This week the revcoms in LA hosted a fundraising Zoom call with five supporters and members of the Revolution Club who have been watching the Bob Avakian Interviews. We started with reading this great article about donating to put revolution on the map with a focus on the Interviews.

People shared some things about what they’ve been getting out of watching the Interviews. One man said the Interviews took him back to growing up in the deep South when the KKK was hanging Black men and raping women and he wishes we could have had this revolution then. He said we need to help Bob Avakian with this revolution and overcome and overtake what is happening in America or else leave America, but there’s nowhere else to go. He said the Interviews made him feel good, opening his eyes to a lot of things Bob Avakian is talking about. It took him back in time, thinking about the Black Panthers. He said, “I’m glad to be working with the revolution. I hope our other sisters and brothers fall in and do the same.”

Someone else said hearing Bob Avakian is hearing living history. Here’s someone who lived through those times that you get to meet. And he is bringing forward the ideas into now, with thought and clarity, moving forward with passion. She said he’s written books and articles on how revolution is possible. These Interviews are really great because people don’t get to see a lot of him—you read his articles, now you can put face and energy to the articles. “It's really great to see.”

And another woman said she’s just in awe hearing these interviews, hearing this person in his own words. And she appreciated the culture of the Interviews: Shakespeare, song, music, and guidance.

This conversation helped forge community between people on the call, bringing people together who haven’t necessarily worked closely together before to collectively take responsibility for planning a big fundraising event.

One person had commented in a previous discussion that in his experience talking to people in his neighborhood, people don’t necessarily want to jump into the revolution all the way, but they do want to support it and are happy to donate to it. He has done food sales in his neighborhood before, including a tamale sale last year, and wanted to make a plan for doing that again—working with some others who know how to make tamales and also learning how to do it.

We talked about a plan for the December 10 and 11 weekend that could be part of how people find out about the Interviews and come together to build community, but could also incorporate the tamale plans. The holiday fund drive announcement on revcom said, “Start making plans for the weekend of December 10 or 11 for a big fundraising event and gathering—inviting in everyone who has been reached by The BA Interviews to come together, talk with each other and get organized for the rest of the month. You can do a holiday fundraising fair, an open house, a screening of Interview excerpts and discussion—send us your ideas!”

Everyone liked the idea of doing a holiday festival in the parking lot of the Revolution Club Organizing Center and we started working out some of what that would look like and how different people on the call could be part of it. The main concept is to reserve the parking lot and deck it out with lights and decorations, music playing, hot coffee and cocoa (and heat lamps to offset the slightly chilly LA temps), and a nice setup to show segments of the Bob Avakian Interviews. We’ll have tables with revolutionary T-shirts for sale and tamales for sale. We’re inviting friends, family, neighbors, and printing up flyers to post around the neighborhood of the center and that people can also take to places they go.

The tamale sale has its own life within this. Friends of the revolution can pre-order tamales for their parties and dinners, people can come buy tamales on the spot, and for the one neighborhood where the tamale sale was last year, there will also be a tamale sale in the neighborhood the next day, Sunday, December 11. For all of this to happen (which includes making a lot of tamales in a week’s time!), we are reaching out to someone who made delicious tamales last year, but also thinking about others we can reach out to who will want to help with this and may also already have some skill or are open to learn. We are also asking some people to help with funds to buy the ingredients. And everyone can help spread the word and invite people.

We’re aiming to get back together early this week to check in on plans and to watch together the segment from last week’s RNL Show featuring a powerful portion of the Interviews with Bob Avakian with response from the Chicago Revolution Club.