Get Ready for the Publication of BAsics

Revolution #225, February 27, 2011

Get Ready for the Publication of

BAsics

...and for the April 11 Celebration of Revolution and the Vision of a New World

Last issue, we announced two big upcoming events in our centerspread. These were the release of the book BAsics, from the Talks and Writings of Bob Avakian; and a major event on April 11, "On the Occasion of the Publication of BAsics: A Celebration of Revolution and the Vision of a New World." Taken together, these initiatives can have a major impact on people's thinking at a time when, suddenly, new possibilities are in the air.

BAsics will concentrate more than 30 years of Avakian's work on everything standing between humanity and complete emancipation into a single concise book of essential quotes and short essays.This book can not only introduce many many more people to the thinking of someone who has put communism back on the agenda as a vital and viable force—it can play a major role in bringing forward and forging a new wave of revolutionaries. To look at the table of contents (on this page) is to look at the key questions that present themselves to someone agonizing over the question of whether and how they can actually change the world in a fundamental and meaningful way. We're going to be talking more about BAsics over the weeks to come—for now, though, we want to alert people that we expect the book to be out sometime in mid- to late March and to encourage people now to get out there to raise money to enable the book not only to be printed, but to be promoted in a serious way.

The $200 "BAsics Challenge" printed in Revolution #224 should be a major tool used by every regular reader of this paper with everyone they know. Enabling people to contribute to making sure this work has the needed impact means giving people a chance to make their resources count for changing the world. You are also informing them about this book—and you should definitely use the table of contents, along with some of the quotes we've printed on the back page of this paper over the past year or so, to give people a flavor of what to expect, and to bring home the fact that..."you can't change the world if you don't know the BAsics!"

April 11—A Time to Celebrate

The host committee for the April 11 event, still in formation, includes Aladdin, actor and playwright; Herb Boyd, journalist and author; Elaine Brower, National Steering Committee of World Can't Wait* and anti-war military mom; Carl Dix, founding member of the Revolutionary Communist Party; Nicholas Heyward, Sr., father of Nicholas Heyward, Jr. (murdered by the NYPD in 1994), Russ Jennings, theatre producer and writer; Erin Aubry Kaplan, journalist and author; Rev. Earl Kooperkamp, St. Mary's Church, Harlem*; Mike Ladd, mc and poet; Philip Maysles, visual artist, co-director, Maysles Cinema*; Matthew Shipp, musician; Cornel West, Professor of Religion, Princeton University* and David Zeiger, film maker. (* for identification purposes only)

To mark this book's publication, on Monday, April 11, Harlem Stage will be the venue for a major cultural celebration: "On the Occasion of the Publication of BAsics: A Celebration of Revolution and the Vision of a New World." This event will bring together well-known musicians, writers and actors, and people from the community and the youth. People from different perspectives and different spheres—but all animated by celebrating revolution and the vision of a new world, and taking the publication of BAsics as a very appropriate time to do that—will come together.

The night will include poetry, music, visual arts, and readings of letters from prisoners responding to Avakian's words and to the ideas of revolution and bringing into being a new world. These will be interspersed with people's own reflections (from the stage or via video) of what it means to them to celebrate revolution and the vision of a new world, and will include some readings of quotes from BAsics as well.

Already the over a dozen hosts for the event and the growing list of artists who will perform gives a sense of the potential for a celebration like this. (Go to www.revolutionbooksnyc.orgfor these lists.) How often do people come together to celebrate revolution and the vision of a new world? How often do people—and all of society—get to see a range of viewpoints and all kinds of different art coming together with the voice of a leader like this and the content of what is in this book? Even to raise these questions is to underline how unique and unprecedented this event is going to be and how, especially in today's landscape, this should be able to really stand out and offer a vision not only of a new world, but of a world in which people would really want to live. There's going to be a message coming out of Harlem that night—in short, that revolution and the vision of a new world is something to celebrate... and that this author needs to become much more broadly known and his ideas and works need to become a major point of reference among people who are disturbed about the state of the world and seeking (or seriously engaging with the question of whether there could be) another, better world. That's a powerful and very important message linking up with and amplifying a powerful and important book.

Unleash the Potential

But for this celebration to be what it needs to be, for it to reach its potential, for it to play the role it has to play in shining a light on this important new book, a lot of work must be done—AND YOU NEED TO BE PART OF DOING THIS NECESSARY WORK!

Here's some of what needs to be done:

