Picnic in an Immigrant Community to Raise Funds for the National Get Organized for an ACTUAL Revolution Tour

September 16, 2019 | revcom.us

 

The second “World Without Borders” fundraising picnic for the National Revolution Tour was held on September 7 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Compared to the first picnic, held two months ago when Trump’s planned raids on immigrant communities were imminent, the community was back on the streets, vendors had returned to the street corners and streets once again were busy with weekend activity. However, a dark cloud of worry and fear still hung over people’s lives with the recent white supremacist mass murders in El Paso and the continued terror of deportation and concentration camps. Against this backdrop, the mission of the Revolution Tour gave hope to people. And the theme of the picnic, “World Without Borders,” stood out as a ray of sunshine piercing these dark clouds: No Raids, No Concentration Camps, No Kids in Cages, No Deportation, Enough Is Enough, Revolution Nothing Less, a Better World Is Possible!

Over 35 people came to this successful picnic, with at least 20 from the immigrant community, especially members of a prominent immigrant women’s organization which has been active in the fight to shut down the camps and has been active in many of the Refuse Fascism protests in the past two years. For some in the community, there was a beginning recognition of a regular presence of a group of immigrant women who have stood up against fascism and for revolution. This beginning pole has also attracted the attention and support of some progressive and radically minded people, and some of them came to this picnic, like several progressive middle class religious folks, Refuse Fascism activists, and a Never Again Means Now artist, while others who did not come gave donations to express support. An older middle class couple, when asked why they came to this event, pointed to the grouping of immigrant women there and said, “They are standing up and I am standing up with them.” And when asked what they thought about the theme of the picnic, this couple said, “They are fighting for a better future, and we support this.”

Surrounded by big visual displays of the 5 Stops, and 6 Points of Attention for the Revolution, and eight large pictures of the children who have died in camps and on the border, a short program was held. The welcoming remarks by the MC denounced the mass murders in El Paso, the cruel torture of children in concentration camps, and the heightened deportations, all of which are a product of an imperialist system that has white supremacy woven into its very fabric. All this cries out for an actual revolution to overthrow this system—yes, we need revolution, nothing less; we need a world without borders. That is why we are fundraising for the national Revolution Tour that started in Los Angeles, went to Chicago, and is now in New York.

The MC also told people that after the El Paso massacre by a white supremacist, the Revolution Tour put out a statement boldly challenging people “Which side are you on?” and blocked the busy traffic of Lake Shore Drive in Chicago.

An immigrant woman activist who has initiated these fundraising events in the community told people, “All that is happening is a horror, but many people think it is not happening. Yes—it is happening, look at the photos of the children dying in the concentration camps. We have to stop this, we don’t want these concentrations camps, we don’t want children in cages, no more raids, we want a world without borders. We have to organize and learn from the example of Puerto Rico and Hong Kong, where people organized and have gone to the streets by the thousands and hundreds of thousands. We are organizing this picnic to raise funds for the national tour to get organized for an actual revolution. We need to spread the word that this fascist regime must go. And we have to advance for revolution.”

Another immigrant woman who played an active role in building for this picnic spoke bitterness of how immigrants, who work in the hardest jobs that no one else will take, are treated like criminals and hunted down. And children are now being put in cages. She spoke with anger, but also passionately expressed a burning desire for revolution and her respect for the leader Bob Avakian.

A member of the Revolution Club talked briefly about the importance of science and the leadership of BA. She then got into the need for revolution and the crucial role of the Revolution Tour in this process.

As people ate, there was a lot of friendly engagement and discussion, with a lot centered around the question of reform versus revolution: Why did the previous revolutions in Central America go bad? What makes this Revolution so different from the others? And how could revolution win in a powerful country like the U.S.? BAsics and other works by BA were promoted.

A total of $502 was raised by this picnic. This included $237 collected at the picnic from those attending it. The rest was from donations from people: $165 from doctors, nurses, and clerks at a local hospital. A “Trump” piñata was donated by another merchant. It was beaten up and torn apart by a bunch of kids and adults in the park, a fitting finale for this event.

At the end of the picnic, about a dozen immigrant women got together and filmed a video. In high spirits they chanted: “We need a revolution. It needs more strength, we need unity and solidarity. Let’s go for revolution—yes we can do it!”