upcoming events

Saturday, July 4. Anti-July 4th Picnic

Anti-4th of July Picnic/Pot Luck Fundraiser for Revolution Newspaper at 63rd Street Beach (directions below).

While the system promotes drunken, USA chauvinist celebrations of a nation that has brought bloodshed, oppression, and exploitation to every corner of the world... hook up with the revolution for a potluck picnic, as we imagine a world without everything America stands for and must do to maintain its world dominance. Invite your friends from all walks of life to join us. We'll be taking donations for Revolution newspaper, sliding scale for students and the unemployed. Bring your friends!

Look for the big red flags at the 63rd street beach! (see map)

For rides, or to join a car caravan, meet up at Revolution Books at 12 noon. (Please call and confirm you need a ride so we can plan ahead.)

Driving directions (keep in mind that parking is going to be difficult everywhere in the city. We're recommending that people carpool, and for best parking, come early.)

63rd Street Beach is just east of Lakeshore Drive on 63rd (also called E. Hayes Drive), and is very easily reached from the 63rd street exit on Lakeshore. There is a turnaround just east of LSD where people can be dropped off near the beach. And there is a parking lot on the beach, which will obviously fill up early.

From the North Side:
*Take Lakeshore Drive south to 63rd Street (there is a stop light there).
*Turn left on 63rd St (also called Hayes Drive). into beach area.
or
*Take 90/94 south to 55
*Take 55 east to Lakeshore Drive and then follow directions, above

From the Southside:
*Take highway 41 north. It will become Lakeshore drive
*Turn Right on 63rd Street (also called Hayes Drive)
Again, there is parking on 63rd Street both east and west of Lake shore drive

By Public Trasportation Northside and Southside:
*Take Red line to 63rd St or Take the Greenline to 63rd & Cottage Grove.
or
*Take any North/South bus line (Ashland, Western, Halsted, etc) to 63rd Street
*Take the 63rd St Bus to Lakeshore Drive, and the beach is just east of Lakeshore Drive


Sunday, July 5th, 4 pm

Part 5 of a weekly salon on the new talk by Bob Avakian, Ruminations and Wranglings: On the Importance of Marxist Materialism, Communism as a Science, Meaningful Revolutionary Work, and a Life with Meaning

This week:
The Social Basis for Revolution

We'll get into the difference (and different bases) between total and partial revolutions. What's necessary for what Karl Marx referred to as a "total revolution", and what makes that revolution necessary? Read the excerpt, bring your questions and thoughts for another lively session of collective wrangling.

Upcoming Events

Performance of THE FEVER to Benefit Revolution Books

June 23, Tuesday, 7:30 pm
Revolution Books presents a special one-night-only performance of Wallace Shawn's THE FEVER performed by David Shapiro at St. Paul's Community Church, 2215 W. North Ave, Chicago. This is a benefit for Revolution Books Chicago. Followed by a reception. Tickets $15. To purchase tickets in advance, click on PayPal at right, call or drop by Revolution Books, or purchase on the night of the show at St. Paul's. Volunteer now to help organize, publicize and sell tickets for this important and timely fundraising and cultural event. If you want to understand and radically change the world, support and keep Revolution Books open.

Saturday, June 13

Join us! Out to the people of Englewood...
with revolution and communism

"There will never be a revolutionary movement in this country that doesn't fully unleash and give expression to the sometimes openly expressed, sometimes expressed in partial ways, sometimes expressed in wrong ways, but deeply, deeply felt desire to be rid of these long centuries of oppression [of Black people]. There's never gonna be a revolution in this country, and there never should be, that doesn't make that one key foundation of what it's all about."
-Bob Avakian, Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA, reprinted in The Oppression of Black People, the Crimes of This System, and the Revolution We Need.

Through the month of June, supporters of the RCP, USA are calling on you to be a part of filling a great need: stepping up the systematic efforts to spread revolution and communism in Englewood, one of Chicago's poorest (and overwhelmingly Black) neighborhoods, and challenging masses of Black people to get with the revolutionary movement today.

