“You Can’t Break All the Chains Except One. Unleash the Fury of Women as a Mighty Force for Revolution.” A talk by Sunsara Taylor at Revolution Books on August 9, 2012, on a quotation from Bob Avakian’s book BAsics. This talk was part of “TAKE PATRIARCHY BY STORM!”, ten days of activism in New York City against patriarchy and pornography.
You cannot break all the chains, except one. You cannot say you want to be free of exploitation and oppression, except you want to keep the oppression of women by men. You can’t say you want to liberate humanity yet keep one half of the people enslaved to the other half. The oppression of women is completely bound up with the division of society into masters and slaves, exploiters and exploited, and the ending of all such conditions is impossible without the complete liberation of women. All this is why women have a tremendous role to play not only in making revolution but in making sure there is all-the-way revolution. The fury of women can and must be fully unleashed as a mighty force for proletarian revolution.
BAsics 3:22
Responses to two quotes from BAsics
1. “Even though some Americans think they themselves are superior and treat people in other countries, including immigrants, as second-class people, that’s wrong. Because America oppresses other countries, people there have no way to survive except to come here to find jobs. I think everyone’s life is precious and everybody should be equal, and there should not be someone’s life being more important than others’… In Mexico, the country where I came from, people have no work in the fields and they’re forced to go to the cities. But they cannot find jobs in the cities. That’s why they risk their lives to cross the borders. I fully agree that the whole world should come first – that’s a very good orientation. Only 1% of the American people are rich and they control everything, even other countries. I used to have dreams when I first came here, but after my son was killed, I’ve lost my dreams…. Revolution here? Yes…but there needs to be revolution in Mexico, too.”
–a middle-aged unemployed Mexican immigrant worker whose son was murdered by police a few years ago
2. ”It’s really wrong for the US to oppress other countries for the sake of making money. It’s really wrong for the US to wage wars to dominate other countries. They do air-strikes and kill people. US rulers are the real terrorists!”
–a black man in his 50’s who attended a meeting in the ‘hood about the BAsics bus tour to NYC
3. “People need jobs but the government has not provided that. Instead, wars and wars have been waged on other countries. We need to do something – we need revolution. But we cannot let leaders got killed like what happened to Malcolm X, Fred Hampton, and MLK.”
– Black woman in her 40’s met inside a laundry mat
4. “I absolutely agree with these quotes. I’m against ‘my country first’ mentality. It’s a class and social problem we are dealing with. Some people would say that their class is first and their country comes first, but poor people have nothing and so they have nothing to say about being first or better. For poor people, yes, the whole world should come first.”
–Black woman in her 30’s met in a pizza joint
5. “I agree with the quotes and I think we have to educate people and children about how the system works in oppression, like how the police murder people and how they carry out the ‘Stop and frisk”. We also need to educate people on how the system carries out wars against other countries in order for the US to be number one. I really think every person’s life should be equal.”
–Black woman in her 40’s met at Walmart
6. “I like these quotes. The President says ‘God bless America and nowhere else’. That’s selfish! The US does many, many bad things to people of other countries. Like wars. The US does these to keep its power over others. No more of this.”
–Middle-aged Black man met at Walmart
7. “America is the real terrorist. America hits you with a bat and then gives you some crumbs.”
–immigrant in his 30’s met at Walmart
8. “The American-trained troops killed my grandfather in a village of 3200 people, in my country. Then after they burned his corpse, they hanged it on the tree.”
– a young man from Central America
Preparing for the BAsics Bus Tour coming to the Bronx: Going to Soundview
Photo: At the door where Amadou Diallo was shot and killed by NYPD. Neighbors hold up Revolution posters (PDF|JPG).
This week, as we have gone to community centers and people we have met in the Bronx to prepare places for the tour volunteers to stay and more, we went to the Soundview area and to the block where Amadou Diallo was shot 41 times by NYC police in the alcove of his apartment building in 1999.
