It is because humanity needs an epochal change, and nothing less, that I am contributing an art piece I painted for this fund drive to help the RevCom Corps for the Emancipation of Humanity take the necessary leap of building the forces we need. It is “26 x 28,” acrylic mixed media on wood & paper. I am a professional portrait painter. I am also a supporter of the Revcoms. This painting would ordinarily sell for over $1000 but I am offering it for a contribution of at least $600 to today’s livestream. If you would like to order a different portrait painted go to JeremyDBArt on Instagram where you can check out more of my paintings. They can start as low as $100 and all moneys are donated to the revcoms. So, please donate, pass the word and let's gather the resources necessary to fight for a future worth living in.

Some of us are old enough to have participated in the student movements of the 1960s, when opposition to the genocidal war in Vietnam and in support for black liberation struggles drove us into the streets. The movements of that time were so widespread that many of us felt there might be a revolution here in the “belly of the beast”; But at the time there was no clear strategy, no leader, no group or vision of what kind society we should build in its place. Now, all those things exist in the works and leadership of Bob Avakian, the Revcom Corps for the Emancipation of Humanity, and the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America.

Our group in Chicago supports the message and goals of the Revolution Summer 2024, and we’re looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible at protests at the Democratic National Convention this summer! To that end we have collected $1000 among us for a match challenge to those joining the fundraising livestream today.

Right now, let's message and call anyone we can—pause to think of everyone you know who has lifted their head above the muck and mire and endless distractions of day-to-day life, who sees, even in some ways, what this country really does (and what the US supports and enables so that it can function), and get them watching this fund drive, hearing what the Revcoms are doing in the coming months, and why they need our financial support and involvement!

Let's watch together and see what's happening and what could be—that as tens to hundreds of millions face one after another historic heat wave and conditions incompatible with human life, as displaced masses of humanity are degraded and brutalized by border guards with fascist vigilantes and their ruling-class backers hungering to do more, as genocidal terror rains down on people in Gaza stealing and destroying lives, as people here and throughout the world are forced to live under a system of capitalism-imperialism that is maintained with this brutal force, that requires this inhuman devastation, in this time let us ALL see that WE do NOT need to accept this, that WE can be a part of building for a revolution to overthrow this, with a strategy and approach rooted in science leading an organized force of millions to take down this beast when the time is right, and then leading people in building a radically different economic and political system that can unleash the energies, conscious determination, and creativity of people in this process, as laid out in the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America.

The Revcoms are building for this now! And Bob Avakian, in his recent dispatches @BobAvakianOfficial is laying out this strategy and its basis for everyone to engage, learn from, and take up—everyone who just can't stand to see our fellow human beings put through this all again, and again, and again. In the coming months, as more and more people are confronted with escalating crisis and the breaking-down of "normalcy," they can be compelled see things they've been blinded from seeing up until now, and with the Revcoms on the scene people can be led to confront, in so many ways, what this "great American democracy" really is and is really about, break their tacit (or overt) allegiance to this rapacious system, and join the fight for the future of humanity!

Hear the call - give your support - join with the emancipators of humanity!

I firmly believe in BA's statement: "We, the people of the world, can no longer afford to allow these imperialists to continue to dominate the world and determine the destiny of humanity. They need to be overthrown as quickly as possible. And it is a scientific fact that we do not have to live this way." —Bob Avakian

In this rare time, as BA has analysed scientifically, when revolution in this country has become more possible, it is incumbent upon every justice loving human being, to support the great initiative, "Revolution Summer 2024" by the Revcom Corps, in preparation of working for a Real Revolution; for a whole new emancipating way to live. So, I would urge every decent person who cares, every person who has a heart, to take this opportunity to donate generously, to make this endeavor, a great success.

Well guess what, humanity does NOT have to live this way!! But saying humanity does not have to live this way also means figuring out how to make this happen.

