In the Wake of the Nipsey Hussle Murder: The Struggle to ORGANIZE

April 22, 2019 | revcom.us

 

Three weeks after the murder of Nipsey Hussle, people continue to commemorate his death and discuss—and debate—the meaning of his life. People stream in from across the country to visit the Marathon Clothing store that Nipsey owned. From Los Angeles itself, groups of people from different “sets”—gangs that at one time, and in some cases still, are at odds with each other—come to pay respects. There is talk of another truce. Most of the people coming are Black people, some are Latino, a few are white or Asian.

This murder, in other words, was something like what HOW WE CAN WIN—How We Can Really Make Revolution calls a “jolt” to a whole section of people—in the sense that it caused “many people to question ... what they normally accept.” The National Revolution Tour, along with the Revolution Club in Los Angeles, has continued to be in the thick of this. As you walk through the streets you may see the Points of Attention for the Revolution posted in many places. When the Tour is out there you may sometimes see people intently watching a tablet with a film of Bob Avakian on it; the other day there was a truck that played Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution, and the Tour has vowed to take this out much more often. Many people from the neighborhood are beginning to get a sense of this movement for revolution; there is interest, there is debate, and there is some opposition. Comrades with the Tour and Club are working to go further—to reach deeper in their agitation, to do better at putting the needs of the revolution before people and with them figuring out ways to participate, to do more to get BA out to people.

Most of all, they are striving to break down the divide between the revolution and the people who must be organized into this revolution, to bring people forward into the Revolution Club and to develop broader networks of support throughout the neighborhood, the area, and around the country. There is critical importance to breaking down the situation in which a lot of masses listen to the revcoms and may even be intrigued and inspired to some degree, but never quite get over the feeling that “those people” are doing things, have a radical perspective, may have a lot of insights and be challenging us to think in new ways, but... “they” are over there, and “we” aren’t part of that (even if they sincerely “wish us well” at times). Some of this is built into the whole way in which society is divided; but much of this can be and must be overcome.

The tour continues to work on this problem. New approaches are being developed and tested out. We are moving to put the problem before the masses themselves, involving them in solving it, in a whole different way. And there is a determination and plan to test these out, sum up the results, concentrate what is correct... and move forward.

We will continue to cover this on the revcom.us website. The reports that follow are more in the character of reporting on and interrogating recent experience, sifting for patterns and lessons with the aim of making breakthroughs. For, again, just getting a good response or even a phone number is not, and cannot be, the aim of those on this Tour. The aim—the urgent aim—of this Tour is to organize thousands into the revolution, on all different levels. To that end, we definitely invite your comments, criticisms, and wrangling. We will run some accounts today and some as the week goes on.

Two major vehicles for doing this in the immediate week are the effort to make the Points of Attention for the Revolution (POA) a major pole in the area (as part of the whole special effort on this) and a mass picnic, set for next Sunday, aiming to draw in people from all over the city and well beyond. Stay tuned, including this week, for more...

#1

We went out to Crenshaw and Slauson going up to businesses and talking to people who we ran into on the street. Most of the businesses took flyers but wanted to ask the owner if we could put up a poster. There was one man that we met who A talked to, Spanish-speaking mainly, who took stacks of the POAs with him. One person stopped me after I gave him the POAs and said he wanted a shirt. That he wanted to represent for the revolution. I said that was very good. And that these POAs are what it means to represent for the revolution. I talked with him briefly about what a revolution was and why we need one. Two choices, either live with all this or make revolution.

And then I posed a problem to him: We have the strategy but we don’t have the people yet. Did he have some idea of how we could bring people together and where? He said, “Yeah, this is exactly what I am working on too, I am a community activist and these principles are what I am about.” He really seemed eager to work and wanted to lead others to do that but felt that he needed to learn more. So I told him about the film and could he bring other people together to learn about this. Because, like I said, we have what we need to make a revolution but people don’t know about it. He told me he was part of the biker gang that was at Nipsey’s funeral and that he has a house where the film can be shown and he’d really like it if the revolution could come and talk to people about it and I would bring a whole bunch of T-shirts for people to wear, including him. He gave me his number.