Taking out revolution and internationalism at the International African Arts Festival, Brooklyn, NY on anti-July 4th
International African Arts Festival, Brooklyn, NYHundreds of people strolled leisurely around this festival, in the sweltering summer heat, listening to African music, tasting African and Caribbean delicacies, and browsing jewelry, clothing, music cd’s, and African drums, in the multi-aisled outdoor marketplace. Vendors from West Africa, Barbados, Guyana, Senegal, the U.S. and many other countries brought their wares to sell. Some people traveled from their home countries to this five day festival. It was a colorful crowd with Muslim African women in traditional dress, Rastafarians, African Americans, and people of all nationalities.
In the midst of this, revolutionaries talked to people about BAsics, Revolution newspaper and the cards featuring quotes : “American Lives Are Not More Important Than Other People’s Lives.” BAsics 5:7 and “Internationalism—The Whole World Comes First.” BAsics 5:8.
Announcing the BAsics Bus Tour: Kicking off from New York City... Reverberating Across the Country
This is reposted from Revolution newspaper, http://revcom.us:
The BAsics Bus Tour… fresh off its second leg in May, will be heading out in mid-July from New York City. Right now, $50,000 and hundreds of volunteers are needed to make this next leg happen—contributing funds, volunteering for the tour itself, and throwing in, in whatever ways they can, to get this tour on the road.
This leg will be building on—and taking further—the most recent experience with the bus tour which began in Atlanta, Georgia, and made its way to Sanford, Florida. Sanford is the site of the murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by a vigilante, and it is the place where tens of thousands came to protest this modern American legal lynching. (For more on the second leg of the tour, check out basicsbustour.tumblr.com.)
This tour has reached out to, and captured the imagination of, thousands—connecting people with the voice and work of Bob Avakian, the revolutionary leader who has developed a new synthesis of communism. And all throughout the tour, the volunteers have worked to involve people in the campaign to spread BA’s voice and work even further as part of building the movement for revolution. Hundreds of people all across the country came together to make this tour happen—contributing and raising funds, sending support statements, following and spreading the blog posts from the tour, helping to house and feed the volunteers in the places where the tour went. Hundreds were part of sending a message to the people of Sanford through signed banners with quote 1:13 from Avakian’s BAsics featured in the centerspread of this issue.
Be Part of Taking the BAsics Bus Tour Higher
This is reposted from Revolution newspaper, http://revcom.us:
People have begun to volunteer and teams are beginning to be assembled to build for this leg of the tour. But in order to make this tour happen, and for it to reverberate across the country—many hundreds need to be involved nationally and in NY itself. $50,000 is needed to have a real impact—in this region… and across the country. The situation in the world is demanding that people know about Avakian’s work, and have a chance to be part of the movement to bring a radically different world into being. This is a crying need—and if we are able to reach out far and wide, tap into the inspiration and excitement (see the statements of support at basicsbustour.tumblr.com) that the boldness of this bus tour has garnered, and organize cores of people to come together and raise the funds in broad and creative ways—this can be made possible.
![The following report was about the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend in Washington Hts for which pictures, and a short report of going to East Harlem two days later, are available HERE.
Volunteers are needed to translate this and other reports, both so that Spanish speakers can follow the BAsics Bus Tour on Tumblr and so that English speakers can hear the voices, such as this one, who are taking out BA Everywhere including on the BAsics Bus Tour. If you are interested write to baeverywhere [AT] gmail.com
Una tarde en Washington Heights, con BA en todas partes!
En apoyo a la campaña que esta en curso para llevar la voz y obra de Bob Avakian, La cual a dado una gran iniciativa con la Gira del Autobús de Lo BAsico/Basics, que le esta dando la vuelta a todo el país y llevando la revolución en todos los rincones donde literalmente han abandonado a las masas de gente a su suerte. Pero que después de esta gira, recorriendo los pueblos, barrios y otras otros lugares más remotos del país, conociendo el libro Lo BAsico y adentrándose a toda una visión de un mundo radicalmente diferente, en lugares como California, Atlanta y Florida, donde lincharon a Trayvon Martin.[[MORE]]
Un par de amigos y yo, salimos a las calles de Washington Heights, donde la brutalidad policial esta a flor de piel y donde tiene una historia de rebeliones provocados por los asesinatos a manos de la policía. En donde existe un número muy notable de gente, procedente de la Republica Dominica.