Mao said, “The future is bright, but the road is tortuous.” This is a very simple phrase and yet a very deep understanding of the world. The future can only be bright if we do and continue doing the arduous work necessary to change the world. Doing this work and bringing hundreds of new people forward is truly arduous, but we have some very precious tools to do this work with:

*The leadership of Bob Avakian who has transformed the objective situation in the world today by developing the New Communism so we can have the ability to be as scientific as possible as we analyze both the natural and social aspects of the world correctly, while always fighting for “The World Comes First.” As an Iranian revolutionary communist recently said, “Just as the socialist revolutions of the 20th century… would not have been possible without Marxism which was founded and developed by Marx and further developed by Lenin and Mao, socialist revolutions in our time are not possible without the New Communism developed by Bob Avakian.”

*The Revolutionary Communist Party, an organization without which we cannot make and lead a real revolution, not to reform, but to thoroughly overthrow and dismantle this capitalist-imperialist system while putting a socialist economic and political system in its place.

*The RNL—Revolution, Nothing Less!—Show, being able to reach, train and lead thousands and thousands of people through social media, as well as @BobAvakianOfficial.

*The Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America, a blueprint that deals with all of the facets of how a new Socialist society should be structured as part of developing a socialist mode of production economy, ending all oppressive relations, abolishing all class differences, and revolutionizing all ideas. (I especially love this tool! Everyone should carry a copy of it in their back pocket at all times to be able to show it to people.)

*We Need and We Demand: A Whole New Way to Live, A fundamentally Different System.

*We Are the RevComs; We are Working for a Real Revolution and a Whole New, Emancipating Way to Live.

* 5 Stops, 2 Choices, 6 Points of Attention

* The revcom.us Website. How beautiful and uplifting it is to be able to go on-line and read honest articles about the way the world is and how to change it, as well as get the latest works by Bob Avakian.

Stop. Think about this. How incredibly precious and invaluable these tools are without which we have no chance to make a real revolution. Humanity does not have to live this way.

We DO have these tools. We cannot squander them. We need money to make them and get them out into people’s hands.

I was recently at a medical conference. I was wearing my keffiyeh in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Scores of people came up to me to thank me for wearing my keffiyeh, some asked why I was wearing it. This started many conversations. I soon ran out of leaflets and literature to give to people greatly underestimating how many of these professionals were profoundly affected by the atrocities the Israeli/U.S. governments were committing. I was using my business card to write revcom.us on the back so people could further dig into the underlying causes of what is going on. Once I heard about the summer plans, I thought back to the conference wishing I had information about these plans and asking for donations for this fund drive for “Be part of making history. Be a part of fighting for a whole new way humanity could be living.” Everyone needs to know that there IS a way out and there IS a way forward.

The opportunity of making a whole new world is possible in this rare time, but we need to use and to get these tools out very broadly. We need to get the RevComCorps OUT. We need to make SUMMER REVOLUTION 2024 a magnet to draw forward all those who hate what they see around them and become part of a living movement to overthrow this system so not another child dies because of the workings of this system.

To do this, we need thousands of donations small and big. I am not able to be in the streets anymore, but I can help by being part of making a whole new, emancipating way to live by donating. Join me. Get your friends to join. Get anyone and everyone you know who hates the way this world is (that will be all of your friends and then some) to pitch in. It is truly a liberating feeling to be part of this Fund Drive.

With the elections coming up here, this sharpens up the need to fight for a different future, not Genocide Joe, nor the MAGA promises of retaliation, racist autocratic fascism. This brings up the need and possibility for a real revolution in this country and what that will mean for the people of the world.

I have a physical disability that prevents me from taking part in a lot of activities, but my heart is fully there. I am challenging everyone to financially sustain Revolution Summer.

For all of us who are so heartsick and disturbed about the genocide in Gaza, Revolution Summer will take the real fight for revolution, to people in the streets, to all kinds of people, introduce them to how another world is possible. Most people do not know about the New Communism Bob Avakian has developed. It is a scientific approach to understanding the world we live in, why reality matters, and the need to understand reality in order to change it. Bob Avakian has put the science of revolution on a fully scientific basis. The goal of this revolution is the emancipation of all humanity.

Bob Avakian explains how revolution can be made, how we can win and challenges people to take part. Imperialism is very powerful, but it is also vulnerable, you can see this in the outpouring of students and the young generation who refuse to accept this genocide. Just imagine if this young generation takes up the New Communism, what a future that could bring about!