Another person stopping by, who hangs out on the street, was testing us. “Do you guys really know what a revolution is?” I said, “Yes, do you want me to tell you?” He said, “No, I’ll read this” and took the Points of Attention. And then as we were walking back he stopped us and said that somebody was talking with him about the revolution, but when he asked what did they mean by revolution, they didn’t answer the question... And said he wanted to know if WE knew what a revolution was. So we told him, using the description in the pamphlet [HOW WE CAN WIN]. He goes, “Yup, now that’s a revolution.” I told him briefly how in a revolutionary situation you need to have networks of people that are being led and could be quickly transformed into backbone forces for revolution. And in a country like this, you need millions of people. And what we are doing now with this national tour is to organize people like this and bring forward the necessary scientific leadership required to make this revolution. He posed the question of white people and aren’t they the problem? Christopher Columbus. Voting for Trump. I talked about how there was nothing in the human nature of white people that made them hate people of color. It’s conditioned by this system. No baby is born hating other people. He said that’s true. But if it’s not in the nature of white people, what DOES drive them to condition others to do this? I said, that is the right question and I showed him the film. And then I talked about the different places where we are going and the importance of this neighborhood. Where could we show this film here? How could we get it to other people? And then he started to get excited: “We could run an electric cord, here and get a TV and I could let other people know about it here in this neighborhood  and show it outside. “I know a lot of people.” He said, pointing to the strategy, “I’m with this. I’m with this.” He gave me his number.

#2

Felt, at least for myself, a good straining yesterday to carry out that approach [to challenge people to get into this], be part of this, now. We have distributed POAs out there, telling people what they are part of in organizing for revolution, but yesterday felt more pushing for the engagement with what is in them ALONG WITH opening up space to put the have/don’t have to people.

In the parking lot I handed POAs to guys sitting in a car. Let them look at it, they asked what is this, briefy I said we are organizing for revolution to overthrow the system, look at these and tell me what you think. They were attracted to revolution, and overthrowing the system, and liked the “all people, all races coming together” vibe they got from it. One said, “Look at my skin tone. I know we need a revolution. I think this is good, this can bring people together. And maybe what’s happening here is a step. I don’t know if you know this, but we’re Bloods. Don’t know if you know what it means for us to be out here. For so long we’ve been at each other. Do you know I went to prison when I was 25 and my whole life before that I had been at war with Crips? I had to go to a federal penitentiary for 14 years to realize my whole Iife had been fighting people JUST LIKE ME. We were all in there together, and I had realized we’re the same and we’re in the same situation and yet we’re trying to kill each other.”

I kept re-posing that we need a real revolution, that the system has people here and all over the world in a mess, and yeah we got to bring people together, but it’s got to be for revolution, or no matter how many come together now, generations will come up with no future and the nightmare goes on. And that we have a way out, a leader with a strategy and plan for a new society, but we don’t have the thousands organized and we don’t know all the ways that can happen. We’re on tour to go to work on this throughout the country, but people like you are needed to find ways to build networks around these principles, and how do you see doing that? I also posed the example of someone pulling people together at their house to watch the BA film. What they gravitated toward now was helping spread the POAs, and invite to the picnic, and the posters/stickers of The System Has No Future.