• Go to www.revolutionbooksnyc.org for PDFs of promo cards to print out and distribute all over, and to email around as well.
• A lot of money needs to be raised to both publish the book and put this event on.  (Go to www.revolutionbooksnyc.org for more information.) Make a generous donation yourself, and go to others to do the same. Take up the BAsics fundraising challenge. (See issue Revolution #224, February 6, 2011.)
  But take up other ideas as well, and make this a question for people very broadly—in fact, fundraising should be a major way that people get to know about this. In one area, some people who work with the "revcoms" came up with the idea of a day when they would make and sell pre-ordered dinners for people as both a fundraiser and a way to publicize the upcoming book and the event. There are all kinds of creative and communal ways that people can raise money for this.
• Buzz and anticipation need to be created for the celebration. Wherever you live: make this known about among artistic and intellectual circles. Invite people to travel to be part of the night itself, to send video messages, to join the host committee, to strategize with us about who to reach out to. Let's not be bound by geography!
  And let's also build this very big in the communities into which this paper reaches. Let's work with people in those communities to raise money to send delegations from around the country to this event and where a whole lot more people are able to be there in spirit, even if they can't travel all the way to NY. Statements from these delegations on why they are coming can be a major part of the buzz that is needed.
• Key neighborhoods and campuses need to be blanketed with posters, palm cards and other promotional materials. Clubs, cafes and other gathering spots need to have stacks of cards promoting this event.
  It is also very important to make real efforts, starting now, to reach out to teachers and talk with them about this book and about this celebration. See what their ideas might be on how to promote this...on how to link this up with the young people they teach...and what they see as the potential here.
• This event and the book need to get way out there in the media and online. Print and electronic media outlets, large and small, need to be covering this—addressing the fact that a celebration like this is being held and noting the new and surprising artists and others who are getting involved in it. The word needs to be spread through Facebook pages, Twitter feeds and e-lists. It needs to be blogged about and taken up in other ways. Advertisements in key media need to be lined up.
• People need to be gotten into the house on April 11. This can require more than just letting everybody know it's happening. Tickets have to be sold in advance. In some cases, people should be organized to gather and come to Harlem together on that night. And again—if you're not in NY, you can organize people to raise the funds to send a delegation to the celebration and to bring the reverberations from the event back to your area.
• In all this work, familiarize people with Bob Avakian himself. In other words, don't just tell them about Avakian—make sure that they have a chance to watch the Revolution talk DVD (also available at revolutiontalk.net), or to get into the memoir, or to read the recent statement on Egypt, for example. One very good and important tool: Avakian's recent spoken word piece "All Played Out," available for downloading online atsoundcloud.com/allplayedout/all-played-out-by-bob-avakian. Playing this in classes or with individuals who may not have even heard of BA until now is an excellent introduction.

A Call To Prisoners—Celebrate the BAsics! Let us hear from you your thinking on the publication of BAsics, and on celebrating revolution and the vision of a new world, as contributions to the April 11 event called for above. And be sure to spread the word to ties on the outside about this event, this book, and this leader.

All this will require a broad range of people contributing their time and energy in the ways and on the level that they are able. It will require the collective efforts of everyone who recognizes that it is crucial for what Bob Avakian has been bringing forward to become a major part of the discourse in this society.

BAsics will have just gotten published when the April 11 celebration occurs. People will be starting to read it in the projects, on campuses and elsewhere. So think about this book, and its author, becoming a significant point of reference in society and in the world. Think about those whose eyes are opening to new possibilities as they witness the massive upheaval roiling Egypt, Libya, Iran and other countries finding out about Avakian and the work he's been doing. Think about how this could both fuel the inspiration they draw from these events and give guidance for realizing the most positive aspirations that are sparking these upsurges—providing a solid, scientific basis for both hope and daring among a new generation rising up, and among more than a few from the previous generations who maybe had given up their dreams of there being any better way for people to live. Think about this, and then act to make it happen!

Taken together, Basics—and the celebration on the occasion of its release—will introduce many, many new people to the most radical revolutionary on the planet; to a leader whose sense of humor is as sharp as his hatred for oppression is fierce; to a visionary who deeply understands that humanity can and must radically transform the world without "turning out the lights" on artistic and intellectual experimentation. The night of April 11 will bring together a broad range of people—including prominent, influential voices—who want to celebrate revolution and the vision of a new world and who have an equally broad range of reasons for wanting to see Avakian and his work become a mass question in society.

So...let's make it happen!

Revolution #226, March 6, 2011


Statement from the 
Revolutionary Communist Party

ON THE STRATEGY FOR REVOLUTION

Under this system of capitalism, so many in this society and so much of humanity are forced to endure great hardship and suffering, exploitation, injustice and brutality, while wars and the ongoing destruction of the natural environment threaten the very future of humanity. In the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America (Draft Proposal) our Party has set forth an inspiring vision, and concrete measures, for the building of a new society, a socialist society, aiming for the final goal of a communist world, where human beings everywhere would be free of relations of exploitation and oppression and destructive antagonistic conflicts, and could be fit caretakers of the earth. But to make this a reality, we need revolution.

Read on…

EGYPT 2011: MILLIONS HAVE HEROICALLY STOOD UP... THE FUTURE REMAINS TO BE WRITTEN

A Statement By Bob Avakian, Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA

February 11, 2011

Millions of Egyptian people from all walks of life, drawing inspiration from the people of Tunisia, have heroically risen up, defied the hated regime of Hosni Mubarak and forced Mubarak to resign. This has shattered the notion that “things can never change.” It is a powerful demonstration that there is no permanent necessity to the existing conditions under which the great majority of humanity suffer so terribly. Oppressed people and people who hunger for an end to oppression, in every country all over the world, have deeply shared in the joy and hope of these massive uprisings. And the stirrings of revolt continue to spread.

At the same time, while Mubarak has stepped down, the same basic forces that have so cruelly ruled over and exploited the Egyptian people remain in power. And, despite their honeyed words of praise for the masses of youth and others who have risen up, despite their promises of “freedom” and “democracy,” in reality they are determined to bring about a “transition” that will ensure that there is no fundamental change—that whatever new arrangements are engineered in the political process will still keep the masses of people in Egypt, in Palestine, and other countries of strategic importance for U.S. imperialism, in unbearable conditions. After all, the armed forces in Egypt — which are now supposed to carry out this “transition”—are the same armed forces which for decades faithfully and brutally enforced the rule of the Mubarak regime, while the heads of this military enriched themselves through becoming major exploiters of the Egyptian people; and the imperialists of the U.S. — who fully backed Mubarak and his cronies and kept them in power for 30 years, without any regard for the suffering of the people — are the very same imperialists who are now seeking yet again to call the shots and give the ultimate orders in terms of what the “transition” in Egypt will be.

The plans and designs of these oppressors and exploiters are NOT what the masses of people desperately want and need. Theirs is the cry of “freedom,” and the struggle must be carried forward until real freedom is achieved—freedom from the rule of the imperialists and their local henchmen and junior partners, freedom from all forms of oppression and exploitation. Freedom from both the outmoded forces which would enslave women, and the people as a whole, in medieval darkness and oppression — and from the outmoded forces who would enslave people in the name of “democracy”...”freedom”...and capitalist imperialist exploitation marketed as “progress.”

