Contribute to the BAsics Bus Tour. Watch and spread this video to make the goal of $25,000 by the end of this weekend towards the next leg of the Tour… kicking off in NYC and surrounding areas. DOWNLOAD this for screenings throughout the weekend: vimeo.com/45323963
Getting Down to BAsics With the People of Sanford, part 1
This is reprinted from Revolution newspaper, http://revcom.us:
Part 1: “I Couldn’t Put It Down”
by Michael Slate
In late May I joined the BAsics Bus Tour as it rolled into Sanford, Florida, the town where Trayvon Martin was killed. The tour brought the work and vision of Bob Avakian and his book BAsics into Sanford and I spent my time in the Black neighborhood of Goldsboro talking with the people about their lives and digging into the deep questions of how to change things. This series is dedicated to the people of Sanford and to the crew of volunteers on the tour, whose enthusiasm for spreading the work and leadership of Bob Avakian and for fighting to build the movement for revolution inspired everyone they encountered.
Continue to Advance: Build off the BAsics Bus Tour Through the South
This editorial has been reposted from Revolution newspaper, revcom.us:
The second leg of the BAsics Bus Tour, which went through parts of the South in May and rolled into Sanford, Florida, had a big impact. It spoke to and captured the imagination of thousands… in the South and throughout the country—and many hundreds of people across the country were part of making something very important happen. In doing so, those people around the country and those who the Bus Tour met in the South have been part of beginning to cohere a national movement around the mass fundraising campaign to project Bob Avakian’s vision and works into every corner of society: BA Everywhere… Imagine the Difference It Could Make!
Above: In May, the BAsics Bus Tour volunteers spread revolution, communism and the work of Bob Avakian in Sanford, Florida. They were also building for the We Say “No More” speakout at the Sanford police station, which took place Friday, May 25th.
“No more generations of our youth, here and all around the world, whose life is over, whose fate has been sealed, who have been condemned to an early death or a life of misery and brutality, whom the system has destined for oppression and oblivion even before they are born. I say no more of that.”
— Bob Avakian, BAsics 1:13
Build on the momentum of the BAsics Bus Tour — Attend and Build for Report-Back Celebrations in Your Area!
Over the past few weeks, many hundreds of people across the country have stepped forward to make something very important happen… the second leg of the BAsics bus tour which went through parts of the South and delivered a message from those hundreds to the people of Sanford. In accomplishing this,people around the country, the volunteers on the bus and those that the Bus Tour met in the South have been part of cohering a national movement around the mass fundraising campaign to project Bob Avakian’s vision and works into every corner of society, BA Everywhere…Imagine the Difference It Could Make! More than $30,000 has been raised, to pay for this leg of the Tour and for materials and initial seed money for the next leg of the Tour.
Come to the report back in your area or write us so we can put you in touch events in your area or near by. (See below for celebrations in New York, Los Angeles, the Bay Area and Cleveland.) And find out other ways, where ever you are and whether you only have a couple of hours a week or the whole summer (!) to build on the momentum created by the BAscis Bus Tour in the South. Write baeverywhere [AT] gmail.com to volunteer to work with press, social networking, developing a web site and much more! And to let us know of other events.
Bringing a message to Sanford with BAsics and 100s of voices from across the country
This following piece has been reposted from Revolution newspaper. It was first published HERE.
by Sunsara Taylor
Down in Sanford, Black people are still seething over the murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin on February 26 on his way home from a 7/11 convenience store. It is NOT “old news.” Neither is the fact that the police refused—for 45 days—to arrest his killer, George Zimmerman. More, they are following the case closely and recognize the preparations underway to exonerate Zimmerman.
When we rolled in on the BAsics bus, projecting the leadership of Bob Avakian and calling on people to get into the movement for revolution to put an end to the system that has foreclosed the lives of so many generations of Black youth through the entire history of the USA and of millions more throughout the world, it didn’t take any work to get people to open up with their outrage or their own bitter experience at the hands of the police, in the prison system, or in their dealings with the thick white supremacy which permeates the entire country but is more openly trumpeted in this part of the confederate-flag-waving South.
Black mothers told of having had to bury their teenage sons due to violence the police didn’t even bother to investigate, of having lost their sons to police murder where there was never even a case opened up, of struggling to be strong for other sons as they were sentenced by racist judges for crimes they didn’t commit or which were too petty to merit years of hard prison time, and of fearing for the indignities and brutality that was destined for the grandbabies they were now raising whose fathers had been stolen.
Everywhere we went, outrage poured forth. Bitterness. Anger. Heartbreak. Fear for the future. What took work—in many cases it took repeated and sharp struggle—was for people to really hear and get the meaning behind the word REVOLUTION. Not just protest. Not just “marching till our feet bleed” or “screaming until our voices are hoarse,” which is what many people told us was good but would never change things. But REVOLUTION. An actual victorious struggle for power and the defeat and dismantling of the oppression institutions of the old state power, when the time for that is on the agenda—when the system is deep in crisis, when millions of people are ready to put everything on the line to bring the system down and with the necessary leadership and strategy.
Carl Dix at a speak out in front of the Sanford, FL police station on May 25, 2012.
Sanford is where 17 year old Trayvon Martin was murdered in a modern American lynching
In May 2012 the BAsics Bus Tour set off from Atlanta, GA to Sanford, FL to bring a message. Sanford is where 17 year old Trayvon Martin was murdered in a modern American lynching. This was printed on a banner in Spanish and English and taken throughout the region. Hundreds of people added their names and words of support. This was also done in cities throughout the country… as part of building the movement for revolution. This message is:
“No more generations of our youth, here and all around the world, whose life is over, whose fate has been sealed, who have been condemned to an early death or a life of misery and brutality, whom the system has destined for oppression and oblivion even before they are born. I say no more of that.”
— Bob Avakian, BAsics 1:13
![This is what was delivered to people throughout Sanford. These photos are representative of hundreds of people across the country coming together to send a message to the people of Sanford: “No more generations of our youth, here and all around the world, whose life is over, whose fate has been sealed, who have been condemned to an early death or a life of misery and brutality, whom the system has destined for oppression and oblivion even before they are born. I say no more of that.” - Bob Avakian, BAsics 1:13
Help spread this message…. repost this photo, get it out on twitter and other social networks… let us know your thoughts, email us at baeverywhere [AT] gmail.com](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4omqn9wmP1rowtzko1_1280.jpg)
This is what was delivered to people throughout Sanford. These photos are representative of hundreds of people across the country coming together to send a message to the people of Sanford: “No more generations of our youth, here and all around the world, whose life is over, whose fate has been sealed, who have been condemned to an early death or a life of misery and brutality, whom the system has destined for oppression and oblivion even before they are born. I say no more of that.” - Bob Avakian, BAsics 1:13
Help spread this message…. repost this photo, get it out on twitter and other social networks… let us know your thoughts, email us at baeverywhere [AT] gmail.com
We Say "NO MORE" printed in Florida Star
We Say “NO MORE” statement was published in the Jacksonville Florida Star on Thursday, May 24th. Click this link and go to page A3 of the e-edition.
Signed by Don Cheadle, Noam Chomsky, Cornel West, Tavis Smiley, Carl Dix, and others. This is a statement that the killing of Trayvon Martin and the 2.4 million in prison make clear that there is a whole generation of Black and Latino youth marked and treated as a “generation of suspects” to be murdered and jailed. This is not an issue for Black people alone but for all who care about justice; it is not a random tragedy. We say NO MORE!
Share this Statement with everyone you know, say “no more!” and mean it, and spread the message widely!
