Chicago Fundraising Dinner and Celebration to Spread the Film:
BA Speaks: REVOLUTION—NOTHING LESS! Bob Avakian Live
May 1, 2013 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
On Saturday, April 13, a potluck dinner and celebration in Chicago brought together over 40 people to enjoy great food, great company. It was one of the national dinners held in a number of cities focusing on raising big money and spreading the film BA Speaks: REVOLUTION—NOTHING LESS! to tens of thousands of people and throughout society.
Since many who came had attended the recent Chicago premiere of the film, the dinner was a welcome opportunity to come together with others to continue that extraordinary journey and also to welcome the 20 percent who came to the dinner who had not been at the premiere. The crowd was diverse, people of different ages and walks of life; Black, white, and Latino. They brought a diversity of dishes, creating a cornucopia of food and drink to share in a hall decorated with centerfolds of Revolution newspaper.
Many noted that the dinner was marked by people newly volunteering in different ways to plan, carry out, and, of course, to themselves enjoy the evening's activities by mixing with others they may not have known before. Some people took charge of cooking and organizing the food and drinks, and visiting the tables, greeting people and plunking down desserts and drinks before all. Others had gone out to restaurant owners, family, and friends to get silent auction prizes, and some helped auction off the prizes.
After watching the chapter from the film "Emancipating Humanity ... Transforming Conditions & Transforming Human Nature" and hearing a speech drawn from the one given by Andy Zee in New York that appeared at revcom.us, a highlight of the night came when members of Chicago Revolution Club appeared as a group, and lined up together, to read some of the testimonials about the film that have appeared on revcom.us.
The Revolution Club stayed on stage as an older white man strode to the mic to read a testimonial from an anonymous "small business owner and peace activist." He started reading the statement: "You have got to watch this incredibly credible movie. It is an absolute 'Tour de force' by Bob Avakian that can and will move you right up to the front with thousands and then millions of others in the drive for revolution." He paused, smiled broadly at the crowd, and announced, "Okay, it's me. I wrote it."
This warm and fun vibe was at play the whole evening, where people felt excited about being part of building a community around this film and this movement for revolution. There were intense conversations throughout the entire evening as people poured out their thoughts, their questions, doubts, and hopes. Although it needs to go much, much further and to a whole societal level and very soon, many at the dinner did have important ideas about how to get this film out to their own circles and break out this film to exert real influence in the larger society and to raise big bucks to accomplish this.
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