We Did It! We Raised $25,000+ For the Bookstore About the World, For a Radically Different World
To All of You Who Made It Possible...A HEARTFELT THANKS
On Wednesday night at 9:30pm, the Revolution Books Indiegogo Fund Drive met its $25,000 goal (and by the final deadline of 3am, an additional $885 was donated). This is a tremendous thing. More than 300 of us--many individuals and several groups of people--contributed so that RB can not only survive but thrive.
To the donors and participants in the drive who have been part of the Revolution Books community, a warm thanks. To those who gave and participated and are new to the RB community: welcome and our warm thanks.
You are part of a community of donors and supporters that includes prominent authors and scholars; people from the neighborhood; artists, professors, lawyers, teachers, and other professionals; unemployed; students; and so many others. Some of you were part of matching challenges; some of you came to the wine-tasting benefit hosted by the Pompette Wine Shop. Some of you spread the word on social media, including in Mexico. A 10-year old neighbor of RB sold his used books, and was joined by other children in the neighborhood. Several immigrants made a group donation and issued a powerful statemeht calling on people to support a bookstore that “tells the truth about how people live and the revolution to emancipate humanity.”
RB is a precious resource. At RB you can dig into why humanity faces this fascist Trump-Pence monstrosity. Here you discover that a radically different and better world is possible--and engage the strategy to get to a new world, and a more scientific method and approach for understanding and changing the world, all of which is in the New Communism developed by Bob Avakian. At RB people get into the biggest questions confronting humanity…and on that foundation of knowing and changing the world, RB opens up discovery of an incredible range of literature, science, and scholarship.
The $25,885 raised will go towards a vibrant promotion campaign—so 1000s more can find out about and make RB a destination, and for hundreds of new titles that speak to the urgent issues of our times, and for Spanish-language, children’s literature and more.
Go to www.revolutionbooksnyc.org to find out about our exciting, upcoming programs and events. Consider becoming a monthly SUSTAINER of RB. And come visit us at the store in Harlem!
THANKS AGAIN FOR MAKING THIS VICTORY POSSIBLE.
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REVOLUTION BOOKS SUMMER 2017 FUND DRIVE
Support the Bookstore About the World…
and For a Radically Different World
A Bookstore That Changes Lives
There is no place else, none that plays the role that Revolution Books does.
If you have spent any time at RB you experienced what we say about the store: that people come to Revolution Books from all over the world and around the corner -- from the projects to the brownstones of Harlem -- to find the books and the deep engagement with each other about why the world is the way it is and the possibility of radically different way the world could be. How much does that matter at a moment when the Trump/Pence fascist regime threatens the seven billion people on the planet, and the planet itself?
Every dollar you donate to Revolution Books opens up possibility: for children to discover books with humane values, for young people to grapple with the big questions of our time, for people of all ages and nationalities from ex-prisoners to college professors -- to know, grapple with, and be a part of changing the world. This can be life changing. But it only happens with your financial support.
Curiosity about everything, discovery of different cultures, learning of lives of peoples hidden from view, and the stories of history suppressed course through Revolution Books. Here you feel the vibe of certitude about the potential for a better world and a deep critique and intolerance for the unnecessary suffering of people. Authors, artists, and customers comment that programs or just hanging out here is different, richer -- an engagement filled with a thirst for what is true.
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RB spokesperson, Andy Zee, with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Heather Ann Thompson (Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy) at RB in January .
This vitality stems from the breakthrough in revolutionary theory that is the new communism developed by the revolutionary leader Bob Avakian. Most of all, this is a more scientific method and approach to understanding the world as it actually is. The passion for changing the world at RB comes from his vision and the strategy for an actual revolution and a radically new society on the road to real emancipation.
More than a bookstore, Revolution Books is the political, intellectual, and cultural Center of a movement for revolution. Important Books. Pulitzer and Grammy award winners mixing it up with youth and ex-prisoners. Scholars and writers engaging with spokesperson Andy Zee and other revolutionary thinkers and fighters. RB is a place of radical and revolutionary ferment. A place that hosts a culture of revolt against a revolting culture.
For all of this, your support is essential. Your contribution makes it possible for the new Revolution Books in Harlem to be viable and thrive.