Saturday, June 13: Meet up at 10am at Revolution Books.
Join the teams taking Revolution newspaper and Bob Avakian's DVD, "Revolution: Why It's Necessary, Why It's Possible, What It's All About" out to the people, including through selling subscriptions, and establishing a revolutionary presence. We will have a truck, featuring a colorful professional banner reading simply "Revolution," red flags waving off the sides, music playing, wearing our shirts featuring the Revolution masthead and letting people know "The revolutionaries are here." Others will go door to door or to shopping centers. These initial efforts are inspired by a political "blitz" in another area, reported in the pages of Revolution here.

And this will be just the beginning. We will be going out every weekend through June; future details to come.

TO VOLUNTEER: If you're available all day or part of the day Saturday or would like to volunteer in other ways, please contact Revolution Books. Funds are urgently needed for this effort: donate at the Chicago Revolution Books blog (enter "Englewood" into the description), or hold a fundraising party featuring one of our organizers reporting on our efforts.


Sunday, June 14, 4 pm
Join us this Sunday, June 14, for the next in a series of salons on the new talk by Bob Avakian, "Ruminations and Wranglings: On the Importance of Marxist Materialism, Communism as a Science, Meaningful Revolutionary Work, and a Life with Meaning."
This Sunday's discussion will focus on Part 4, "Each Class Seeks to Remake the World in its Image--But Only One Class Cannot Do This by Relying on Spontaneity, " in Revolution #166, online at revcom.us.

Some points concerning the role of intellectuals and the revolutionary process

Different interests of different class forces in the struggle against the oppression of Black people in the US

"It is a very important phenomenon in all of social life, and particularly in social struggle, that each class will try to remake the world in its image. Especially in every revolution, but in every major social transformation or social movement, different class forces seek to seize the reins and impose their solutions, in accordance with how they see the problems. More specifically, it is important to understand how bourgeois and other reactionary class forces seek to do this, especially in the context of any major social upheaval and social struggle, and most especially in the context of an approaching revolution." How has this been borne out (or not) in examples from places like Iran, South Africa or China in recent history?

"One of the distinguishing features of intellectuals is that-because of their particular circumstances and the nature of their role in working with ideas-as individuals (and even in a certain sense as a broader social phenomenon) they have relatively more freedom and capacity to 'attach themselves' to one class or another, and even to 'detach themselves' from one class and 'attach themselves' to another. In other words, they can take up the world outlook and come to represent the interests of one class or another." Let's discuss the meaning and significance of this phenomenon.

What are the different interests of the different class forces in the struggle against the oppression of Black people in the US? The Black bourgeois forces "have seen that these reforms [elimination of certain formal and legal barriers of discrimination and segregation] could offer them the possibility-given the ways in which they are now situated in this society and, relative to the masses of Black people, their more privileged position-to have a more favorable opportunity to improve their situation within the existing framework, to 'move on up' within this framework, even in some cases to achieve high positions within this system. Now, in reality and whether or not they recognize it (some may and some may not, but the reality is) this is condemning-and so long as this is what holds sway, it will condemn-the masses of Black people, and indeed Black people as a people, as an oppressed nation within the U.S., to continue to suffer horrendous oppression."

A REVOLUTION IN IDEAS FOR A RADICALLY NEW WORLD - A WEEKLY SALON

Dear friends of Revolution Books,

We invite you to join our weekly discussion on Sunday afternoons from 4 - 6pm at Revolution Books. Every week you will be stimulated and challenged.

Even as the memo has gone out that the parameters of "hope" and "change" are defined by a new face atop the empire, people all over the world seethe with discontent, anger and a feeling that there must be a better way that human society could be organized - that another world is, and must be, possible.