It has frequently happened in history, as has been the case in Egypt (as well as Tunisia), that the domination of imperialism and the rule of local exploiters has taken a concentrated form in the regime of a “strong man” butcher. This was the case, for example, in Iran, with the torture-chamber rule of the Shah, in the Philippines with the tyranny of Marcos, and in Indonesia with the long monstrous reign of Suharto—all brutal dictatorships put in power and long kept in power by U.S. imperialism. In Iran in the late 1970s, in the Philippines in the 1980s, in Indonesia more recently, massive uprisings of the people forced the U.S. imperialists to throw aside these hated tyrants and to allow some changes. But in every case, the ultimate result was not one which led to real “freedom” for the people — instead they have continued to be subjected to cruel oppression at the hands of those who replaced the old, hated rulers, while these countries have remained within the overall framework of global imperialist domination and exploitation. But historical experience has also shown that the continuation of oppressive rule, in one form or another, is NOT the only possible outcome.

In Russia, in February 1917, another brutal despot, the Czar (absolute monarch), was overthrown by the uprising of the people. Here again, the U.S., British, and other imperialists, and the Russian capitalists, tried to continue the oppression of the Russian people in a new form, using the mechanisms of “democratic rule” and elections which, while allowing for some broader participation of different parties, would still be totally controlled by the exploiters of the people and would ensure their continuing rule, and the continued suffering of the masses of people. In this case, however, the masses of people were enabled to see through these maneuvers and manipulations, to carry forward their revolutionary rising, through many different twists and 

turns and, in October 1917, to sweep aside and dismantle the institutions and mechanisms of bourgeois dictatorship and to establish a new political and economic system, socialism, which for several decades continued to advance in the direction of abolishing relations of exploitation and oppression, as part of the struggle throughout the world toward the final goal of communism. The crucial difference was that, in the uprisings in Russia, there was a core of leadership, communist leadership, that had a clear, scientifically grounded, understanding of the nature of not just this or that ruthless despot but of the whole oppressive system — and of the need to continue the revolutionary struggle not just to force a particular ruler from office but to abolish that whole system and replace it with one that would really embody and give life to the freedom and the most fundamental interests of the people, in striving to abolish all oppression and exploitation.

Even though the revolution in Russia was ultimately reversed, with capitalism restored there in the 1950s, and today Russia no longer seeks to disguise the fact that it is a capitalist-imperialist power, the lessons of the Russian Revolution of 1917 hold valuable, indeed decisive lessons for today. And the most decisive lesson is this: When people in their masses, in their millions, finally break free of the constraints that have kept them from rising up against their oppressors and tormentors, then whether or not their heroic struggle and sacrifice will really lead to a fundamental change, moving toward the abolition of all exploitation and oppression, depends on whether or not there is a leadership, communist leadership, that has the necessary scientific understanding and method, and on that basis can develop the necessary strategic approach and the influence and organized ties among growing numbers of the people, in order to lead the uprising of the people, through all the twists and turns, to the goal of a real, revolutionary transformation of society, in accordance with the fundamental interests of the people. And, in turn, when people massively break with the “normal routine” and the tightly woven chains of oppressive relations in which they are usually entrapped and by which they are heavily weighed down — when they break through and rise up in their millions — that is a crucial time for communist organization to further develop its ties with those masses, strengthening its ranks and its ability to lead. Or, if such communist organization does not yet exist, or exists only in isolated fragments, this is a crucial time for communist organization to be forged and developed, to take up the challenge of studying and applying communist theory, in a living way, in the midst of this tumultuous situation, and to strive to continually develop ties with, to influence and to ultimately lead growing numbers of the masses in the direction of the revolution that represents their fundamental and highest interests, the communist revolution.

In my writings and talks, in Communism: The Beginning of a New Stage, a Manifesto from the 

Revolutionary Communist Party, USA, and in other major documents of our Party, we have striven to draw as deeply and fully as possible the critical lessons from the historical experience of the communist revolution and the socialist societies it has brought into being — the very real and great achievements, and the serious errors and setbacks — and to learn from the broader experience of human society and its historical development, in order to contribute all we can to the advance of the revolutionary struggle and the emancipation of oppressed people throughout the world. As the Constitution of our Party states: 

“The Revolutionary Communist Party, USA has taken the responsibility to lead revolution in the U.S., the belly of the imperialist beast, as its principal share of the world revolution and the ultimate aim of communism....

“The emancipation of all humanity: this, and nothing less than this, is our goal. There is no greater cause, no greater purpose to which to dedicate our lives.” 

It is in this spirit, and with this orientation and goal in mind, that I extend heartfelt support and encouragement to the millions who have risen up. To all who truly want to see the heroic struggle of the oppressed masses develop, with the necessary leadership, in the direction of real revolutionary transformation of society and genuine liberation: engage with and take up the emancipating viewpoint and goals of communism, and the challenge of giving this organized expression and a growing influence and presence among the struggling masses.

# # #

New! From Bob Avakian!

We are excited to hear, and want to share with you, the following spoken word piece from Bob Avakian.  Something new and fresh!  We encourage you to listen and share it with one and all.

ALL PLAYED OUT 

from Bob Avakian,  listen online today

Listen to this spoken word piece HERE.

Check this out, and help spread it:

1. Download and play this in neighborhoods, schools, everywhere.
2. Post the link on your Facebook, Twitter and blog. Review through StumbleUpon and Reddit. Post it on other websites you visit.
3. Send this to everyone you know, through e-mail, text messages, and online social media.
4. Play it, where appropriate, at open-mics and other events.
5. Request it on the radio, and tell them where they can download it.