This can't happen on the sale of books alone, especially when so many still don't know about the new RB in Harlem. Your contribution this year will go to a vibrant promotion campaign so that many more people learn about and make our RB a destination. This is crucial to getting the store on a sustainable path.
RB has an important curated collection of thousands of books... but more titles are needed to serve the wide scope of our global mission and as part of making RB viable.
Without you, RB cannot meet the needs of today. But with your generous contribution, Revolution Books will meet that need with the books, the engagement, and the understanding to forge a culture, a people, and a movement for a whole new world.
TOGETHER, WE CAN WIN THE REVOLUTION BOOKS FUND DRIVE --
$25,000 BY AUGUST 2
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NEWS: Journalist and author HERB BOYD (Baldwin in Harlem, Black Detroit) speaks on C-SPAN Book TV about Revolution Books and the history of independent bookstores in Harlem.
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At a time when a fascist regime has come to power in the U.S. and is bent on a horrific course for humanity and the planet…Revolution Books has to be much more widely known and have far greater impact.
$25,000 by August 2!
* For promotion and publicity to let the world know
* For more books that matter
...to take Revolution Books to a whole new level of impact
RB can’t survive and rise to this urgent moment without YOU. Donate now.
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Watching RevBooks' Indiegogo video on Sunday afternoon in the bookstore
RB is a unique and vibrant space: a bookstore that is the political, intellectual, and cultural center of a movement for revolution. This summer Revolution Books launches its third annual crowd-funding campaign. RB must expand its reach and base of support at a time when this bookstore matters more than ever.
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From an NGO consultant:
"...This fund drive for Revolution Books is not just a "feel-good" moment but an absolute imperative for anyone who sees what is going on in this country and around the world and who desperately wants to learn more, do more, have more of an actual impact ..."
To read the whole statement, go here: http://www.revolutionbooksnyc.org/NGOstatement.htm
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"At Revolution Books the lights are holding steady and people are talking..."
--so wrote LitHub on Nov 30, 2016... "There was a time when it wasn’t so peculiar to believe that a new world order might be launched from a bookstore. In Harlem, on the stretch of Lenox Avenue also known as Malcolm X Boulevard, across the street from St. John’s Pentecostal and two doors down from the House of Seafood, that time persists—at least inside Revolution Books, which is either a throwback to a bygone era or the vanguard of a strikingly new one, depending on whom you ask and whether a bigoted oligarch has recently been elected to serve as President of the United States. On that latter subject, the signs propped up on the sidewalk and hanging in the front window make the store’s position fairly clear: “Mein Trumpf: A Thoroughly American Fascist Pig!” declares one, with a graphic mashup of Trump, Hitler and a Klansman. Another: “In the Name of Humanity We REFUSE to Accept a Fascist America”... Read whole article here
A BOOKSTORE THAT CHANGES LIVES…
* Parents bring their kids to discover books that promote values of cooperation, appreciation for diversity, and the ability to learn about the world and make it better. One Saturday morning program taught young children about evolution.
* A high school intern on his first day says he doesn’t know much about the world and wants to learn. He talks to RB staff, finds the book Enrique's Journey about children from Central America who travel to the US on top of trains; he observes: “People are forced to escape to America because of what it does to their countries, but when they come, America doesn’t want them.”
* Professors and Harlem neighbors come to find the new scholarship on slavery and the true history of Black people in the US; high school and college students come to explore and debate the causes of women’s oppression and how that oppression can be overcome.
Revolution Books can change more lives -- with your donation today.
"...When an HIV awareness event I was planning could no longer be accommodated at our first venue, Rev Books became a home for the event. I'm thankful and pleased that Revolution Books has a place in our community. It's more than a bookstore; it's a panel discussion on Mondays, or an open mic night on Fridays. Its purpose morphs and serves our neighborhood and its people as a hub for exploration and knowledge.
-- Marvin, works at Harlem social service organization
MISSION: THE EMANCIPATION OF HUMANITY…
This is a place where people of all ages find the books and discussion with each other about why the world is the way it is, and how it could be transformed in the interests of the people of the world. At RB, revolution is the foundation for the rich engagement with the world of ideas. Rev Books features incredible books: fiction, history, art, philosophy, science, memoir, revolutionary theory... children’s literature.
