Bring BA To The Start of What Could Potentially Be "A Long, Hot Summer"

May 25, 2015 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

Further Reflections in Getting this Film Out In the World:

Revolution recently, two weeks back, had an article with a rather matter-of-fact title, “Watching Clips from the Dialogue Between Cornel West and Bob Avakian in West Baltimore.” This account describes the reaction, responses, and further questions of people, mainly from West Baltimore, where Freddie Gray was murdered. They “gathered around the tiny screen of a DVD player to watch excerpts from REVOLUTION AND RELIGION: The Fight for Emancipation and the Role of Religion. From teenagers to people in their 50s and older, men and women, and some who had done long bids in prison—everyone in the room was glued to the screen, hooting, laughing, and clapping at times, and at other times audibly silent, intensely listening to the Dialogue—with some particular intensity to the part where Bob Avakian laid out in clear and serious terms how it could be possible to make an actual revolution and defeat the brutal power of the rulers.”

This account describes the visceral responses to Avakian’s laying out a vision of a radically different world: What if the world did not have to be this way—without police murder, without the objectification of women as sex objects, without the criminalization of immigrants, in fact a world without borders—posing, in this context, whether we need religion to “get through the night” as a salve to the horrors of this world. This account describes the responses of the people to Avakian’s argument that we need to actually “win” the revolution, and be serious about it, including drawing forth others into the process of figuring out how, on the foundation of a basic framework to do so. “I leaned forward when I heard that” commented someone on Avakian’s notice that “if you’re going to go up against [the enforcers] of this system, you have to take seriously into account what they will bring down on people who try to fight them.” And most of all, people talked about their sights—and hopes being raised to the possibility of something radically different. “At the end of the meeting [one woman] said she was ‘worried’ because she felt so good. She felt so full of hope. We talked a little bit about this thing of how much it hurts for people to hope, but how much this raises people’s hopes and sights and dreams. Physically you could see she was so full of excitement—but she was also thinking, ‘am I a fool to hope?’ It was sort of an unspoken—or actually a spoken—thing. People were trying to take a measure of us, and of BA. I don’t think there was a question in people’s minds that BA is for real.” [emphasis ours]

People responded to and commented on the chemistry, the mutual respect between West and Avakian, with their differences, but united on their concern for those who are “the least among us,” with the account going on to state: “People were really responding to the back and forth between BA and CW over the role of art and having a different kind of culture—the point about the tenderness, the sweetness, and the collectivity. When BA said, ‘It’s not weak to love,’ that really struck a chord...” In this Dialogue, people experienced the pre-figuring of a radically different world, and this has come through in account after account of people’s responses, sincere and heart-felt, to the Dialogue and the film of it.

This is but a mere glimpse of the potential response to this Dialogue, and in an atmosphere of intense political and intellectual ferment that follows the defiant and mass protests against police murder, mainly of Black and Latino youth, a much-needed and critical element.

There are tens, if not hundreds of thousands across this country who are like the individuals at this gathering, searching for answers, open to radical questioning and radical change, looking for leadership, but who don’t yet know about BA.

This is what we seek to change with BA Everywhere, raising the funds so that all of them know about BA and what he represents in basic terms. BA Everywhere is a multi-faceted fundraising campaign to project Bob Avakian—BA—his voice and his work way out into society, far beyond what it is today. All those who have engaged BA in some form―whether by watching the Dialogue, or being provoked by a quote in BAsics, or reading a section of his memoir—and think he needs to be heard and seen by millions more, or can be won to see the impact this can have on society, needs to be part of this campaign to actually make this happen, to “make BA a household word,” and ways should be found for them to contribute and participate in this process.

Let’s, for a minute, look at what has happened since Ferguson, the moment when youth at the bottom of society and cast out by the system stood up and defiantly rebelled against the police murder of Michael Brown and the non-indictment of the cop responsible, Darren Wilson. Youth rebelling defiantly, and in the process, drawing forth the support and protest actions of broader swathes of society—not only in Ferguson, but Madison, Baltimore, Cleveland, and nationwide. This results in a shifting societal polarization that not only favorably arrays a range of social forces against these acts of police murder and its rationalizations, but is also sparking bigger questions and discussions about the nature of this society and what is variously understood as the “system,” its enforcers and its institutions of rule, and the history and place of Black people in it. While putting “the system,” scientifically the capitalist-imperialist system, on the defensive and forced to respond, it leads to a dynamic and polarization that is ever-shifting, but on the whole what characterizes and is manifesting the potential churning of society on one of its key fault-lines as it has historically evolved, the oppression of Black people from the time of slavery to its continuing legacy to today. This moment, potentially (i.e. not certain or a guarantee) continuing into and escalating through the “long, hot, summer,” holds within it, tremendous potential towards a revolutionary re-polarization—and hastening a time when the revolutionary seizure of power is on the agenda.

