Sikivu Hutchinson, Author of "Moral Combat: Black Atheism, Gender Politics, and the Values Wars"

Meet Sikivu Hutchinson Author of Moral Combat: Black Atheists, Gender Politics, and the Values Wars  Reading and book signing Sunday, April 3rd, 2 pm $5-$10 donation at the door  At Revolution Books / Libros Revolución 5726 Hollywood Blvd. (& Wilton) LA, 90028 "In the book I examine the implications of black Christian religiosity, skepticism, humanism, and atheism from an African American feminist perspective, taking on Christian fundamentalist fascism and the hijacking of public morality....despite longstanding traditions of secular humanism, skepticism, and Freethought espoused by such thinkers as Frederick Douglass, Zora Neale Hurston, Nella Larsen and Richard Wright, atheism remains a taboo belief system in black communities." Sikivu Hutchinson is the author of Imagining Transit: Race, Gender, and Transportation Politics in Los Angeles and has published fiction, essays and critical theory in Social Text, California English, Black Agenda Report and American Atheist Magazine. She is a Senior Fellow with the Institute for Humanist Studies.    She has recently defended Planned Parenthood from the "right-wing lynch mob" in an article Planned Parenthood and the Rape of American Women [read here]. PZ Myers, of the popular science blog, Pharyngula, posted today about Sikivu at Revolution Books:  "You should go, if you can, or at least pick up a copy of her book - she's one of the strong sharp voices of modern atheism." Check out Sikivu's blog [here].   Her book is available at Revolution Books, $16.95, paperback.  Listen to SIKIVU HUTCHINSON being interviewed live on The Michael Slate Show this Friday, April 1st, 10 to 11 am, KPFK radio, 90.7 FM (Not in the L.A. area?  You can listen live at kpfk.org).    Also available at Revolution Books: $14.95, paperback $12.95, paperback $15.95, paperback

JEFFREY HAAS, author of The Assassination of Fred Hampton, Sun, March 27th, 2 PM

Post on Facebook, Twitter, send to e-lists, help spread the word!  JEFFREY HAAS, author of The Assassination of  Fred Hampton How the FBI and the Chicago Police   Murdered a Black Panther Reading and Booksigning  $10 donation requested; $5 students/unemployed SUNDAY, MARCH 27th, 2 PM At Revolution Books / Libros Revolución 5726 Hollywood Blvd., LA 90028 $16.95 just out in paperback It's 7:00 a.m., on December 4, 1969, and attorney Jeff Haas is in the Monroe Street police lockup in Chicago, interviewing Fred Hampton's fiancée.  Four hours earlier, she was lying in bed next to Hampton when the police burst into their apartment.  She is still in her nightgown, describing how the police pulled her from the room as Fred lay unconscious on their bed. She heard one officer say, "He's still alive."  She then heard two shots.  A second officer said, "He's good and dead now." She looks at Jeff and asks, "What can you do?" The Assassination of Fred Hampton is attorney Jeff Haas' personal account of the thirteen-year legal saga in which he and People's Law Office partner Flint Taylor pursued Hampton's assassins, ultimately prevailing over FBI stonewalling and unlimited government resources bent on hiding the conspiracy that led to Hampton's death. The book not only tells the story of justice delivered but also puts Hampton in a new light as a dynamic community leader whose dedication to his people and to truth telling inspired the young lawyers of the People's Law Office, solidifying their lifelong commitment to fighting injustice.  - From the book website, hamptonbook.com  Jeffrey Haas co-founded the People's Law Office in 1969 in Chicago, IL and was the attorney for the plaintiffs in the federal suit Hampton v. Hanrahan. ______________________________________________________________ ". . .The assassination was part of a vast program of state repression aimed at undermining dissent generally, and in particular to 'prevent the rise of a messiah who could unify and electrify the black masses' -- the infamous words of the head of the national political police, J. Edgar Hoover. . .A riveting account of the assassination, the plot behind it, the attempted cover-up, the denouement, and the lessons that we should draw from this shocking tale of government iniquity." -- Noam Chomsky, author and political activist "Part history, part courtroom drama, part literary memoir, Haas evokes with chilling precision a bloody and desperate repressive state apparatus locked in conflict with its greatest fear, a charismatic young black man with revolution on his mind.  We see courage and cowardice, dignity and betrayal, hope and despair, devastation and rebirth." - William Ayers, professor of education, University of Illinois at Chicago, former SDS leader, and author.