For those of us who are not in the forefront, we can do a great deal to financially sustain this, work with others to inspire new people with a vision of Revolution Summer and beyond.

There is a whole new way people could be living. We are not living in normal times, this is a “moment,” when a revolution could be possible. We need to engage, inspire and organize others to be part of that future. We have work to do!

However, just as the U.S. is willing to commit genocide to hold onto its control of the Middle East, the U.S will do anything possible to hold onto its control of Hawai`i and the Pacific. But if the U.S. is overthrown and a socialist republic as envisioned in the Draft Constitution for a Socialist Republic in North America is established, the Hawaiian people will have the right to nationhood and the iron hand of the world’s largest oppressor, the U.S., will instead be a liberating force in the world. That’s one of the reasons I’m donating today to the Revcom Corps for the Emancipation of Humanity and am calling on you to join this movement for revolution right here in the “belly of the beast” and for the liberation of people across the planet.

He began to talk more, he began to engage with the content, including raising questions. He talked about how BA could break down the complex ideas (the ones he was not previously really comprehending). This going thru #1-11 took place over a couple of months. The more we got into the dispatches over the weeks, the more serious his engagement became. At the first discussion, his response about the dispatches was that the social media is a way to reach youth. After several other sessions, he said, “I appreciate these dispatches. BA wants to speak to people and he’s doing a good job by using the dispatches.” At the end of our discussions, he volunteered that he wanted to get into the two pieces BA recommended in these dispatches—“Building Up the Basis” and the five-part Revolution: A Real Chance to Win. He volunteered that; I didn’t suggest it. It was startling because he had never suggested/volunteered to read something that was of such substance, and not in a short form. To have him say that stood out as an indication of the power of the dispatches, both the form of presenting them and the content. And it indicates what role they played in a certain level of transformation for him. This is not some magical political transformation due only to reading the dispatches.

These discussions were taking place in the midst of the genocide against the Palestinians and the uprising of students. This intensified his sense of urgency in the overall situation. But more importantly, the uprisings inspired him and made some of the positive elements in the current situation and how they could contribute to the material basis for some of the arguments BA was making, come alive more than in previous periods. For instance, it “allowed him” to see the possibility of larger numbers of people coming to see the need for revolution, with the work of the Revcom Corps for the Emancipation of Humanity.

There was an interplay, or mutually reinforcing process, of what was going on in the world—the genocide in Gaza, the uprising of the students (and the work of the Corps within that)—all that along with BA’s leadership expressed in the form of the dispatches that he was studying.

The study reinforced one aspect of his understanding that had been a strength—seeing the urgency of the situation. But even more important, with the influence of the dispatches, he began to see the positive potential for revolution.

He is thinking about what BA is saying and trying to figure out how it makes revolution more possible (which was his most important question). We were into the grouping of dispatches #8-11, focusing on #11. He had raised before we got to that point in the discussions: “Where will we get the forces as things develop; we want to win.” His question about is it possible is about his own view but also has the same question about the broad masses: “convincing people it is possible is critical.” He has expressed how even a serious attempt would impact the entire world.

He focused on the paragraphs “The presidential election ... will be a sharp focus of the fight between these ruling class parties…” and the next one, “This could lead to armed clashes … which could even develop into large-scale military confrontation—a new kind of civil war … major splits in these institutions.” He sees how the Democratic Party “stifles their forces and the other side unleashes their forces.” He says, so this could lead to armed clashes and “these could mobilize people.” Then the Dems would fight for control over the people under their influence. He saw the possibility of that situation creating some who would be able to go with the revolution.

#11 is very concentrated, pulling together threads and so bears going over at least another round with him. He did pick up on two other aspects and wanted to get into them more—the emphasis on winning over forces in the military and on civil war. I sent him the articles, “Bob Avakian on Civil War and Revolution” and A Real Revolution—A Real Chance to Win.

One of his comments on the impact of the dispatches was that they made him think about what more he could do.

While this vibrant scene went on outside, artists finished a striking July 4 display in the store’s window: Say NO to Celebrating America—Truly a Model of Depraved, Racist Genocide. We Need and We Demand Revolution for a whole new way to live, and a fundamentally different system.