Revolution #271, June 10, 2012
Continue to Advance: Build off the BAsics Bus Tour Through the South
The second leg of the BAsics Bus Tour, which went through parts of the South in May and rolled into Sanford, Florida, had a big impact. It spoke to and captured the imagination of thousands... in the South and throughout the country—and many hundreds of people across the country were part of making something very important happen. In doing so, those people around the country and those who the bus tour met in the South have been part of beginning to cohere a national movement around the mass fundraising campaign to project Bob Avakian’s vision and works into every corner of society: BA Everywhere... Imagine the Difference It Could Make!
$30,000 and more was raised to support this leg of the BAsics Bus Tour. Small to large contributions from all over the country mounted in the days leading up to the launching of this leg of the tour. And importantly, at the core of this effort were groups who came together to raise funds through raffles, making and selling food, and other fundraising events.
These funds enabled the bus to travel in the South and deliver a very important message to people in Sanford, Florida, where Trayvon Martin was killed by the vigilante George Zimmerman. In Sanford, the volunteers distributed copies of a collage of banners signed by people all over the country with a declaration from Bob Avakian: No more generations of our youth, here and all around the world, whose life is over, whose fate has been sealed, who have been condemned to an early death or a life of misery and brutality, whom the system has destined for oppression and oblivion even before they are born. I say no more of that. BAsics 1:13
People in housing projects, at high schools, in immigrant neighborhoods... all over... sent messages like, “I’m hurt, seeing no future for our youth,” “I’m disgusted of the system,” “No more violence among the people,” “All races should come together, young and old too, and make revolution!” They wrote, “We are with you” and “Let’s make a better world.”
From coast to coast, people went to basicsbustour.tumblr.com to follow the bus and share the posts. Many began to get deeper into BAsics 1:13 and the whole of BAsics. Through all this, people found out about who Bob Avakian is, the significance of his work... and what it means that there is a leader who has developed a strategy for revolution, and a new synthesis of communism that has opened up the possibility for the Party and the movement he is leading to make good on that pledge of “no more.”
And all this has made a big difference. If you contributed to the bus tour or signed a banner, know that your contribution, as a part of a national movement, made and is making a difference. Download the collage from basicsbustour.tumblr.com and continue to follow the BAsics Bus Tour blog for ongoing reports and videos. Read in this paper more about the responses from the people of Sanford.
Continue to advance
Now is the time, building on the nationwide momentum created by the bus tour, to make BA known even more broadly and to raise big money. As a part of the campaign to get BA Everywhere, BAsics 1:13 has become one way for people to get in on and into this movement for revolution: raising money for palm cards and distributing them, bringing people together to discuss the quote and others in BAsics, from the talks and writings of Bob Avakian, as an introduction to Revolution: Why It’s Necessary, Why It’s Possible, What It’s All About (the Revolution talk), and more. It provides a form for people to come together and have a very big impact, spreading the voice and works of Bob Avakian, the leadership we have for the revolution we need. And through all of this, changing how people think about revolution and leadership, society and the world—and seeing more ways to join this movement for revolution.
BAsics 1:13 taps into and draws forward something very deep from people—their outrage at things as they are, and their hopes and aspirations for a world where generations of youth aren’t crushed down in the way BA describes. It opens the door to a whole new future for the youth. And this is only accelerated and heightened at a moment when the murder of Trayvon Martin and the outpouring of rage have put these questions before all of society: What future for our youth? What is the history and present-day reality for a whole generation of youth in America? This quote captures a defiance and a refusal to lie down and accept these outrages. Know that as this message gets out and up all over, this is an important form of struggle and defiance up in the face of the powers-that-be.
Work with others to raise money and make plans to get stacks of BAsics 1:13 palm cards out to and debated by tens of thousands. Go out to graduation ceremonies, to parks and to wherever youth hang and congregate. Get these cards into the hands of all those who are fighting for Justice for Trayvon. Post this quote all over the Internet... in places where it will be accessible to hundreds of thousands here and around the world. Make banners and display them where thousands will see them.
Learn from the BAsics Bus Tour... and reach out on the weekend of June 22-24
- Boldly decorate a van or pickup and do your own mini bus tour. Go into areas where people need to know about Bob Avakian and BAsics. Saturate a neighborhood with palm cards and posters from Revolution newspaper... distribute BAsics and play excerpts from the Revolution talk and “All Played Out” on loudspeakers.
- Organize cultural events around the theme of BAsics 1:13: art exhibits, spoken word events, music and more—and raise money!
- Take pictures, video and report on your efforts... so we can let people all over the country know what is happening where you live and how people all over are joining in this nationwide campaign. Send pictures, video, and reports to baeverywhere@gmail.com and to Revolution at rcppubs@hotmail.com.
- Most of all, and throughout the month of June, let’s get people together and work together at every opportunity. And when we do get together share your experience with others, and know you’re a part of a movement that is being born.
Looking ahead to summer —and the next leg of the BAsics Bus Tour
It’s time to prepare for the next leg of the BAsics Bus Tour. There are many, many more people in other regions of the country who need to know about Bob Avakian. Tens of thousands of dollars must be raised to make the next leg of the tour possible. And this bus tour will not only spread the word of the leadership of BA far and wide, it can continue to be an important focal point in cohering a movement nationwide to make the whole of this campaign a success. As we go out far and wide during this month of June with BAsics 1:13, we can let people know this tour will be hitting the road again and raising money to make that happen. Get out the articles in Revolution newspaper on the tour through the South to make people aware of the exciting impact this tour has wherever it goes.
Begin now to look ahead and raise the funds needed for the BAsics Bus Tour to set out again. Volunteer to ride the bus and become part of the crew on the next leg of the tour. And know that this will be an exciting experience full of learning about the society and the people who live in it—and wrangling with the big questions of the revolution and what BA and his leadership means for the future of humanity. (To volunteer contact your local Revolution Books store.)
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