Anyone wanting to bring into being that new world immediately confronts two things. One is the repressive force of the authorities brought to bear against those who seriously challenge the powers-that-be. Second is the confrontation in the realm of ideas: morality, science, religion and world-outlook. Complicity versus resistance; whether the oppression of Black people has been transcended or morphed into new dangerous forms; over how to evaluate the first stage of the Communist revolution in the Soviet Union and China.

Today, the most important struggle in the realm of ideas focuses on the KIND of change we need, the THEORY that can guide that change, and the leadership that we have to carry forward that radical transformation.

We state clearly: we need a revolution and none will be possible if it is not grounded in the work being done by and the leadership provided by Bob Avakian, the Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA.

If you haven't read Bob Avakian, NOW is the time. Let yourself be challenged by it. If you are someone who finds the current world intolerable and sees the need for a radically different one, then you cannot be true to your own principles without seriously checking out and engaging with Bob Avakian.

These are sessions for all - beginners & veterans; truth seekers of different persuasions; anyone desirous of a better world.

We urge you to join us in this urgently needed collective exploration and conversation around cutting-edge communist theory. The next round of discussions, beginning at the end of May are drawn from a provocative new work by Bob Avakian, "Ruminations and Wranglings; On the Importance of Marxist Materialism, Communism as a Science, Meaningful Revolutionary Work, and a Life with Meaning". The full text is available online at revcom.us

June 6 Emergency Forum

Torture Facts, Fiction, And The Need For Justice Saturday, June 6th at 3PM Grace Place 637 S. Dearborn St., Chicago An Emergency Forum coinciding with the Printers Row Lit Fest The torture memos released last month, written for and with the approval of the Bush White House, show that the U.S. has tortured as a matter of policy. State torture is a systematic attempt to violently degrade people and rob them of their very humanity - its chief purpose to strike terror in the hearts of whole populations. Such measures are, without question, crimes against humanity. While refusing to investigate what is already revealed, the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress are suppressing further photographic evidence. What is worse, Obama made clear in his May 21 'national security' speech that his administration is continuing and legitimating the essence of the Bush doctrine, including indefinite detention without charge or trial, military commissions that eviscerate habeas corpus, along with previously endorsed rendition and warrantless surveillance. What makes this even more dangerous is that Obama cloaks it all in the rhetoric of law and principle. Not only is his administration refusing to prosecute what are universally recognized war crimes, he is setting out to codify and further legalize these polices. And all of this will be legitimated if people in this country passively allow it to happen. These issues will be dug into with substance at a forum on June 6. The political and moral responsibility to act will be discussed. And an opportunity will be afforded to stand up in accord with justice and concern for all the people of the world. Forum Panelists: Leonard Goodman is a Chicago criminal defense attorney and adjunct professor at DePaul University Law School. He has the distinction of having won major criminal cases on behalf of clients at courts at every level of both the federal and state judicial systems, including victories in the United States Supreme Court, the Illinois Supreme Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He has received public service awards from the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University for his representation of the defense of the wrongly accused and convicted (2000) and from the Constitutional Rights Foundation of Chicago for his representation of a detainee at Guantanamo Bay Naval Station (2008). Li Onesto is the author of Dispatches From the People's War in Nepal (Pluto Press/Insight Press, 2005) and a writer for Revolution newspaper, which published her series, "Torture Techniques at Guantanamo: 'Communist Inspired,' or ...Developed, Refined and Exported by the USA?" in 2008. Frank Summers, Ph.D., ABPP is a supervising and training analyst at the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry in the Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University Medical School. A faculty member of the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis and four other psychoanalytic institutes, he is the author of three books: Object relations theories and psychopathology: A comprehensive text (1994), Transcending the self (1999), and Self creation: Psychoanalytic therapy and the art of the possible (2005). A member of the Editorial Board of Psychoanalytic Psychology, he maintains a private practice of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic therapy in Chicago, Illinois. Currently, Dr. Summers is president of Psychoanalysts for Social Responsibility and has worked for the past five years to prohibit psychologists from participating in detention centers. Presented by: Revolution Books World Can't Wait, Chicago Chapter: 773-227-2453, chicago@worldcantwait.org, chicagoworldcantwait.org