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Carl Dix, RB spokesperson Andy Zee and Dr. Cornel West, October 2016,
at the launch of Bob Avakian's book The New Communism
At RB, people discover and can take up a truly scientific approach to the problems confronting the 7 billion on this planet, and the way out of the madness--the new synthesis of communism developed by Bob Avakian—and the leadership he is giving to the revolution to emancipate humanity. Watch BA here.
Donate now to make RB more widely known and visited.
A GREAT BEGINNING, NOVEMBER 2015…
We converted a former beauty parlor into a beautiful bookstore and performance space. A local architect donated the design. Students and neighborhood people helped spackle and paint. Intellectuals, people in the book world, and neighborhood activists fed in ideas and helped spread the word. People from different walks of life and raised the funds to acquire new books and make the initial renovations.
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Sunsara Taylor and Dr. Willie Parker, one of the last abortion doctors in the South at Revolution Books on June 4, 2017 (Photo: Ronald Dennis)
REVOLUTION BOOKS IS MAKING A REAL DIFFERENCE.
Since opening, RB has hosted dozens of author programs and cultural events. Two 2017 Pulitzer Prize winners, novelist Colson Whitehead (Underground Railroad) and historian Heather Ann Thompson (Blood in the Water on the Attica rebellion), have appeared in conversation with RB spokesperson Andy Zee.
Programs on mass incarceration have gotten into how America’s history of white supremacy and current political economy have produced this situation. A scientist/author who spoke at RB was asked: “What would be the ideal way for science to be taught and conducted in a just society?” The Revolution Club’s “Future People” open-mic nights have become a platform for music, spoken word, poetry -- and for discussion over what young people’s lives should be about.
The possibility of a radically different world opens up at RB; the fiction, poetry, plays and performance reveal the soaring heights of human achievement; and there is stimulating discussion, sharp and often jolting debate that challenges preconceptions. But it’s more than that. People who experience and are part of the life of RB—they go back out into the world. They influence and challenge others … and some become part of the movement for revolution. Yes, Revolution Books changes lives.
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Benefit Concert with Grammy-award winner Arturo O'Farrill in December 2016,
on RB's new performance stage, funded by last year's Indiegogo campaign.
AT THIS DANGEROUS TIME, RB MATTERS EVEN MORE.
When Donald Trump came to power, RB swung into action with “65 Defiant Days of Talks, Culture, and Dialogue: In the Name of Humanity, We Refuse to Accept a Fascist America.” We’ve continued to hold programs on and debated the roots of fascism in America, the lessons of history, and the kind of movement and struggle necessary to stop it.
Where else but at Revolution Books? Donate now.
Revolution Books is a not-for-profit bookstore with an all-volunteer staff.
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At a recent Future People Open-Mic at Revolution Books
At a moment of peril for humanity and the world, RB is providing a forum for addressing the specific crisis facing humanity, with the rise of a fascist regime in America and with repression, displacement and proxy wars sweeping across the world. Come to Revolution Books to find the questions being asked and debated and the scientific means being put forward for answering them. We all need to help make sure – right now – that Revolution Books will be there when it is most needed.
– International human development consultant, Brooklyn
"Revolution Books is a magical place. A treasure of radical thinking, dreaming and planning." -- Award-winning playwright Naomi Wallace
Naomi Wallace and Bruce McLeod recently donated $500 to the Revolution Books Education Fund (RBEF).
FYI: If you want to make a tax-deductible donation, go to Revolution Books Education Fund a 501(c)3 entity which sponsors RB events.
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The discourse and engagement at Revolution Books involve people from around the world, and from around the corner. People are coming to Harlem because of RB -- and people in Harlem are learning about the world and the potential for a real revolution because of RB.
BUT WE ARE AT A CROSSROADS.
YOUR DONATION MAKES A DIFFERENCE:
* We need thousands more people coming to the store, buying books, attending our programs and donating—in order to generate revenue to pay our rent and expand our selection. But that potential customer base doesn’t yet know about the store! Your contribution will enable us to publicize and promote RB, buy advertising including in social media, and improve our signage.
* When the thousands come, they need to find hundreds more of the books that open pathways to understanding the past and present, the possibilities of the future, and the yearnings of humanity. Your contribution will fund the purchase of books about the global refugee crisis, Spanish-language, new African fiction, children’s literature, and more.
