“I was very pleasantly surprised by Bob Avakian. My reaction? He made me feel comfortable with revolution. He explained where he was coming from. He told us all the things over his life that made him who he has become today. And then the very powerful anti-racist, anti-patriarchal thrust of his message... It seemed like a logical next step that we DO have to take-- a revolution.”

—From a person with limited means who gave $50 on watching the BA Interviews on The RNL—Revolution, Nothing Less!—Show

“I made a donation for the fund drive to publicize the BA Interviews on The Revolution, Nothing Less! Show. Why did I do this and why am I encouraging other people to listen to the interviews, support The RNL Show, and to get these interviews out to others broadly? If people are really being honest with themselves, the situation IS dire, but there are real possibilities to change things if we want a better future for humanity, the planet and future generations.”

These are but two of the reactions of people who have donated so far to getting revolution on the map. Go here to read more on such stories and initiatives

At a Historic Juncture:

A major fund drive to put revolution on the map has begun. A call has been issued: In a Time When the Future Hangs in the Balance; When Solutions Offered End Up with the Horrors Going On and On…There Is Hope, and a Road Map to the Emancipation of Humanity. 

This $100K fund drive is coming at a decisive moment when people are agonizing over the direction of society, where revolution becomes more possible, and raising major funds can play an important role in building up the reach and impact of this revolution – and realizing this possibility. At this moment:

• A goal of raising $35,000 by January 2
• From there stepping up to raise a total of $100,000
• A crucial nodal point to build for: Jan 8, 2023, A fundraising livestream on Sunday, January 8, to bring people together in this fund drive, learning from what has been accomplished in this first phase and how are doing to go out and raise the rest of the $100,000.
• $12, 000 has been raised as of December 12. 

The Crucial and Central Role of the Bob Avakian [BA] Interviews

With initial reports coming in, the impact of the Interviews with Bob Avakian (BA) have been a major motivating factor in people getting involved, not only in promoting these Interviews, but also in raising the funds. There are seeds and shoots of how this could not only succeed in reaching the financial goal, but also bring many more people into a more organized connection to the movement for this revolution. People can see themselves as part of something very significant that can impact society, putting this revolution on the map – and making BA a household name through this whole process.

When one person raised the challenge to others that they were going to donate $500 if another individual would agree to do the same, this opened up some good struggle with people. One person responded to this call positively and met the challenge because they had been moved and inspired by watching Bob Avakian in these Interviews. Another person, who has a lot of sharp disagreements with what Bob Avakian is saying about religion, about his criticism of the Nation of Islam, and how to understand a lot of what is happening in this country right now, still agreed to donate $200 because despite his disagreements he thinks what BA is saying needs to be out there. 

In Los Angeles, a number of people were motivated by these Interviews to put their heart and energies into making a Tamale Sale Festival event successful this weekend. As was reported by members of the Revolution Tour in LA, inspired by the BA Interviews and fundraising for the Revolution:

One woman who has never made tamales in her life and culturally didn’t grow up with them, gave money to buy ingredients, threw a whole day into making them, and proudly came and helped to host the fundraising festival. Others who weren’t able to help make them donated for ingredients or passed out flyers to get the word out. One person came early to take charge of vision and setup for the festival and was part of hosting it throughout the day. She also donated an incredible array of earrings she’d bought from a friend who made them. She commented the festival was a celebration of the new friends we’ve made throughout this year and a way of looking forward to continuing our efforts in the coming year. A man who was planning to help with the tamale-making had a death in his family and couldn’t do all of what he planned to do, but is enthusiastically hosting the tamale sale in the neighborhood and getting the word out to his neighbors.

Raising Funds and Making Revolution – Integrally Woven

Raising funds and building up support for the efforts is not off to the side of, but actually an integral part of making revolution. There is no revolution without a strong base of support for the revolutionaries and the work they are doing. And it is a way that many people can see themselves as part of and contributing to something that can really make a difference.