At a moment like this, what is most needed is “the masses of people more broadly, need to be led to correctly understand—and act on the correct understanding of—problem and solution, and the fact that, through communist revolution, there is a way out of the horrors and outrages that they are rising up against and that this system forces them to endure every day.”

All of this—the full package of the “problem/solution,” what is the source of all this oppression and needless suffering and what is the solution to it, the communist revolution, the fact that it does not have to be this way, and the leadership for it—is concentrated now at the highest level in BA, Bob Avakian. This is why the Dialogue, and other works by BA raises sights—and raises hopes, on a scientific foundation.

Commenting on the Dialogue, Ardea Skybreak has said: “It was like there was magic in the air. It was one of the most hopeful things that I’ve seen in a very long time. I think it was historic in many different dimensions: in terms of the topic that was approached; the people who were involved in it, the two speakers; the moment in time. I felt like I was able to see a great demonstration of morality and conscience applied to dealing with the problems of humanity—that both speakers stood out this way....”[emphasis ours]. (From “Ardea Skybreak: On Attending the Dialogue Between Bob Avakian and Cornel West.”)

All of this is why we need to and will focus on making a real leap in fundraising for, and publicizing, showing, and distributing REVOLUTION AND RELIGION: The Fight for Emancipation and the Role of Religion, A Dialogue Between CORNEL WEST & BOB AVAKIAN.

June 21 officially marks the summer solstice, when the sun begins to shine warmest and is at its highest in the northern hemisphere during planet Earth’s year-long revolution around the sun. Along with the rising temperatures, this is the start of what could be a “long, hot summer” politically in this country.

This is an initial call to all readers of Revolution newspaper to join us that weekend in kicking off this summer with mass outings taking revolution and Bob Avakian (BA) to the people, in an atmosphere of charged political ferment and questioning.

While revolutionaries in different cities will organize varied and diverse activities that mark this weekend, the orientation is one of “to the masses in a mass way” with BA Everywhere as the leading edge of the whole ensemble of revolutionary work. To find out more about the campaign to get BA Everywhere click here.

What does this mean? As we go out—including bringing people we are just meeting, or who are taking up the movement for revolution, out to be a part of this—we are boldly putting forward a pole of revolution, that it does not need to be this way and that there is another way represented by Bob Avakian, a radically different world that can be brought into being through communist revolution, and there is an actual strategy for this revolution. There is a radically different way society can be organized, and in this context, this world of horrors we see, experience, and live through is completely and absolutely needless; there is a way out of the world of police murder of mainly Black and Latino youth, of the degradation of women, of wars of empire, of environmental catastrophe and global warming, of the criminalization and deaths of immigrants as they flee devastated and poverty-stricken homelands. Even while people righteously stand up, rebel, protest, and organize in various ways to put a STOP to all these outrages, they should be part of the process of being led to understand that all of this is caused by and part of the underlying system of capitalism-imperialism and its inherent driving dynamics and imperatives. What is needed and possible is another system, a society without all these horrors, and where, without the constraining dynamics of capitalism and its thuggish enforcers in its military and police forces, we would be actually able to collectively go to work on the emancipation of all of humanity as part of a worldwide process, a society and process described in the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America (Draft Proposal). This is based on BA’s work in re-envisioning a new framework of the emancipation of all of humanity. Raising funds to popularize this radical vision and this leader, BA, is part of the BA Everywhere campaign, a multi-faceted, mass fundraising campaign to project BA, his voice, and his work way out into society, far beyond what it is today.

When the revolutionaries boldly project BA and this revolution, it opens the door and attracts people broadly, from those who are catching hell every day to students and others who are questioning what kind of society we live in—and who hunger for people to discuss and debate why we are in the situation we’re in, the possibility of another future, and how we can get there.

Who should be a part of the summer solstice weekend events? Everybody who wants to know more. Everybody who, whether they feel they personally know that much about BA, his vision, and his work, or even disagree with much of what he is saying, sees the importance of people in all corners of society engaging BA’s work. Everybody who sees the importance of this leader being a point of reference throughout society.

We would really like to hear ideas from our readers on what this weekend should look like, and ways they would like to contribute, participate, and be part of it. To start this process, here are some proposals in broad strokes of what we are currently envisioning and planning for as a basic framework:

* We envision crews of people, wearing the BA Speaks: Revolution—Nothing Less! T-shirts out in the neighborhoods of the oppressed and other areas of the city, in the outdoor parks, basketball courts, concerts, and cultural institutions. These T-shirts have appeared in the midst of and in the wake of struggle, with pictures from Ferguson to Baltimore attesting to the power and impact of people wearing these shirts, projecting what is most needed at these crucibles and moments of struggle. Projecting this slogan with a revolutionary élan, in other words, an infectious energy and enthusiasm for this revolution, even as most of the people wearing these shirts are in the process themselves of grappling with what this revolution is all about. BAsics, from the talks and writings of Bob Avakian has been critical to this process of people learning more about BA and the revolution he is leading, and has been very popular in breaking things down for people.