Write to allplayedout@ymail.com with your ideas.

The full URL to listen and share ALL PLAYED OUT is: soundcloud.com/allplayedout/all-played-out-by-bob-avakian/

New Articles from Revolution Online on the Eruption in Egypt!

Below are the links to new articles from Revolution Online about the unfolding events in Egypt.  

A massive and courageous uprising has erupted throughout Egypt—the most populous Arab country—with the youth at the forefront. What direction this will ultimately go, and how far, is to be determined. But this uprising already has been—and even more could be—an important element in shaking up the whole reactionary world order—giving oxygen to all those who hunger for liberation or are even dissatisfied with the way things are. 

Egypt Erupts!

http://www.revcom.us/a/224/egypt-en.html

The "Grand" -- and Deadly -- Illusion

http://www.revcom.us/a/224/grand_illusion-en.html

A Profound Lesson... And A Deep Challenge

http://www.revcom.us/a/224/profound_lesson-en.html

Revolution urges readers to study (or re-study)Bringing Forward Another Way, by Bob Avakian, Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA

Bring the Cornel West and Carl Dix Dialogue to Campus!

Dear Student Organization and/or Academic Department:

We want to personally extend the invitation to host the ground-breaking dialogue, "In the Age of Obama –– Part 2: Police Terror; Incarceration; No Jobs; Mis-education: What Future for Our Youth? A Dialogue between Cornel West and Carl Dix" at your school or university.

Stopped and frisked continually, massively incarcerated, jobless in a recessed economy, living in fear of the police, or compelled into the military to kill and die in the U.S.’s global wars — today’s youth certainly face a multitude of challenges unprecedented by their parents’ generation.  But what should be the future of such youth? 

            Cornel, currently a professor at Princeton and prolific scholar on matters of race and democracy, illuminates the predicament for our youth:  “[T]hey have accepted a definition of being human as ability to be titillated and stimulated by various commodities… and measure one’s success by how well adapted they are to injustice.”  

             While Carl, a founding member of the Revolutionary Communist Party,  challenges us to examine the legitimacy of the system of capitalist-imperialism which criminalizes an entire generation: "We can't leave this system as it is, grinding away, crushing the spirits and destroying the bodies of so many of our youth.  And we don't have to --there is another way.  Through revolution we could bring a totally different, and far better, world into being.” 

             Unique in vision, the Dialogue itself is a spirited back-and-forth between two of the nation’s foremost thinkers -- one in the spirit of the Black church and liberation theology, and the other Revolutionary Communist -- on one of the most pressing issues facing our country today.   Though differing in perspective, they are joined by their concern for the youth and the urgency of cracking open the national discourse to make room for such critical space. 

             You have the opportunity to engage in a rare, riveting discussion which brings to the surface one of the most egregious outrages of U.S. society today — one which is flagrantly ignored by policy makers and mainstream media pundits alike.  In the wake of the police slayings of Danroy Henry, Oscar Grant, Sean Bell, and Aiyana Stanley Jones, this is a timely conversation in urgent need of being thrust into the public discourse.

            Be a part of spreading this into a nationwide conversation, and bring this impactful program and its speakers to your school or university as early as January this spring semester.  Enclosed in this packet is a sample of promotional materials from the October 29^th speaking engagement at Harlem Stage at Aaron Davis Hall.*   For further inquiries about scheduling and honoraria, please contact us.

We look forward to hearing back.
Best,

The Dialogue Coordinators

866-841-9139 x2670

Cornelcarldialogue@gmail.com


* Write us!

 ------------------------------

A sold-out crowd of more than 650 people filled the Harlem Stage at Aaron Davis Hall on October 29^th.  After the event, the lobby was full of people who were clearly inspired, moved, provoked, and intrigued—by the Dialogue.  Here are some of their comments:

* * *

"I've been motivated, entertained, and uplifted all in one. Fantastic." - 23-year-old African-American student

"Everything that they talked about is exactly the things that I think are prevalent to me right now as a teenager, as a student, as the youth….this is what I feel—that this is a moment in time where we have the future ahead of us and we have to seize it, and it's our decision what we're gonna do with it."   -  17-year-old white high school student from Brooklyn

"I connected to everything...This is my life. This isn't just an event for me. This is already a cause I'm already actively pursuing.  So to know that I'm not alone, it's the most amazing feeling. The most amazing feeling. Like I cried—I'm not a crier, I'm a f--king boxer."
- A young boxer, one of whose parents is from Puerto Rico and the other from Guam

“I liked the focus on the youth, a lot of the talk in politics has to do with what is happening, but no one really talks about the youth.”  - A student from Columbia University

"You know, I was surprised by how enthusiastic everybody around me was. It was inspiring to see everybody so into it. To see people feeling—and not just sitting around and listening— People taking it in and feeling it and feeling like they can go out and do something.  - A high school student

“I liked the depth of the analysis, the internationalism, the humor, the camaraderie between Dr. West and Mr. Dix….”  - A community observer

# # #

2011 New Year’s Message From Carl Dix

December 31, 2010

Dear Friends,

Heading into the new year, there is much to reflect on and great challenges ahead.  Last year we saw wars for empire; drone attacks destroying villages in Afghanistan , Pakistan and Yemen ; government spying -- all things people hated Bush for -- continuing under Obama.  A year of continued economic dislocation that has left millions out of work and millions more losing their homes.  A year of subjugation of Black people and other oppressed nationalities.  And there's the Tea Party phenomena -- a rising fascist movement aiming to enforce a nightmarish vision of the country's past.