The June 6 Emergency Forum - Torture: Facts, Fiction, And The Need For Justice - will be held during and in the vicinity of the June 6-7 Printers Row Lit Fest. Revolution Books will have a booth at this huge book fair. This is an extraordinary opportunity to reach tens of thousands of people at a critical moment in time. Volunteer to help us get out in this book fest - publicize the torture forum, introduce people to revolution and communism, join exciting debate and engage over burning questions.

June 6 Emergency Forum

Torture Facts, Fiction and the Need for Justice Saturday, June 6th at 3PM Grace Place 637 S. Dearborn St., Chicago An Emergency Forum coinciding with the Printers Row Lit Fest The torture memos released last month, written for and with the approval of the Bush White House, show that the U.S. has tortured as a matter of policy. State torture is a systematic attempt to violently degrade people and rob them of their very humanity - its chief purpose to strike terror in the hearts of whole populations. Such measures are, without question, crimes against humanity. While refusing to investigate what is already revealed, the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress are suppressing further photographic evidence. What is worse, Obama made clear in his May 21 'national security' speech that his administration is continuing and legitimating the essence of the Bush doctrine, including indefinite detention without charge or trial, military commissions that eviscerate habeas corpus, along with previously endorsed rendition and warrantless surveillance. What makes this even more dangerous is that Obama cloaks it all in the rhetoric of law and principle. Not only is his administration refusing to prosecute what are universally recognized war crimes, he is setting out to codify and further legalize these polices. And all of this will be legitimated if people in this country passively allow it to happen. These issues will be dug into with substance at a forum on June 6. The political and moral responsibility to act will be discussed. And an opportunity will be afforded to stand up in accord with justice and concern for all the people of the world. Forum Panelists: Leonard Goodman is a Chicago criminal defense attorney and adjunct professor at DePaul University Law School. He has the distinction of having won major criminal cases on behalf of clients at courts at every level of both the federal and state judicial systems, including victories in the United States Supreme Court, the Illinois Supreme Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He has received public service awards from the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University for his representation of the defense of the wrongly accused and convicted (2000) and from the Constitutional Rights Foundation of Chicago for his representation of a detainee at Guantanamo Bay Naval Station (2008). Li Onesto is the author of Dispatches From the People's War in Nepal (Pluto Press/Insight Press, 2005) and a writer for Revolution newspaper, which published her series, "Torture Techniques at Guantanamo: 'Communist Inspired,' or ...Developed, Refined and Exported by the USA?" in 2008. Frank Summers, Ph.D., ABPP is a supervising and training analyst at the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry in the Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University Medical School. A faculty member of the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis and four other psychoanalytic institutes, he is the author of three books: Object relations theories and psychopathology: A comprehensive text (1994), Transcending the self (1999), and Self creation: Psychoanalytic therapy and the art of the possible (2005). A member of the Editorial Board of Psychoanalytic Psychology, he maintains a private practice of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic therapy in Chicago, Illinois. Currently, Dr. Summers is president of Psychoanalysts for Social Responsibility and has worked for the past five years to prohibit psychologists from participating in detention centers. Presented by: Revolution Books World Can't Wait, Chicago Chapter: 773-227-2453 chicago@worldcantwait.org, chicagoworldcantwait.org

The June 6 Emergency Forum - Torture: Facts, Fiction, And The Need For Justice - will be held during and in the vicinity of the June 6-7 Printers Row Lit Fest. Revolution Books will have a booth at this huge book fair. This is an extraordinary opportunity to reach tens of thousands of people at a critical moment in time. Volunteer to help us get out in this book fest - publicize the torture forum, introduce people to revolution and communism, join exciting debate and engage over burning questions.