A Statement from the Revolutionary Communist Party ON THE STRATEGY FOR REVOLUTION

In the film BA Speaks: REVOLUTION—NOTHING LESS!, BA says: “Those this system has cast off, those it has treated as less than human, can be the backbone and driving force of a fight to not only end their own oppression, but to finally end all oppression, and emancipate all of humanity.” As “revolution is more in the air,” we envision and aim to have growing numbers of people, especially from among those the system has cast off, wearing these T-shirts as a living manifestation of this course. This is a radically different orientation, worldview. and position than someone like Obama, who just recently slandered as “thugs” the youth who defiantly and righteously rebelled against injustice in Baltimore. There are anecdotes of people who, on seeing this T-shirt in the crucible of struggle, have bought it, and while wearing it proudly, have held themselves to different standards, grasping in a basic way that it signifies something righteous, just, and lofty, with a morality that goes with it. This is part of the beginning transformations and process of making revolution.

* We envision inviting all the people we’ve met over the last year, including and especially out in the streets during the protests of the fall and spring, to be part of this weekend—and reach back to those we have known for several years, or even decades. Thinking has been shaken loose by recent events, and we cannot underestimate the potential effect this could have on how people see the need, the possibility, or the desirability of radical change in this society. Since one of the key aspects—and actual objectives―of this weekend is really getting a lot of “new” people involved in this movement for revolution; many people may just want to observe and be a part of the scene, or help with food and logistics, planning for the celebratory dinners during the weekend. At the same time, revolutionaries have an orientation of organizing everyone we meet this weekend into the revolution—at a minimum, getting them an e-subscription to Revolution online; but also through the Revolution Club, BA Everywhere, the local Revolution Books, the Stop Mass Incarceration Network, and End Pornography and Patriarchy. This is part of manifesting and implementing the slogan “Get Organized for An Actual Revolution.”

* Along with fundraising for the T-shirts so that we can produce, distribute, and subsidize thousands more among those who can scarcely afford it but really need and want it, the primary focus of the weekend is fundraising for, publicizing, showing and distributing REVOLUTION AND RELIGION: The Fight for Emancipation and the Role of Religion, A Dialogue Between CORNEL WEST & BOB AVAKIAN. This is the title and theme of the historic dialogue between the revolutionary Christian Cornel West and the revolutionary communist Bob Avakian that took place at the Riverside Church in New York City last November, attended by 1,900+ people from all walks of life, and also the title of the film of this Dialogue—now available online and on DVD. For those who are not familiar with the film, first, watch it at the earliest moment, and as you are doing so, contribute through funds and other means to help spread it.

To the right are some further reflections on the recent impact of this film in West Baltimore; the potential glimpsed here needs to be realized, with growing numbers aware of this and watching the film, in scale and scope nationally. As we say below, There are tens, if not hundreds of thousands, across this country who are like the individuals at the gathering in West Baltimore described in the account, searching for answers, open to radical questioning and radical change, looking for leadership, but who don’t yet know about BA.

We intend changing this, and need major funds so we can have ads and publicity for the film, online and on billboards, so that the millions who should see it, especially through the summer, actually know about the film, are driven to it, and have a chance to view it. Fundraising is a key aspect of this weekend so that we can project beyond our immediate presence to all those in society who need to know about and watch this Dialogue, and at the same time give people a way to contribute, forging community in the process. This is a very meaningful and an entry-level way for people to contribute as they are engaging the content―agreeing with some things, disagreeing with others, and being provoked to think and reflect about the rest.

Everywhere we are, we are raising funds, showing excerpts of the film, selling DVDs, with mass publicity in the form of posters and thousands and thousands of palmcards that saturate key neighborhoods. Imagine scenes of people gathering around flat screen TVs at city basketball courts to watch excerpts from the film, or at a rec center in the projects, all the while raising money so that word can spread, and discussing and debating what they saw. This would also impel and influence those among the wealthier strata to contribute so we have funds commensurate with what it takes in this society to really publicize a major film.

* Through the weekend, celebratory BA Everywhere dinners, which have proven very popular, could be either a punctuation point on Saturday night, or a culmination of the whole weekend, where people get together to break bread, watch excerpts of the film, share their experiences through the weekend, perhaps listen to some music or cultural performance that is more in line with the world we are trying to bring into being, without all the oppressive and exploitative relations, especially without what has become the all too common standard in the “revolting culture” of degrading women—all the while forging community.

Again, with this basic proposal, we would really like to hear ideas from our readers and ways they would like to contribute, participate and be part of it. Watch revcom.us for updates as we firm up our plans for this weekend, and be part of making this happen—through your thinking and actual participation.

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Bring BA To The Start of What Could Potentially Be "A Long, Hot Summer"

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