When we call on people to donate to this revolution, we are also inviting them to become part of the solution to all the things they are agonizing over. People need to see that there is something bigger going on than themselves and the people they know: they need to see a movement that is coming together in this country, a revolutionary force that is gaining influence, and a larger gathering of those who are committed to support that. And they can step in and be part of that even as they sort out where they stand. For that reason, every single effort has to become shared and known, giving life to all the ways for people to join with others to work on this together. If people are coming together to make tamales—or pies, baked goods, or crafts—to sell, news of that project should be shared, including what people talk about as they work together to raise these funds.

Being involved in that way also provides the opportunity for people to get into all the kinds of questions that people have about why we need a revolution, what kind of revolution we are aiming for, what kind of leadership is needed, and  what we need to do now to build toward that revolution. It can be a lot of fun to work together while getting into these kinds of questions.   

This Past Week’s Collective Efforts – an Advance, Potential Glimpsed, More to Be Done

There are a number of different initiatives people have taken to get this fund drive in gear, with events this weekend in a number of cities. So far we have raised more than $12,000, which is a good start, and this also gives a beginning sense of the potential for bringing many different people into contributing their donations, and their energy. There were many different ways that people across the country took up raising funds. Some who donated are people who can give $500 or more, others who can only give $10—all of whom are being called upon to be part of bringing others into donating to this revolution. One area developed the approach of one person giving $10 and then getting 9 others to match them, to make a collective donation of $100. 

And we are seeing the beginnings of people working together to reach this goal. All of this needs to be taken to another level, but it is important to see the seeds of what is possible in what has been done so far.  

Events in several cities this past weekend brought people together in festive gatherings that aimed to raise funds in different ways, and build up a sense of community and common cause with this revolution. These are some of the beginning shoots of what must grow to involve the contributions of thousands of people from all over the country. We will have more to report on this later in the week, so stay tuned into revcom.us.

* In Los Angeles on Saturday, December 10, people gathered at the Revolution Organizing Center with handmade items to sell, tamales were sold, and people watched and talked about clips from the Interviews with Bob Avakian. This included people from different countries, and different parts of the city of Los Angeles. They raised about $400 and then went out the next day into a neighborhood in South Central LA to raise money selling tamales and get donations from the people there. However, they ran into a problem when they ended up without the tamales they needed, due to illness from the main person who was going to make tamales. But they were not defeated by this—see the story here about how they went out to masses to solve this problem.

* In Chicago, people gathered at the Revolution Club Organizing Center:

A holiday open house and fund raising bazaar put on by the Revolution Club of Chicago drew a couple of dozen people to our organizing center in South Shore. This included a number of first time visitors.  The center had tables piled with homemade crafts and  repurposed gift items all for sale for the fund drive.  New club members helped make and staff the craft table.   Tables were also piled high with revolutionary t-shirts and palm cards for the BA interviews which people took with them to distribute to others.

Club members, some Iranian comrades and friends old and new were there, along with people who dropped in from the neighborhood. One old friend who had been part of the fight to save Cabrini Green public housing brought a young person because “you need them and they need you.” Several people came with donations to drop off or part of their 10-10 fund raising (ie, donate 10 and get 9 other people to donate 10). Gift bags for children who live in the building and often play inside the center went out the door. Music was DJ’d by a club member making it very festive and inviting in the center.

Go here for more news about what people are doing.

Conclusion

The goal we have set is what is needed immediately to start making this revolution and Bob Avakian known, a reference point, and debated in all corners of society. In this way we are working on changing the terms of what people think is possible and desirable, what vision and hopes will motivate people to step up to fight for a different and better future than the one we are trapped inside of now. The Interviews with Bob Avakian on The RNL-Revolution, Nothing Less—Show are the main way right now that we are bringing that mission to people, impacting society in that way, and organizing more and more people to themselves become part of the revolution. 

So how do we imagine that we can go from this start to actually raising this amount of money? Well one way we will do it is to put before people what the situation we are living in, why we need revolution, and what this revolution is for—and struggle with them to see what difference it will make if this revolution is actually on the map right now in this country. We have to make the case that there is nothing more important they can put their money into. Putting the need to donate before people sharpens up what they really think is important, whether they think this revolution is needed, or possible, and all the questions they have bound up with that. 

And making plans together with people, building on the seeds that have been planted and popularizing every advance, every new shoot that can inspire others to step in and step up to be on a mission to accomplish this goal.