The challenge we face isn't just maintaining the status quo or making minor changes around the edges of this horrific set up.  We can't leave this imperialist system intact, crushing spirits and grinding up bodies of the people.  Instead we must radically transform this society and the world.  To meet this challenge, we in the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) are building a movement for revolution -- a movement spreading the message that things don't have to be this way, that through revolution, Communist revolution, we could bring a totally different, and far better, world into being.  A movement that builds resistance to the ways the system comes down on people -- that "Fights the Power, and Transforms the People, for Revolution."

I've been pouring all my energy into this.  I continued my campus tour -- "From Buffalo Soldier to Revolutionary Communist" -- bringing it to Howard University in the spring.  On the heels of that I was in Chicago for Tavis Smiley's "The Black Agenda is the American Agenda," spreading the message that revolution is the real way to end the brutality and misery imperialism inflicts on Black people and everyone else on this planet.

I spent several weeks this summer in Detroit, building resistance to the police murder of 7 year old Aiyana Stanley-Jones and taking the message of revolution to people on the mean streets of that city's east side.  I was also part of a crew of revolutionaries that went among the thousands of activists who gathered in Detroit for the US Social Forum.  To their slogan of "Another World is Possible," we added the truth that revolution is the only real way out from under the rule of this bloodsucking system.

On October 29th, I had a second conversation with Cornel West on the campus of the City College of New York .  Before a standing room only crowd, we dialogued over, "In the Age of Obama Part 2:  Police Terror, Incarceration, No Jobs, Mis-Education; WHAT FUTURE FOR OUR YOUTH?"  Cornel urged the youth not to become "titillated by commodities" or "adapted to indifference."  I spoke to how the problems youth and others face are built into the very fabric of the system and that revolution is the only way to end them, once and for all.  These two deep and radical thinkers engaging over this crucial question, expressing a lot of unity and taking up differences over religion and Obama, electrified this packed theater.

And this fall, the RCP issued a "CONSTITUTION For The New Socialist Republic in North America (Draft Proposal)".  This is a huge deal!  This Constitution breaks down what a revolutionary society would look like, how the government would be organized, how the economy would work, the media, education, health care, the arts -- everything.  Anybody who wants to know 'what the revolutionaries' are for needs to read this.  I've been promoting the Constitution in the media and in other ways and getting it to everybody I can. (If you want to read this Constitution, go to the web site: www.revcom.us/socialistconstitution/index.html.)

Looking to the year ahead, I plan to continue working to put revolution on the map, introduce people to the leadership we have for this revolution in Bob Avakian and rally a core of people out to make this revolution real.  I'll be 1) Continuing to promote the Constitution.  2) Preparing for the release of BAsics, a book of quotations from the writings of Bob Avakian, by the spring. And 3) Taking my dialogue with Cornel West on the road, hitting college campuses, bringing this electrifying engagement to young people, and others, all across the country.

What I'm writing you about here isn't just a spectator sport -- There's a role for you in all this.  For starters, get a subscription to Revolution newspaper (www.revcom.us).  It'll bring you developments around the world from a revolutionary perspective, and it'll connect you to this movement for revolution.  And I need you to support my efforts to spread the message of revolution so that I can continue to do things like going to conferences in different parts of the country or rolling up to Detroit, or wherever determined resistance to the system's attacks is going on, with a crew of revolutionaries:  Make a contribution – do it online at my blog:  www.comradecarl.blogspot.com; and/or help to set up campus speaking engagements.

Revolutionary Greetings,

            Carl  Dix

Follow Carl Dix at:

Blog:  www.comradecarl.blogspot.com
Twitter:  www.twitter.com/Carl_Dix

YouTube:  www.youtube.com/CarlDix1
FaceBook Page: "From Buffalo Soldier to Revolutionary Communist"

Office of Carl Dix, Revolutionary Communist Party , USA

P.O. Box 941 Knickerbocker Station, New York NY 10002-0900 , (866) 841-9139 x2670

More on Who Murdered Aiyana Stanley-Jones

A Response to Charlie Leduff's "What Killed Aiyana Stanley-Jones?"


The article by Charlie Leduff ("What Killed Aiyana Stanley-Jones?" from Mother Jones magazine - Nov/Dec 2010) plays a good and important role.  It keeps the story of this foul crime alive and in the public eye.  Part of how the authorities are trying to cover up this murder is by ‘investigating” it till people forget or become fuzzy about some of the more gruesome details.  This article is also a comprehensive attempt to weigh the various things that factored into this murder.

But its very comprehensiveness leads it to end up in muddying the waters on just what and who is responsible for this little girl’s murder.  The answer to who or what killed Aiyana is both pretty simple and somewhat complex.  The simple answer is that a killer cop killed her--a cop who had demonstrated a disregard for the lives and humanity of Black children. A couple years earlier, he shot a dog that was in a room near a young child playing.  To be clear, the cop hadn’t been called to save the child from a dog that was threatening it.

This killer cop was part of the Detroit Police Department (DPD), which has a long, sordid history of inflicting brutality on that city’s Black population. Stolen Lives, a project of the Oct 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, has documented 42 cases of people killed in the 1990's by the DPD.  These are only the ones this grass roots coalition was able to find out about thru its own efforts because the DPD, like police depts. across the US, refuses to release information on people they kill.  Most of these 42 people were unarmed and doing nothing wrong when they were killed by cops.

The DPD’s attempt to cover up Aiyana’s murder is instructive.  They not only blamed her grandmother by saying the cop’s gun went off while she was struggling with him.  They took her into custody and tested her for gunpowder residue and for drugs to try to back up their lie.  Think about this.  They had just shot her grand baby to death before her eyes, and then they arrest her and try to blame her for it.