$25,000 by August 2!
* For promotion and publicity to let the world know
* For more books that matter
...to take Revolution Books to a whole new level of impact
Donate and participate.
BECAUSE RB CHANGES LIVES.
BECAUSE WITHOUT RB THE WORLD STAYS AS IT IS.
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PERKS
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$25 - Red Star enamel pin. Donated by Peoples Pins, Everitt, WA. 3/4" wide
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$50 - Revolution Books mug
$50 - RB mug with Dancer from Red Detachment of Women ballet
$75- RB heavy red canvas tote bag
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NEW! $75- Yusef Salaam's new book of poetry, "Words of a Man: My Right To Be." We have 5 signed copies from the Yusef's book release party at Revolution Books. Yusef was one of the Central Park 5-- Black youth 14-16 years old who were framed up for the rape of a jogger and spent years in prison before being exonerated. Hard-to-get paperback.
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$75 - Color poster from a benefit concert for Revolution Books with Afro-jazz great Arturo O'Farrill and his ensemble. 8.5"x11"
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NEW! $75- Novel "Here Comes the Sun," signed by the author Nicole Dennis-Benn during her evening at Revolution Books, July 7, 2017. Paperback. Story of 3 women living in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
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NEW!! - $75 Voucher good for 1 Homemade Pie donated by "Fancy Pies: A Seasonal Pop-Up Pie Shop" in Washington Heights. "Just Peachy," "Dave's Mixed Berry," and on and on. Take a look: https://twitter.com/fancy_pies?lang=en
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$100 - 2017 Hardback, signed by James Forman Jr. when he spoke at RB in June. A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice, on how so many Black judges, prosecutors, politicians ended up "locking up our own."
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NEW! $100 - Book by Professor Cheryl Wall, "Women of the Harlem Renaissance," This hard-to-get acclaimed history was signed by the author during her evening at Revolution Books in June 2017. Watch here: vimeo.com/222786509
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$150 - Bob Avakian Essentials. Books by Bob Avakian: The New Communism and BAsics. Book by Ardea Skybreak: Science and Revolution.
Includes Pin: "There is no app for critical thinking." -- Bob Avakian
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NEW! $150 - "Life + Debt" DVD, Collector's edition. Acclaimed documentary on imperialism, Test-case: Jamaica. Directed by Stephanie Black who donated 3 copies. Narration by Jamaica Kincard, music by Mutabaruka. "Powerful. Offers the clearest analysis of globalization and its negative effects that I have ever seen." -- Stephen Holden, NY Times
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NEW! $200 - Amazing Dinner for 2, donated by Harlem Bar-B-Q, 547 Malcolm X Blvd. Specializes in ribs, wings, frozen margaritas! "Harlem Bar-B-Q believes in giving back to our community so that we all may move forward together. We support Revolution Books for being a staple bookstore in Harlem and a valuable resource for future generations to come."
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NEW! $250 - Just published (July 2017) hardcover book: Conversations with Edwidge Danticat, edited by Maxine Lavon Montgomery, Literary Conversations Series, University Press of Mississippi. Includes interviews with the acclaimed Haitian novelist and essayist, ranging from 2000 (on Breath, Eyes, Memory) to a previously unpublished 2016 interview which offers insight into her life, art, and politics.
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$500 - Rare poster of famous Chinese peasant painting from Huhsien County, revolutionary China circa 1973. This poster was brought back from China at that time, and recently donated to Revolution Books. 20" x 30"
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$750 - Screen Print by Shepard Fairey, in collaboration with Glen E. Friedman who took the photograph of Cornel West at the first dialogue between Dr. West and Carl Dix in July 2009. Edition of 450. Rare. Donated to RB by Shepard Fairey and Glen E. Friedman, signed by both artists + Dr. West. 18" x 24″
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NEW! - $1500 Wooden carving of a young woman, with beads, Ivory Coast circa 1970.
Created by master carver from Atsei tribe. Carving of young woman, with beads at waist. Used in initiation ceremony for young woman going from puberty to adult. The figure's arms move forward and back. Donated by a Harlem collector. 12" x 4.5"