Pictures taken at the entrance to the gated community where Trayvon Martin was murdered. There was a people’s memorial on this spot with a picture of Trayvon and flowers, but the City of Sanford removed it a couple of weeks ago. There has been a lot of outrage about this, and people have put memorials back on this spot like flowers and a wreath, and each time they’re removed. So there’s a back-and-forth battle around this.

On the “BAsics 5:7 Because” sign:  It’s not important for the USA it’s all about everybody in the world so we can make the world so happy and come together as one group of Revolution and then we can change the world with the BAsics!  Sanford, FL
 
On the “I Support the BAsics Bus Tour Because” sign:  By watching the video from New York how the young youth speak on the Basics and it caught my attention how strong it was to me. And they know more about this than a lot of adults in the world today.  Sanford, FL

Responses on BAsics Quotes 5:7 and 5:8

Some back and forth from people writing on the poster with 5:7 and 5:8

Talking to youth in Downtown Area on July 20th:

Asking black youth about the two quotes brought out a lot of DISagreement, and good conversation followed.  Some of the comments were: “Immigrants come here and take all our jobs.  I know cause I asked them, the dishwashers and cleaners.  Guatemala, Puerto Rico, China or whatever…”  To this, BA’s answer about “why do people come here from all over the world?” from Revtalk provided the perfect answer, and then I pulled out the centerfold of #275 with pictures of U.S./Mexico border and Myanmar girls working at a construction site. We talked some about just what the U.S. has done to cause the desperation which leads people to risk their lives to come here.  Many more questions and comments erupted with the youth:” isn’t it just greed?”  No, we said how we have been lied to about SO many things, like with Columbus. We said why does the system do this, what can be done about it, how could a real revolution succeed.  This exchange led to the quote “I think everybody lives are important.” 

Read More

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

June 28  there was a memorial in a park for two young lesbian women brutally shot in Texas (one is dead, the other severely injured).  It was a sad and solemn event, with various speakers from the LGBT community.  Revolutionaries participated and lay a sign on the grass saying, “No more Tyler Clementes, no more Trayvon Martins.”  People took and read the “No more Generations…” palm cards, and many said the words were very relevant to this tragic crime.  Afterwards, there was a separate event, a march in memory of Stonewall and protesting violence police violence against LGBT people.  A banner with the full BA quote, “No more generations…” in small letters and “WE SAY NO MORE” in big letters was unfurled, and diverse people read it and signed it (see attached photos).  During a march, it was hard to get into all the different levels of this powerful quote and to explain fully about the Bus Tour and do fundraising, but still some dollars found their way into our BAsics Bus Tour bucket. 

Chicago’s South Side: Benefit for BAsics Bus Tour

The Band Leader opened the evening with a shout-out to “the Revolution” and the band broke into the song “What’s going on.” It was an evening of Rhythm and Blues to benefit the BAsics Bus tour, the entire event put together by people whose family members were murdered by police. BAsics 1:13 provided a common focus for the evening. A banner was displayed on the front of the stage with pictures of 25 people killed by the police. The audience was visibly moved when the MC pointed out the picture of his son on the banner and recounted how his son was shot 18 times by the police.

Read More

Seattle Gay Pride   A group of us hit the streets one evening during gay Pride weekend to spread BA Everywhere and raise money for the next leg of the BA Bus Tour. It had been raining all day and was forecast to rain again that evening, but we had our chance when the clouds cleared for only a few hours! We brought the banner with the BAsics 1:13 quote already surrounded by signatures and messages of support from people young and old and passed out the palm cards, some pinned with purple ribbons for people to wear in protest of the culture of anti-gay bullying that’s fueling the suicide and murder of gay youth around the country. Understanding that the BAsics Bus Tour and spreading BA everywhere is one way to make real the pledge of “No more generations of our youth, no more Trayvon Martins, no more Tyler Clementis…,” our goal was to make a leap in raising a significant amount of money through small donations over the limited time of 2 hours. We raised 45 dollars, mostly from people who donated one dollar. Many people stopped and asked us about the banner, or would read it and sign it, which was one way conversations got started. We found that when we described the vision and reality of the bus tour, the types of places it was going and how we are organizing people into a movement for revolution and introducing people to the leadership of Bob Avakian as partly embodied in BAsics 1:13, people were inspired and motivated to donate on the spot. We asked everyone to donate. It also made a difference to let people know this was national, that people all over the country were doing this and donating this weekend, that we had raised over 30,000 for the first leg and were now on our way to raising 50,000 for the next leg and TWO buses. People donated for a variety of reasons, some because they thought it was a good cause and wanted to contribute to something positive, others because of deep concern for the future of the youth. One person donated because he appreciated that the New York leg was going into immigrant communities and involving them in the movement for revolution. A few people expressed delight that we went to the deep south, venturing out from the more progressive cities.
Pop-upView Separately