This cover up is being continued to this day by the Michigan state police and other officials in the area.  How long does it take to figure out that the cops broke into the wrong apartment that night?  (I have been to the house, and there are clearly 2 entrances, one to the upstairs apt where Chauncey Owens--the guy the cops had the warrant for -- lives. And the other to the downstairs apt where Aiyana and her family lived.)  A few days or even a few minutes should be enough to determine that.  Why hasn’t some government agency made this public.  Why hasn’t the video of the raid (Remember the A&E film crew was there recording the whole thing.) been released?  Why haven’t there been banner headlines in the Detroit Free Press (DFP) or lead stories on the local news shows to this effect?  Months after Aiyana’s death, most of the people writing in to the DFP’s online comments page about her killing still believed that Owens was captured in Aiyana’s family’s home that night! And the authorities want people to remain confused about these details so their role in this murder remains unclear.

And finally, the system of capitalism is responsible for this murder.  The DPD, just like police depts. nationwide, patrol the areas where Black people live like they have a green light to brutalize and murder people.  The very operation of this system drew large numbers of Black people into cities across the country to work at the bottom of the work force in the auto, steel and other plants.  These plants are largely closed down and/or moved half way around the world, leaving millions of Black people facing a situation of no jobs and a wrecked educational system.  In effect brutal, murdering cops are the front line enforcers for these miserable conditions.  (All this is gone into in more depth in issue #144 of Revolution newspaper, “The Oppression of Black People, The Crimes of This System and The Revolution We Need.”  This issue is available at www.revcom.us.)

It is against this backdrop that we have to evaluate the report that there were stolen cars in Aiyana’s family’s back yard or questions of why her parents didn=t move away from the mean streets on the east side of Detroit.  Aiyana wasn’t killed because of poor life choices made by her parents.  And the end logic of even partly attributing her murder to what her parents did wrong leads to you joining the system=s blame the victim chorus.

Look at the big picture -- the capitalist/imperialist system is grinding away, crushing the spirits and breaking the bodies of countless numbers of people here in this country and around the world.  As this society wide meat grinder inflicts atrocities on the masses, we are invited to look at the life choices of Aiyana’s family.  Most of those killed by cops are Black or Latino males who are teen aged or older, and the system always spotlights their criminal records or immigration status or whatever else they can use to blame them for what happened to them.  Since Aiyana was only 7, in this case, the blame gets put onto her parents.  This is all a bunch of crap.

The system is responsible for Aiyana=s murder.  In particular, the killer cop should be prosecuted for his murderous deed, and the city and state officials who collaborated in the cover up should also be exposed and prosecuted.  I have traveled to Detroit and spoke and written as part of working to make this happen.

And overall, we in the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) are building a movement for revolution.  We are working to put revolution on the map in this country, let people know about the leader we have for this revolution in Bob Avakian, the head of the RCP and we are working to bring into being a core of people determined to make this revolution real.  And the RCP has released a Constitution for the Future Socialist Republic in North America which shows how a socialist society constructed after this capitalist set up was gotten rid of thru revolution would be organized and how it would work. (Again, you can get info on this or get connected with the movement for revolution by going to:  www.revcom.us.)

So that’s my thoughts on the police murder of Aiyana Stanley-Jones -- the system is responsible, and revolution is the solution.

Celebrating the Release of the CONSTITUTION For The New Socialist Republic In North America (Draft Proposal).

On Wednesday, November 10, at Revolution Books NYC, Carl Dix read a statement from the Revolutionary Communist Party on the release of the CONSTITUTION For The New Socialist Republic In North America (Draft Proposal).

* * *

      Welcome everyone to the release celebration for the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America (Draft Proposal) from the Revolutionary Communist Party.  This is a momentous occasion and I’m going to read a few brief comments about the significance of this Constitution, and call on everyone here to really get deeply into this, and be part of getting it way out in the world.
     As it says in the Introductory Explanation, this Constitution was written with the future in mind.  It sets forth, “a basic model, and fundamental principles and guidelines, for the nature and functioning of a vastly different society and government than now exists: the New Socialist Republic in North America, a socialist state which would embody, institutionalize and promote radically different relations and values among people; a socialist state whose final and fundamental aim would be to achieve, together with the revolutionary struggle throughout the world, the emancipation of humanity as a whole and the opening of a whole new epoch in human history--communism--with the final abolition of all exploitative and oppressive relations among human beings and of the destructive antagonistic conflicts to which these relations give rise.”

     This Constitution is a framework for a radically new economic system, a radically new political system and it is also a framework through which people will be able to work their way toward and reach a communist society.  Quoting from the message and call of the campaign the Revolutionary Communist Party is currently undertaking, “the revolution we need... the leadership we have,” “A world where people work and struggle together for the common good... Where everyone contributes whatever they can to society and gets back what they need to live a life worthy of human beings... Where there are no more divisions among people in which some rule over and oppress others, robbing them not only of the means to a decent life but also of knowledge and a means for really understanding, and acting to change, the world.”

     Bob Avakian’s new synthesis provides the foundation of this, and the principle of solid core with a lot of elasticity runs throughout.  Reading from the preamble, “This means that, on the one hand, there must be a continually expanding force in society, with the revolutionary communist party as its leading element, which is firmly convinced of the need to advance to communism and deeply committed to carrying forward this struggle, through all the difficulties and obstacles; and, on the basis of and at the same time as continually strengthening this ‘solid core,’ there must be provision and scope for a wide diversity of thinking and activity, among people throughout society, ‘going off in many different directions,’ grappling and experimenting with many diverse ideas and programs and fields of endeavor--and once again all this must be ‘embraced’ by the vanguard party and the ‘solid core’ in an overall sense and enabled to contribute, through many divergent paths, to the advance along a broad road toward the goal of communism.”

     The significance of having this kind of framework for day one, and then beyond after the seizure of power in a country like this, can’t be underestimated.  This is huge, and those at the core of a movement for revolution need to be living in this themselves - putting ourselves there and wrangling very broadly with both the obstacles and potential pathways of human emancipation in a socialist transition to communism given concrete expression in policies and principles in this Constitution.

