UPDATE Jan 7, 2013, The Harlem-Bronx New Year's Challenge:

Who will match what we are raising "... so we can get BA Everywhere and get to a new society"?

December 31, 2013 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

 

From a woman in Harlem who helped initiate this project:

We are doing a bake sale to raise money for BA Everywhere.

Imagine a world that does not define you by gender, race or ethnic group but as a human being.

Imagine a world where there is nothing but positiveness.

Imagine a world that has solutions to the issues we face every day. In order to achieve a beautiful world we need a revolution.

And a revolution needs to be led and supported. Everyone around the world needs to be a part of the revolution. As we all know, living in this society we need money.

We need money for everything.

We need to raise money for BA Everywhere so this won't be just a vision, but would become a reality.

BA is a force to be reckoned with. He is a true leader who has the solution to society's ills. But BA can't do it alone. He needs all of us.

The revolution needs the teachers, leaders, writers, artists, cooks, and everyone, so we can get BA Everywhere and get to a new society.

The following message was received from the Harlem-Bronx BA Everywhere Team

In a couple of days it will be the year 2014. Another year gives us a time to reflect on what has occurred during the past year. The new year also gives us the opportunity to set new goals, to change. In 2013, the film, STEPPING INTO THE FUTURE On the Occasion of the Publication of BAsics: A Celebration of Revolution and the Vision of a New World premiered. For some people who saw the film it left them inspired, for everyone who had the chance to see Stepping Into the Future it left them uplifted. Musicians, singers, dancers, poets came together to let the world know about Bob Avakian (BA). After seeing the film, people began various projects to raise money so that the world can know that there is hope, there is things that can be done, to change a messed up world to a world where we can right the injustices, we can live in a world that does not judge you by your gender, race, nationality.

A group of people from Harlem and The Bronx came together into a BA Everywhere Team. We stepped up and worked towards matching the challenge of raising $1000 from the letter by the young Latina who is part of a Revolution Club in another part of the country. We decided to make sweet potato pies and cookies for the holidays. We called a lot of people to make some cookies and pies. While we peeled sweet potatoes and arranged cookie plates, we talked about the effects of mass incarceration and relations between men and women and watched a part of BA Speaks: Revolution - Nothing Less! to throw some light on why this is happening and what to do about it. One brother who is an ex-prisoner led us in making 30 pies. The Revolution Club made deliveries. In this before-the-holidays go round, we raised over $700 toward our goal of $1000. We plan to raise the balance by January 11 when there will be a "BA Everywhere - Bring In the New" New Years Party/Celebration. We will get out 20-30 BA Everywhere penny jars to people who take up the mission of raising $10 in the next week by going out to their friends and relatives. One 12-year old has pledged to make very cool rubber band bracelets to sell. Now we are putting out a challenge to YOU to match the $1000 by Jan. 11.

Our team is made up of people who have experienced mass incarceration, police brutality and domestic violence first hand; some of us are ex-prisoners, some of us have family who are incarcerated, some are unemployed, some are homeless, some have to work 7 days a week to survive. If you share the same dreams of a better world, join with us. As the letter that inspired us from the young Latina says: "the real question is - are you okay going about your own life knowing all this is happening? Or will you do something about getting rid of these horrors? And what can you do? DONATE!" Match these funds to make sure that the word gets out globally about BA.

UPDATE — January 7, 2013:

Today, the person who had previously made a sizable matching donation, in the form of matching whatever was raised in Harlem this summer on two occasions, welcomed the news that now a challenge was coming FROM Harlem and the Bronx. He has pledged to donate $700 to the Prisoners Revolutionary Literature Fund for copies of BAsics and other works by Bob Avakian to get sent to prisoners. While he will be out of town and unable to attend dinner, we hope to receive a statement from him about why he is giving and the importance of prisoners getting works from Bob Avakian.

A struggling artist was quite moved by listening to Bob Avakian’s New Year’s Message and pledged to donate $20 “to help people in Harlem and the Bronx make their $1,000 goal.” However, when she learned more about the challenge and read the interview with those involved she was quite moved and wants to talk to friends about coming together as people in Harlem-Bronx have done. She also will be out of town this weekend and unable to attend the celebration but she hopes to write a statement which can be read there.

A woman from New Jersey who first heard about Bob Avakian and the revolution by coming to the premiere celebration of Stepping Into the Future is interested in pulling a crew together to watch Stepping Into the Future and raise money, but wants more discussion to learn about all this herself first. She is planning to come to the celebration Saturday with her kids and perhaps one or two others.

At least an additional $85 was raised in donations in Harlem towards their reaching the $1,000 goal.

Send us your comments.

If you like this article, subscribe, donate to and sustain Revolution newspaper.