Seattle Gay Pride
 
A group of us hit the streets one evening during gay Pride weekend to spread BA Everywhere and raise money for the next leg of the BA Bus Tour. It had been raining all day and was forecast to rain again that evening, but we had our chance when the clouds cleared for only a few hours! We brought the banner with the BAsics 1:13 quote already surrounded by signatures and messages of support from people young and old and passed out the palm cards, some pinned with purple ribbons for people to wear in protest of the culture of anti-gay bullying that’s fueling the suicide and murder of gay youth around the country. Understanding that the BAsics Bus Tour and spreading BA everywhere is one way to make real the pledge of “No more generations of our youth, no more Trayvon Martins, no more Tyler Clementis…,” our goal was to make a leap in raising a significant amount of money through small donations over the limited time of 2 hours. We raised 45 dollars, mostly from people who donated one dollar. Many people stopped and asked us about the banner, or would read it and sign it, which was one way conversations got started. We found that when we described the vision and reality of the bus tour, the types of places it was going and how we are organizing people into a movement for revolution and introducing people to the leadership of Bob Avakian as partly embodied in BAsics 1:13, people were inspired and motivated to donate on the spot. We asked everyone to donate. It also made a difference to let people know this was national, that people all over the country were doing this and donating this weekend, that we had raised over 30,000 for the first leg and were now on our way to raising 50,000 for the next leg and TWO buses. People donated for a variety of reasons, some because they thought it was a good cause and wanted to contribute to something positive, others because of deep concern for the future of the youth. One person donated because he appreciated that the New York leg was going into immigrant communities and involving them in the movement for revolution. A few people expressed delight that we went to the deep south, venturing out from the more progressive cities.

Cleveland: A Cultural Celebration to Raise Money for the BAsics Bus Tour.

On June 7 as people walked in the door at the Grog Shop, a club in Cleveland Heights, you could hear the smooth and deep sounds of Art Blakey II on the electric guitar, along with a bass guitar and percussion. Then Al Porter, vice president of Black on Black Crime Inc. , a Black community organization, and founder of the Hip Hop Workshop, opened the program with “This is not a party, this is an event!!”  He said this event should be a life- changing experience because we are raising money to spread BA’s revolution throughout society. Holding up BAsics, he twice read, “You can’t change the world if you don’t know the BAsics.” Then he said, “To bring a change for the better,” and read “An Invitation” by Bob Avakian,  dramatically and with conviction, to set a wonderful tone for the benefit, “Let’s go on a crucial journey together—full of unity against oppression and lively struggle about the source of the problem and the solution….”

Read More

Bay Area: Taking out Basics 1:13 and Justice for Trayvon Martin

In the days going into June 5, The National Day of Justice for Trayvon Martin, we took a banner that had an enlargement of the BAsics 1:13, “No more generations of our youth…” quote and a heading that read: To All the Trayvon Martin’s All Over The World, We Got Your Back!! out to a street corner in front of a favorite coffee spot and crossroads of progressive people of all nationalities from the middle class, cultural forces, college students and some youth from all over the city. Sentiments and conversations started to surface as we opened up with agitation around BAsics 1:13 and the need for everyone to step up step out for June 5.  Before we get into all the ways people got involved, here are some statements that were made at that corner:

Read More

Bay Area, June 5: Boldly spreading “No more generations of our youth…” on the day of protest for Justice for Trayvon Martin

June 5 was a day of defiance and struggle for those standing up for justice for Trayvon Martin—-beginning at high schools during the day, carrying over to Oscar Grant Plaza at 5 pm and rolling back to the ‘hood’ where people of all ages joined in reading quote 1:13 from BAsics, marching for justice for Trayvon Martin, and finding ways to be part of the day even if they couldn’t stand out on the street corner.

“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

At the high school

At a high school in the ‘hood’ many students were wearing stickers for the June 5 Day of Justice: We Are All Trayvon Martin! Wear Hoodies Everywhere Day! A young guy  came and stood by the banner for Trayvon which he had already signed earlier that week. A revolutionary urged him to step forward. He agreed to hold the banner but was silent. Then some young women students walked up and took charge. In a short time they had the situation under control, leading chants on the bullhorn: “Revolution is what we need, to liberate humanity.” “Justice for Trayvon Martin.” Three young women read the “No More generations” quote from BAsics on the bullhorn. Two other young women posted up in the street in front of the school, thrusting a flier with a picture of Trayvon and a card with BAsics and the quote “no more generations” into the window of every passing car. Soon there was a small protest of a couple dozen students, an adult who worked at the school, and a handful of revolutionaries. The people in the cars liked it.

Read More