SHORTS: What's happening with building for April 11

* from a team at a major university - Last night a few of us went to take out word of BAsics and the April 11 event to people attending a high level symposium on global literature at a prestigious university. Going into the program everyone was given a copy of BA's "3 Strikes." One of the speakers who knew of Bob Avakian's work began the program by inviting someone from Revolution Books to announce April 11 and BAsics impacting the audience.

Right after the program one of us sold three tickets to students. At first, the students who were interested said they had to think about it, check their schedule, etc. The person who sold the tickets told the students with enthusiasm and confidence: "Look, you need to be a part of this, you need to get your tickets now—it's the hot ticket in NY." The right spirit and the right approach convinced the students that they did not want to miss this.

* Comment from a Revolution Books supporter: "The BAsics book makes you want to learn more about what this movement is all about. It's great, it has humor and is charged up. And the talent attracts me to the event! [Celebration of Revolution and the Vision of a New World on April 11]. It's an important time to react and motivate people to get together and focus on how to move together. If not now, when?" * Comment from a young woman from Africa met at a movie about African child soldiers. She bought the book on the spot: "I was so fired up from our conversation, I could not sleep all night, hehehe. Started reading BAsics on the train on my way back and have not been able to put it down... Glad to have met you, so excited that there are passionate people out there, actually 'walking the talk'. You have me inspired! See/speak soon. Blessings!"

*Several thousand Celebration of Revolution cards and about 80 posters have gotten out in Harlem so far. Among those who bought the BAsics book on the first weekend it was out on the streets in Harlem: two people bought the book after reading the first quote: "There would be no United States of America as we know it today without slavery....": a 27 yr old young Black man said he likes nothing about this country and has thought about revolution a lot, and another man who disagreed that the problem was the system. A Latino man bought the book for his son when we talked about hooking up this leader with the youth that this system has no future for.

*At one university, a person building for the Revolution Celebration took quotes from Bob Avakian from past issues of Revolution newspaper and went from floor to floor through the art department, inviting students to choose which quotes to post. Students were absorbed and provoked. "The woman at the graduate school picked the 'Three Strikes' poster and the quote [demolishing the view that] 'Determination, that's what gets you out of the ghetto.' A young Black guy and a white guy in film read the quotes together. The white guy thought they might just be propaganda and suggested we go to the politics department because kids in the arts don't care about this stuff. Meanwhile, the other guy had selected the quote about 'To talk about democracy without talking about dictatorship' to post up. Another student firmly chose the 'After the holocaust, the State of Israel is the worst thing to happen to the Jewish people' quote. He said this one would be good because there's a lot of Jewish students and he thought it would be controversial." A number of the students took cards for the event for themselves and others, and two student assistants said they would circulate the email about this on their departmental list-servs.

*At another campus, revolutionaries building for the Celebration of Revolution have been invited to speak in several classes so far, reaching several hundred students and getting into questions ranging from whether art, photography, fashion, and modeling would be suppressed after the revolution, to what is your strategy for achieving this revolution, to whether the source of the problems in the world is not the system but the disintegration of the family. Follow-up is going on with students to organize ticket sales for the event.

What you can do to build for the Revolution Celebration on April 11:

*Organize your friends, family, associates to come to the event together. Get tickets now. Reach out to more people and involve them by donating to send your group to the Revolution Celebration.

*Join the phone-banking at Revolution Books on Sunday afternoon April 3rd to sell tickets and invite people. Bring a list of people you want to call, or work on the Revolution Books lists. From 2:30 – 7:30 PM at Revolution Books [check back as this time might change]. Come for an hour or come for the afternoon. RSVP to revbooksnyc@yahoo.com.

*Take postcards and posters to your school, church, the building where you live, club, community center… you get the idea … so people see and hear about this event in surprising and different places. Pick up cards at Revolution Books or if you can print your own. If you are going to a concert, play, spoken word event, conference – take cards with you, give them to everyone there, let people know to get tickets now. Or go to one of these events and street team outings and pass out cards.

*Be part of the "BAsics Read-In" in Washington Square (at the center of the NYU campus) on Wednesday April 6. Or organize one at your campus.

*Spread notices on blogs, e-lists, list-servs, social media.

*Let us know at basicsevent@yahoo.com where you take materials and what happens and what your plans are – we will keep posting experiences everybody can learn from.

*Volunteer for the event production and staffing. All positions are needed. Everyone can participate and the most special skill required is the desire to make this celebration of revolution a major success with reverb out of Harlem Stage and into the world. Special need for volunteers to work on the production of a broadcast-quality film of this event to spread it beyond the walls of Harlem Stage after April 11. Contact basicsevent@yahoo.com for more information and to volunteer.