On December 13, we will be releasing audio and print versions of a major new talk from Bob Avakian (BA), revolutionary leader and author of the new communism. The title is:
SOMETHING TERRIBLE, OR SOMETHING TRULY EMANCIPATING:
Profound Crisis, Deepening Divisions, The Looming Possibility Of Civil War—
And The Revolution That Is Urgently Needed
A Necessary Foundation, A Basic Roadmap For This Revolution
by Bob Avakian, Revolutionary Leader, Author of the New Communism
The importance of this talk cannot be overstated. It has history-changing potential. Put it this way: what is done with this talk by those who hear it, and read it, will be decisive in determining whether humanity will come out of these next heavily fraught years with something terrible… or whether it can wrench out of this madness something truly emancipating. For what lies beneath the surface of the accelerating horrible trends of today, what is not apparent in the swirl of the news, is something very rare: the real and rare chance to make revolution. WHY that is so… and HOW to go to work now on identifying, working to ripen, and then seizing that opportunity is what BA gets into in this talk.
Next week, the Revolution Clubs will be previewing a section of this talk in a few major cities1 in mass meetings. If you count yourself a member or supporter of the Revolution Club, if you think you might want to be a member, or if you have read and listened to and followed BA over the years, come to these meetings and bring others. In fact, if you—or anyone you know—fits this description from A Declaration, A Call to Get Organized Now for a Real Revolution, then you (and they) need to be there:
To everyone who can’t stand this world the way it is ... who is sick and tired of so many people being treated as less than human ... who knows that the claim of “liberty and justice for all” is a cruel lie ... who is righteously enraged that injustice and inequality go on, and on, and on, despite false promises and honeyed words from people in power (or those seeking power) ... everyone who agonizes about where things are headed and the fact that to be young now means being denied a decent future, or any future at all ... everyone who has ever dreamed about something much better, or even wondered whether that is possible ... everyone who hungers for a world without oppression, exploitation, poverty, and destruction of the environment ... everyone who has the heart to fight for something that is really worth fighting for: You need to be part of this revolution.
So, come to this meeting. Listen to the preview, and then talk with others about what it all means. And before you do, go here and here to read—or re-read—A Declaration, A Call To Get Organized For An Actual Revolution, along with Bob Avakian’s important follow-up to that, THIS IS A RARE TIME WHEN REVOLUTION BECOMES POSSIBLE—WHY THAT IS SO, AND HOW TO SEIZE ON THIS RARE OPPORTUNITY.
This Wednesday, December 1, the Supreme Court will hold a hearing on a Mississippi law that drastically restricts what the Court has previously found, in Roe v. Wade, to be a constitutional right to abortion AND Mississippi is explicitly requesting the Court to reverse Roe. This is a FASCIST attack—a key part of the onslaught being carried forward by the fascist Republican Party to hammer into place an even more violent and oppressive anti-woman patriarchy, a genocidal white supremacy and an insanely vicious xenophobia (hatred of “foreign-born” people). The stakes are very high, and there needs to be masses of people in the streets against this on Wednesday fighting for an orientation that many many more need to be coming out not just on one day, but day after day, to defend this right that now hangs by a thread. Go here for the statement on this, and here and here for past articles that have analyzed this case and its stakes.
Last week the killers of Ahmaud Arbery were found guilty of murder in a Georgia courtroom. The revcoms came out that afternoon with a statement that celebrated the verdict while putting it in the perspective and context of the conflicts now tearing society apart and, in particular, what will be a continuing onslaught to hammer into place a much more blatant and violent white supremacy. Go here to see the statement from the revcoms on the day of the verdict; and here for recent coverage in various media of the revcoms’ activity on this case, as well as our activity around the outrageous acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse for the vigilante murders of two unarmed protesters last summer in Kenosha, Wisconsin. And watch last week's The RNL—Revolution, Nothing Less!—Show Episode #80 for in-depth conversation and this coming week’s episode for an interview with Jacob Blake’s uncle, Justin Blake.2
Reaching the youth of the oppressed—those who, in the words of BA, are deemed by this system to be worth no more than boot in the ass and a bullet in the head—is an urgent mission of the movement for revolution. There will be no revolution that does not struggle with and inspire these youth with a real vision, and a real mission. In that spirit, we present again “A Revolution Rhyme for This Historic Time”—listen to this again, and write us with your ideas and experience on how to spread this to those who need to hear it.
Several weeks ago, we published “THE NATION OF ISLAM: NOT A FORCE FOR—A FORCE AGAINST—EMANCIPATION, We Need a Real Revolution” by Bob Avakian. This week we are running a poster to help spread the word on this piece. This poster needs to be seen all over, and especially in the areas of the oppressed.
In recent weeks, the long-standing outrage of the conviction of two men for the assassination of Malcolm X who had absolutely nothing to do with it began to be “officially” recognized with the exoneration of these two men, after decades in prison and the destruction of their reputations. But to say that significant questions still remain and that this does NOT settle the question of what forces came together to kill Malcolm would be a gross understatement. In “Two Innocent Men Exonerated in the Murder of Malcolm X After Decades in Prison—But the Hand of the System Remains Covered Up,” we analyze this. If you weren’t born when this went down—or even if you were—and certainly if you care about the future, you need to read this article and the accompanying piece from the American Crime series, “COINTELPRO—The FBI Targets the Black Freedom Struggle.”
Noche Diaz from the Revolution Club lays bare some needed truth this week on the U.S.-China global rivalry in its military—and especially nuclear—dimension (read it here). Along with the headlong destruction of the environment, the threat that one or another imperialist power or wannabe imperialist will launch the human race onto the path of extinction through firing a nuclear weapon remains extreme, even as many try to block it from their mind.
Over the past several weeks, we have published a number of letters responding to Bob Avakian’s recent series of articles that have been dealing with the fundamental contradiction of the capitalist-imperialist system, the need for revolution and a socialist dictatorship, and how to keep that new socialist state power on the road to the totally emancipated society of communism. This week we are publishing another letter that digs into this, and responds to earlier articles. We also received a poem from a Pakistani immigrant, inspired by the Declaration and Call from the Revcoms and BA's "Rare Time" article. We at revcom.us welcome all correspondence; whether we publish it or not, we end up learning from it.
Finally—but hardly the least important—we call your attention to the fundraising letter posted this past week for the National Get Organized for an Actual Revolution Tour. All the activity called for above—in addition to the exponential expansion of everything the revcoms are now doing and new initiatives required by the intensifying situation—requires funds. Give funds to this drive, and take this letter and work to get it out to raise funds. And as the week develops, check back here for more materials.