Report on the Fundraising Webinar for the National Revolution Tour

“People need to support this tour …. we need a whole new world and we got a leader and his name is Bob Avakian.”

April 27, 2020 | revcom.us

 

“I’m donating $100 to the National Get Organized for an ACTUAL Revolution Tour today and pledging to donate my entire stimulus check whenever I get it.”

—From a former prisoner who became a revolutionary communist

The recent April 21 livestream to raise funds for the National Get Organized for An ACTUAL Revolution Tour was both informative and inspiring, infused with sentiments and acts like the above. And funds were raised, making it possible for the Tour to continue its work! At the same time, much, much more is needed to sustain and scale up what is vitally important for humanity right now.

Hosted by members of the Tour, Sunsara Taylor and Rafael, the webinar gave a real window into the work of the Tour—both for new people just learning about the work of the revolutionaries on this Tour, and for people who have been following the Tour and wondering how it was able to do its work under the difficult conditions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. They brought out what the funds are needed for, and interviewed different guests to bring this alive.

Lenny Wolff began the first segment with a clip from BA that posed the question of why things are the way they are and the need to make revolution, from the film Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution. In conversation with the hosts, he talked about and drew from the article “Bob Avakian: A Radically Different Leader—A Whole New Framework for Human Emancipation,” giving a living and serious sense of why BA is the most important political thinker and leader in the world today. He talked about and brought to life who BA is and why the promotion of this leadership is pivotal to the work of the Tour.

Andy Zee and Luan Xocoyote then gave us a behind-the-scenes account of the mission and what is involved in creating the new RNL Show—Revolution, Nothing Less! which is being broadcast weekly on the new The Revcoms YouTube channel. This is one of the main new forms being developed for reaching out to new people. This can be viewed on The Revcoms channel on youtube.com. They talked about the vision and goals, and the need for people to become regular supporters and to contribute funds and the many other ways that people can contribute and be part of this exciting new way the revolution is being projected out into the world.

The third and final segment showed video of Tour members putting up Communiqués from the Tour around the city, and then the hosts interviewed Tour members Noche and Michelle. They talked about what it is like to be taking out revolution and the leadership of BA to masses of people who are struggling through the conditions brought on by this pandemic crisis. They talked about the need to bring science not just about the health crisis of the virus, but the crisis for humanity stemming from this system, and the need to end it at the soonest possible time.

Through all of this, the case was made repeatedly that giving to this Tour at this time is the most important thing people could give money to, and what that has to do with a way out of this madness. There were calls to donate the COVID-19 stimulus checks, saying this would be the commensurate gesture to Donald J. Trump whose fascist signature is plastered on those checks. There were other perks offered like virtual discussions and dinner with Tour members.

The audience was made up of longtime supporters and of very new people who may have been in contact with the Tour or the revcoms in different ways, but contributed for the first time. There were also people from different parts of the country who were able to get a first-hand view of some of the people on the Tour and what they are trying to do to bring the revolutionary mission of this Tour to people all over.

All of this was an important opening for lots of people to not only learn about the work of this Tour, but to have a way to be part of it, to contribute financially, to spread the word to many others, and to become one of the thousands who are working on the revolution. This is vitally important and needs to grow and expand in the coming weeks building off of this advance. Now is the time to reach out to many new people who don’t know that there is a way out, that there is leadership and an organized force that is working now to bring forward many more thousands, and preparing the way for an actual revolution involving millions when those conditions are ripe.

Donating is an extremely important way that people can be involved, and be part of the mass movement for revolution! The needs for financial support are real and urgent. We raised $16,000 at the time of this livestream, but still have an immediate goal for $10,000 more. And we will need to raise the minimum of $30,000 by May 31.

People are encouraged to watch and promote the livestream and share the statements below of those who made their reasons for donating known on the livestream.

One way to donate to this Tour that will feel really good—contribute the emergency stimulus check that has Donald Trump’s fascist name plastered on it! Give it all or as much as you can, and call on others to do the same.

Excerpted samples of statements that accompanied donations on the livestream:

• From a former prisoner:
• We live in a world that is run by these capitalists and it’s a system that is completely worthless and needs to be overthrown. Capitalism is killing Black people, destroying the planet and it needs to be overthrown. People need to support this tour because this is making it clear to people we need a whole new world and we got a leader and his name is Bob Avakian. People can come to see what I see, what I came to understand and become FULL BLOWN COMMUNISTS.
• I’m donating $100 to the National Get Organized for an ACTUAL Revolution Tour today and pledging to donate my entire stimulus check whenever I get it.” (See full statement here.)
• “From someone who grew up in a family of activists and activism; a family that witnessed first-hand the beatings and lynchings from the last century; from the only true folks that had a genuine concern about the welfare of these African-Americans, who were, and are, the people you are addressing today (which is a historical fact).
• “Right now is an opportune time to make a case against the profit makers. Capitalism keeps people impoverished... Trump won’t hear that and the bankers are not concerned with people: “I brought in millions today... screw them... I got mine.” I am donating to the National Revolution Tour because I feel fortunate that I can donate. I have donated because there is a need for leadership and I gave funds because I want to do something rather than nothing. And, right now, people are searching, hospital workers, activists, many people.”
• From a group of people making a collective donation:
• “How much longer do we have to live in a world where the masses of people suffer for no reason except the presence of this brutal, outmoded system of capitalism-imperialism? As the situation gets worse every day—rule by fascists; disease, war, and famine causing genocide; the planet burning and melting—we send greetings from Texas to the Revolution tour. We are making a collective donation of $3,840. We come from different experiences, and many of us have come together at times to watch the livestreams together. Some of us are pledging all or a part of the ‘stimulus checks’ that we are receiving.”
• From an educator:
• “One reason I’m donating to the National Revolution Tour is because I can see and smell the creeping fascism now. If you thought fascism was hyperbole in 2016, it’s not now! The RCP has been the only group calling it fascism and looking to challenge it, that sees fascism as systemic, that has an analysis of fascism. And, that analysis needs to get out there for the masses to understand and act on. If it doesn’t get out there will be no one to stand up to fascism! In 2016 fascism was ‘hyperbole,’ but here we are and it’s materializing, at the top of the U.S. government and in the streets of this country. We have these right-wingers where I live, spreading anti-scientific fascism. I support the National Revolution Tour! If not now, when? If we are going to live a dignified life, this system needs to be overturned. With the National Revolution Tour, something small can be something big—and there isn’t a chance if people don’t support and, on the other hand, there IS a chance if we support the National Revolution Tour. If you got a little bit give a little bit if you have a lot give a lot. I’m giving $50 today and figuring out whether I can start sustaining in the near future.”