     There is also great significance in what it means to have this Constitution out in the world today.

     In a world where the planet itself is in grave danger, and where the vast majority of humanity is suffering from the daily exploitation, the soul crushing scramble for survival, the lives lost needlessly around the world to imperialist wars of domination and the alienation and desperation that comes from all this... people are being snuffed out and smothered both by the weight of this system and by the idea that these conditions are permanent, that it has to be this way.

     No!  The basis exists for a radically different, a radically liberating world.  This Constitution is a declaration, it’s a concrete answer to what we mean by that, what we mean when it’s said in the message and call that “this is NOT the best of all possible worlds... and we do NOT have to live this way.”

     Today, as those of us in the movement for revolution prepare for THIS future, this constitution is also a means of presenting a real alternative to the present system; a response to the argument, in whatever form, that there is nothing that can be done to change things, and there is no viable alternative; and a challenge in contrast to the program--or the lack of program--of other forces of various kinds.  It’s an answer to when people raise questions about the objectives of the movement for revolution - or negatively raise the accusation that we are always against this or that, always negative but have nothing that we’re for or offer no positive alternative - this is an opportunity to challenge them, and prevail on them to get a copy and seriously engage this Constitution.  And again – it is most of all the framework for actually doing something good – something very good indeed! – with the new state power that will be won and forged when the revolution succeeds.

     And, as it says in the introductory explanation, it should “stimulate, as broadly as possible, such serious and substantive engagement with this Draft Proposal, and vigorous discussion and debate about what it puts forward as the kind of society and world to be not only imagined but actively struggled for.”

     As you get into this, I want to invite you be part of discussions with us on what is in here.  And I want to invite you to also be part of the work, now and over the next couple months to really get this Constitution out in society and the world with truly major impact.  Feed in your ideas and brainstorms - talk to me, or people with the buttons asking for your ideas.  You can also join us tonight after the celebration for a more formal planning session.  Come out with us on the campuses and to the neighborhoods, getting out materials broadly and selling lots of copies.  Buy ten tonight to get to friends, and tell us your ideas on where we should go and who we should reach.

     Contribute funds to make this promotion possible - the printing of materials, online advertising for the web release (Monday, 11/15).  Buy copies for prisoners, sell tickets to the fundraising dinner on 11/20, buy one for yourself and invite your friends, hold a fundraising dinner in your own home and also, talk to us about your ideas for raising larger funds, including if there are people you know who we should approach.

     We ARE building a movement for revolution... and this Constitution lays out WHAT that revolution is going to bring into being, in a visionary but very concrete way.  And wherever you see yourself in relation to this Constitution, and the movement for revolution we are building to bring this society into being... and whatever this Constitution evokes and provokes in you... we very, very much want to hear your response, embarking on and keeping up a dialogue.

     Thank you again to everyone for being part of this celebration, stick around, let’s talk with each other further about this Constitution, its significance, potential impact and what it’s going to take to realize that potential.

     Thank you.

Cornel West and Carl Dix Dialogue in Harlem: What Future for Our Youth?

From Revolution #216    http://www.revcom.us/a/216/cornel_carl-en.html

     If you weren't there, you missed something electric.

     A sold-out crowd of more than 650 people at Aaron Davis Hall in Harlem, largely composed of African-Americans and youth but also other people of many nationalities and ages, turned out on October 29 for a dialogue between Cornel West and Carl Dix: "In the Age of Obama, Part II... Police Terror, Incarceration, No Jobs, Mis-education: What Future For Our Youth?" The dialogue was a fundraiser for Revolution Books and the Prisoners Revolutionary Literature Fund (PRLF).

     West—a prominent Black intellectual, Princeton University professor, and longtime opponent of racial oppression—and Dix—a founding member of the Revolutionary Communist Party who served two years in prison for refusing orders to go to Vietnam—were speaking less than two years after the election of the nation's first Black president led many to proclaim that a brighter future was ahead for youth of color. It was also less than two weeks after police 30 miles north of New York City murdered 20-year-old D.J. Henry, an unarmed Black college student; and three days after an article in the New York Times reminded us that the NYPD has stopped-and-frisked hundreds of thousands of people each year—the vast majority of them African-Americans and Latinos who had committed no crime.

     In other words, the main themes of this dialogue are badly needed, almost completely absent from the social and political landscape, and right on time. Where, for instance, in all the election debates and coverage did you hear this being discussed? The title of the event clearly resonated with, and intrigued, people walking into the auditorium.

     One man told Revolution, "I have read a couple of Cornel West's books. Carl Dix is with the [Revolutionary] Communist Party—a publicly declared atheist, which is a beautiful thing. I'm a non-theist myself. Particularly in this country, stigma goes along with one saying they're an atheist. Christ and religion —period—is so predominant in the U.S. There is a negative stigma with anyone who believes otherwise. Christ is shoved down your throat in this country whether you want to be exposed to it or not."

     He added, "The title is very good...it's complete, timely, necessary—instead of newscasters presenting supposedly what Americans' opinions are, a lot of the people here are of the opinion that don't necessarily get voiced..."

     Another said, "I am familiar with Cornel West. I've not heard him speak publicly before. And I know he's a little bit of a radical. And sometimes I feel that it's important to hear those voices. I don't necessarily disagree or agree. But I like to hear a balanced argument."

     Dix was the first to take the microphone. He began by condemning the humiliation, harassment, and murder that police regularly bring down on youth, linking these crimes to pervasive violence against women in our society, the prejudice against and violent persecution of gays and lesbians, children in South Asia slaving away in sweatshops, and U.S. drones raining destruction onto villages in Afghanistan and Pakistan. All of these crimes, Dix said, come from a common source: the capitalist-imperialist system that has a stranglehold on the planet and its people.

