011, a range of artists, musicians, dancers and actors, from a diversity of perspectives, came together to celebrate the release that month of BAsics, from the talks and writings of Bob Avakian.
In the same period, thousands of dollars were raised and sent to the Prisoners Revolutionary Literature Fund to contribute to its drive to send 2,000 copies of BAsics to prisoners nationwide who are requesting the book. By the end of the year, 800 copies had been sent, and the drive continues to raise the money—$12,000—to send 1,200 more.
Now, as we enter 2012, a spotlight falls on another major aspect of this fundraising campaign: the BAsics Bus Tour. Imagine “buses with eye-catching decorations touring the nation, spreading revolution and BA’s voice to those hungry for it in outlying areas. People on a mission rolling through community centers, high schools, Ivy League and community colleges, from mountains to valleys, suburbs to rural areas. Showing the film of Bob Avakian’s talk Revolution: Why It’s Necessary, Why It’s Possible, What It’s All About in classrooms and community centers. Getting Avakian’s memoir, and other key works, out all over the country....” (Revolution #249, November 6, 2011)
Over the New Year’s weekend, fundraising parties and events were held across the country to raise money to launch the BAsics Bus Tour in California. Revolution is calling on all its readers to send correspondence about these events. Look to revcom.us for ongoing reports from all areas of the country. And—more money is needed to launch and continue this effort. See "Announcing the 2012 Kick-Off of the BA Everywhere Bus Tour."
As underscored in the Revolution #249 and #250 editorials: If we succeed in this campaign, “if we collectively raise enough money to make it concretely possible to project the whole BA vision and project into all corners of society and to introduce him and what he is bringing forward to millions who are not yet familiar with his works and vision; if the framework he is bringing forward and advocating for becomes increasingly debated and wrangled over by thousands and by millions of people from all walks of life; if, together, we manage to accomplish this, this will actually make a very big difference. The whole social and political culture will ‘breathe’ more freely, people will wrangle passionately over ‘big questions’ concerning the direction of society (like knowing that much of the future of humanity hangs in the balance) and the time will once again resonate with big dreams for fundamental change and the emancipation of humanity.”
Read "Supporting the BA Everywhere Campaign: A Reflection and a Challenge," a correspondence from a reader envisioning the powerful role the BAsics Bus Tour can and will play in achieving this goal, and challenging people to match his financial contribution to the fundraising campaign.
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