Another guy was from New Jersey. Basically similar approach though I had less time with him.  Two things with him to note: 1) He talked about how much he feels what we’re saying and has thought about how messed up the world is. He tells people what they have learned is all wrong, and then doesn’t know what to do with that, how to lead people. He said he had to do a lot of work to unlearn what you get taught, and made analogies to unplugging from the matrix and that most people are still struck in the illusion. I posed what we have/don’t have in relation to this, that it does take work, we have a leader who is not a savior but who came out of a whole time and did the work to figure out how we could make revolution and a new society, that work has been done and is how people can become leaders themselves. And posed that we are on tour and need to get the thousands organized, and he should be figuring out how to pull people together around these POAs where he is and then reach out so the tour could link up in NJ. He had to go somewhere so he kind of scattered quickly but gave his info and said maybe we could link up before Tuesday when he goes back. 2) He mentioned not knowing much about Nipsey before he was killed, and then feeling like a voice was calling out from the grave to come. Struck him that Nip was 33 and he was 34, and it got him reflecting on what’s it all for.

#3

There’s a contradiction between those hoping for something better to come out of this and, among others, a resignation that this is what happens to our best (and a contradiction among those that this is due to the system, however they understand that, or we do it to ourselves).

Among a number of people we’ve talked to, including many from out of town, there’s a deep sense that something serious, major, and fundamental has to change. That there’s no way out and it’s getting worse. You do run into people who are seriously thinking about revolution, in the sense of a fundamental change. A number of people have started the discussions we’ve had when we raise the idea of revolution  with what would be a wrong strategy and appreciate when we point to POA #6 and the fact that we are serious about winning vs. individual acts that would lead you to be crushed. I’ll usually put this back to people and they can see, “Yeah, that would lead you to be crushed.” And then it changes the discussion, raises their sights when we talk about what it would take to win.

I have had a couple people stop and read the POAs, or I’ve read some POAs to them and the response has been, “That’s beautiful,” or “That’s really positive.” But there’s a way people don’t get the whole of it, or the qualitative character. It’s different to have people go through the whole of it. What the comrade did yesterday—challenging/letting people read the POAs through themselves—is something we all need to learn from.

I have very consciously been putting the problem we face to people, especially in relation to tying together the “two choices” and breaking down the divide of us/them (that is, where the revolutionaries are over here organizing things, and the masses are over there, perhaps wishing them well and perhaps not, but not challenged or stimulated in the right way to get actively involved).

I’ve been stepping with “We’re on a national tour, etc.” A LOT of people say, “It’s so good you’re out here, doing something positive, fighting for what you believe.” I’ll usually say this is appreciated and try to learn why they think it’s positive, “We need change” or “We have to come together.” And I try to sharply and consciously pose the challenge, “That’s appreciated but insufficient.” Showing people the POAs, getting concretely into what we have and what we don’t have (showing and often giving people HOW WE CAN WIN)... and then posing it back to them, trying to say very clearly, these are the two choices, which will you choose? And letting people answer this. Some say, that’s a deep question and they have to think about it. Others say, they choose the revolution but need to find out more what we’re talking about, and still others say, yes, I’ll help spread this (usually on social media, etc). The particular form I’ve honed in on with a lot of people is spread these POAs on your social media (talking about the national effort), watch and post the BA clip and with people from out of town, to think seriously about organizing the Tour to come to your area.

We also have put to people what this speech from BA is and what about showing this to people. Some people have been interested in this, for example a woman from Lancaster. This has been in the context too of stating concretely what a revolution is, that it will take millions and the need to organize the thousands today who can lead those millions. And that one of the biggest problems we have is that people don’t know about all this, and what it can change in terms of people knowing about a real force for revolution.

I don’t think there’s a single script or formula, and I do think challenging that, “I appreciate you” sentiment is important (including putting it back to people sharply that no one is going to do this for us). But still, I think part of the problem perhaps is that this stays abstract for people. Instead of on the spot, getting inside these POAs and evaluating whether this would be important to be reaching others... and/or watching BA on the spot.

We had one experience yesterday of someone having a couple of concrete ideas about where we could show the film (including a community center across the street from the memorial site). Beyond that, I’ve asked a number of people for ideas they have, trying to work with them to answer this and they mainly say they don’t know... and this gets tied in to them looking into this more themselves. We have been putting to people that the best way to get into this more is to be part of getting into it with others, there too tied in with the two choices.