Con periódicos en la mano y una pancarta gigante con la cita de Lo BAsico 1:13,
“No mas generaciones de nuestra juventud, aquí o a través del mundo, cuyas vidas se acaban, cuyo futuro ya esta sellado, que han sido condenados a una muerte temprana o a una vida de miseria y brutalidad, que el sistema a destinado a opresión y al olvido incluso antes de que nazcan. Yo digo no más de eso.”
Mucha gente leyó la cita, la mayoría le gusto y varios donaron unos dólares a la misma vez que dejaban un mensaje escrito sobre la pancarta, algunos hablaban del socialismo otros deseándonos suerte, otros nos dejaron bendiciones y otros decían que el futuro era la juventud. Creo que la que mas me gusto fue una que preguntaba, ¿hasta cuando va a llegar la revolución? pues creo que esa impaciencia es un sentimiento que mucha gente comparte.
En nuestro recorrido vendimos un Lo BAsico y algunos periódicos, asimismo tuvimos varias discusiones y encuentros con algunas personas sobre la cita una que se me quedo muy presente fue la de dos hombres que leyeron la cita pero al terminar de leerla, dijeron que no la firmarían pues venia de los comunistas y que ellos no eran comunistas… les dijimos que no era un requisito, sin embargo se negaron. Mas adelante otras personas que si se emocionaron al vernos y al hablar de la Gira, dijo uno de ellos: ¡dame ese pancarta la voy a firmar por que yo conozco a este BA!, refiriéndose al libro Lo BAsico, pues lo adquirió hace unos meses atrás, enseguida llegaron las dos personas que no firmaron, en cuestión de segundos exploto un debate entre los presentes, unos criticando a los comunistas y otros defendiendo la línea comunista. Creo que fue muy interesante el debate, aunque no creo que los defensores sepan de la nueva síntesis pero hasta cierto nivel, también defendieron a BA, puesto todo pasaba mientras leían el periódico y firmaban la pancarta.
Creo que en el proceso de esta Gira y la campaña en general para promover la obra y visión de BA, afirmando que esta es la única solución, podemos aprender mucho, especialmente cuando surgen debates como este, debería de haber todo una atmósfera donde la gente exponga sus puntos de vista, de como entienden el mundo y si esto de verdad va a cambiar el mundo o no, pero no debemos aislarnos y mas bien romper con esa barrera del incomodar con lo que decimos y adentrarnos a la lucha ideológica.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m59doqe1301rowtzko1_400.jpg)
The following report was about the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend in Washington Hts for which pictures, and a short report of going to East Harlem two days later, are available HERE.
Volunteers are needed to translate this and other reports, both so that Spanish speakers can follow the BAsics Bus Tour on Tumblr and so that English speakers can hear the voices, such as this one, who are taking out BA Everywhere including on the BAsics Bus Tour. If you are interested write to baeverywhere [AT] gmail.com
Una tarde en Washington Heights, con BA en todas partes!
En apoyo a la campaña que esta en curso para llevar la voz y obra de Bob Avakian, La cual a dado una gran iniciativa con la Gira del Autobús de Lo BAsico/Basics, que le esta dando la vuelta a todo el país y llevando la revolución en todos los rincones donde literalmente han abandonado a las masas de gente a su suerte. Pero que después de esta gira, recorriendo los pueblos, barrios y otras otros lugares más remotos del país, conociendo el libro Lo BAsico y adentrándose a toda una visión de un mundo radicalmente diferente, en lugares como California, Atlanta y Florida, donde lincharon a Trayvon Martin.
100 Days - 100 Hoodies in Harlem, the impact of BAsics 1:13
Yesterday’s march “100 Days – 100 Hoodies” was greeted with great enthusiasm by people in Harlem. People expressed over and over that the system is greasing the skids to let George Zimmerman free and once again making the victim out as the criminal. And they want this to stop! Click HERE for pictures, and click below to read on.
On June 5th, 100 days after the modern American lynching of Trayvon Martin, Harlem youth and others declare “We Are All Trayvon Martin” and respond to the message of BAsics 1:13. They added their names and messages to a poster bearing this quote:
“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