     However, Dix said he did not come just to expose the horrors facing this planet, or explain why these horrors occur. Rather, he said: "My message is simple and urgent. I came here to tell people: Things do not have to be this way. We have a solution. Through communist revolution, we can end the horrors of this system and bring a far better world into being. And, we are building a movement for revolution. And we have a leader—Bob Avakian, the Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party—who makes this revolution immeasurably more possible." To drive home to the 650-plus people there just how serious and real this movement for revolution is, Dix held up a copy of the hot-off-the-pressConstitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America (Draft Proposal). (See the Preamble to the Constitution in this issue.) Dix referred to this new Constitution throughout the evening, and urged people to buy it.

     Dix acknowledged that youth today are caught up in a lot of "bad shit," but emphasized the reason for this is what the capitalist-imperialist system does to them and the killing choices with which it leaves them. The way for youth to get out of this situation is not lectures about personal responsibility, "getting with god," or pulling up their pants: it is to get with the movement for revolution to end this capitalist-imperialist system, transforming themselves in the process. He emphatically argued that all religion promotes a slave mentality.

     Cornel West was next to speak, and there were both differences and extremely important points of unity between him and Carl Dix. West began by saying that whether he agreed with everything he said or not, Dix—as well as Avakian—should be praised for a fierce commitment to the oppressed. He referred to himself as a "Jesus-loving free Black man," and responded to Dix's sharp critique of religion by saying the god he (West) envisioned and believed in was one that sustains those who advocated for poor people and empowered themselves.

     West's speech exuded anger, compassion and love for the oppressed, and moral clarity. He poignantly condemned the degradation, isolation, hatred, hopelessness and violence this system imposes on its youth, several times explicitly linking these things to capitalism-imperialism and the culture that this system spawns. He angrily denounced the criminalization and demonization of impoverished youth, while challenging these youth to reject a culture of "superficial titillation" and "moral constipation," and to give their lives meaning by fighting for justice and the oppressed. West told the young people in the room not to strive for success if they defined success as accommodating to injustice. "Justice," Cornel told the audience, "is what love looks like in public."

     And West said that if the youth choose to be revolutionary communists, "that's your choice," and that if they choose to fight for justice, they would find themselves alongside revolutionary communists.

     Following moving and successful appeals for funds, audience members posed questions to the speakers, including: Why is there so much violence among the youth, and what can be done about it? What steps can students take to learn critical information being denied to them in school curricula? What are some concrete things that individuals can do to resist the system? How should we view the question of Black nationalism?

     As they took turns speaking to these and other questions, Dix and West embraced their shared hatred for this system's crimes, while also engaging their differences with honesty, liveliness, principle, and mutual respect. After the dialogue, several people said they were struck by the way Dix and West related to each other. One student said that at her high school, too often people with different views believe that because someone thinks differently they have to be separate and stay apart. And she was impressed to see an atheist and a religious person on stage discussing and engaging their differences; this showed her a different way that society could be. This was an insightful comment. This whole event was a model of the kind of debate and contestation of ideas that will go on in the new socialist society all the damn time.

     After the event, the lobby was full of people who were clearly inspired, moved, provoked, and intrigued—by the dialogue, and by the experience of being in a room full of people passionately engaging the issues at hand.

     A 23-year-old African-American student summed up her reactions to the event by saying: "I've been motivated, entertained, and uplifted all in one. Fantastic."

     "Everything that they talked about is exactly the things that I think are prevalent to me right now as a teenager, as a student, as the youth that they were talking about," said a 17-year-old white high school student from Brooklyn. "This is what I feel—that this is a moment in time where we have the future ahead of us and we have to seize it, and it's our decision what we're gonna do with it."

     The student said he had just gotten a copy of the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America (Draft Proposal), and said: "To say: 'There's another way'? Very powerful." "It's so common to say 'The way things are done is wrong'—to denounce the government, to denounce the way we're doing things, to say 'this is fucked up, we can't be doing this.' It's so common to be contrarian that it's almost meaningless. What is meaningful is to offer a solution to those problems.… You can read this."

     Many people expressed being very fired up and inspired and at the same time were still taking in and sorting through what they had heard, and grappling with how to understand what type of movement for revolution was being put forward, and what they could do as an individual.

      A college student was asked what sense he had gotten of what the Revolutionary Communist Party and this movement for revolution are all about.

     "Hmm, let me think for a moment," he said, pausing. "I think I would have to look into more of the Party's readings to truly understand what they—like how they want to do things. 'Cause I know what they want. It sounds like they want a more collective organized system of equality for the people in an economic way. But I would have to read more about their means of doing it. 'Cause I understand it only on a surface level, I think, after tonight. But I do understand the urgency of change on a deeper level."

     A young boxer, one of whose parents is from Puerto Rico and the other from Guam, said he had long been passionate about the themes West and Dix were addressing: "I connected to everything...This is my life. This isn't just an event for me. This is already a cause I'm already actively pursuing. So to know that I'm not alone, it's the most amazing feeling. The most amazing feeling. Like I cried—I'm not a crier, I'm a fucking boxer."

      Asked if there were things that surprised him, a high school student said:

"You know, I was surprised by how enthusiastic everybody around me was. It was inspiring to see everybody so into it. To see people feeling—and not just sitting around and listening... People taking it in and feeling it and feeling like they can go out and do something. You can tell this isn't something where people are going to listen to some really nice radical notions and ideas and go home and say, 'Well, I saw Cornel West and he said some very interesting things.' You can tell these are people who want to do something about this and start this revolution and make things happen in the world. To stop eating all the crap that they're fed and go out and make something of this, take that power, because the world belongs to us. And people in this room realize that. It's all about community, and that feeling of community, I think, was my favorite thing here tonight."