On March 11, Revolution Books (RB) hosted a defiant celebration of IWD. Some 40 people came to experience part or all of the program, with close to 20 staying for most of it.

It was a diverse audience: several RiseUp4AbortionRights activists/organizers, and others concerned about the attack on abortion rights; several longtime friends of RB from Harlem; a photojournalist whose work has appeared in prominent publications; a Columbia University student; international visitors from Mexico, Colombia, Iran, and Brazil; some visiting activists from Atlanta who came to show their support; and others. The two emcees had never done this before but really rose to the occasion.

We opened with an internationalist salvo: a reading from a statement by the Communist Party of Iran (MLM) about the international significance of the beautiful uprising in Iran against the patriarchal-theocratic regime, followed by the playing of an audio of women political prisoners in Iran's notorious Evin prison singing the rebellious fighting song Bella Ciao. The store audience spontaneously joined in for the chorus. A Rise Up organizer gave a rousing speech about Abortion on Demand.

The heart of the program consisted of clips from The RNL—Revolution, Nothing Less!—Show, including one of Bob Avakian speaking about the pivotal role that the fight against the oppression of women plays in making revolution and its dynamic role under socialism for a total revolution. New people were getting introduced to, and others learning more about, the leader of this revolution. We also played part of the RNL discussion between Lenny Wolff and Sunsara Taylor about how things would radically change after the revolutionary seizure of power. The revolutionary band Outernational closed out this first part of the program with a powerful performance of their song “Free Women” in English and in Spanish, and with the band augmented by a singer and a musician from Colombia. 

A good number of people stayed to celebrate further, to enjoy the food (donated by friends of RB to raise funds), and to get into the themes of the program. Some of the discussion was in small groups and some was one-on-one with revcoms. A grad student born in Turkey wondered if Americans can be shaken out of their complacency—and what the strategy for actually making revolution is. A 35-year-old professional woman was moved by the program but had questions about whether people could break with “greed” and felt that elections (of someone like Bernie) could make a big difference.

Overall, there was real openness and eagerness for further discussion and digging into the big questions and the revolutionary vision. Several people expressed their appreciation for having a place like Revolution Books—a few of the new people want to get more involved in the life of Revolution Books.

We put forth the need for funds for this revolution—how donating money is a concrete way that people can make a meaningful contribution to putting revolution on the map in 2023. Over $400 was raised on the spot.

There was a warm feeling in the room that we were all part of a festive, fierce, and revolutionary International Women’s Day in 2023.