Michael Slate Show: WILLIAM PARKER & JEFFREY HAAS; BAsics Coming Soon!

We Recommend:  Received in an email from Michael Slate The Michael Slate Show KPFK Radio, 90.7 FM Friday, March 25th, 10 to 11 am Or listen live at www.kpfk.org  This Week's Show: WILLIAM PARKER, jazz musician, composer, author and theorist, is one of the important leaders of the current avant-garde scene in jazz. He has composed and performed music inspired by, and used as an accompaniment to "All Played Out," a spoken word piece by Bob Avakian, Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party. Listen [here]. William Parker's work spans four decades and includes dozens of albums, several books, and a huge repertoire of works. Read [more] on his website. He will be performing April 11, at "On the Occasion of the Publication of BAsics, A Celebration of Revolution and the Vision of a New World," in Harlem, New York. BAsics, from the talks and writings of Bob Avakian, will be released in early April. See below.    JEFFREY HAAS, author of The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther. Fred Hampton was the Chairman of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party when he was assassinated December 4, 1969. The assassinartion of Fred Hampton is attorney Jeffrey Hass' personal account of the thirteen-year legal saga in which he and partner, Flint Taylor, pursued Hampton's assassins, ultimately prevailing over FBI stonewalling and unlimited government resources bent on hiding the conspiracy that led to Hampton's death. If you miss the Michael Slate Show, you can catch it later at kpfk.org, go to "Audio Archives," search for the show for this date and time, then hit play. __________________________________________________________________  Jeffrey Haas will be speaking in the L.A. area: Sunday, March 27th, 2 pm, at Revolution Books / Libros Revolución, 5726 Hollywood Blvd., L.A. 90028, $10 donation requested; $5 for students / unemployed. Monday, March 28th, 12 noon to 2:30 pm, at Cal State University at Northridge (CSUN), Lake View Terrace Room, University Student Union (USU), sponsored by the CSUN Pan African Studies Department. Get Ready for the Publication of   BAsics - From the talks and writings of Bob Avakian In Harlem, New York City: A Celebration of Revolution and the   Vision of a New World  April 11, 7pm Harlem Stage at Aaron Davis Hall on the campus of the City College of New York An evening of music, visual art, poetry and readings, occasioned by the release of BAsics. Bob Avakian is a serious revolutionary leader and wide-ranging thinker. He is the leader of a party and a movement aiming to make revolution when the possibility opens up. He is someone who, in the words of Cornel West, "is a long distance runner in the freedom struggle against imperialism, racism and capitalism."    The host committee, in association with Revolution Books, includes Aladdin, actor and playwright; Paul Von Blum, Senior Lecturer Emeritus, African American Studies and Communication Studies, UCLA *; Herb Boyd, journalist and author; Elaine Brower, National Steering Committee of World Can't Wait* and anti-war military mom; The Committee For the Defense of Human Rights, founded by the SF8; Carl Dix, founding member of the Revolutionary Communist Party; Jessica Green, media maker and co-director, Maysles Cinema*; Nicholas Heyward, Sr., father of Nicholas Heyward, Jr. (murdered by the NYPD in 1994), Russ Jennings, theatre producer and writer; Erin Aubry Kaplan, journalist and author; Rev. Earl Kooperkamp, St. Mary's Church, Harlem*; Mike Ladd, mc and poet; Philip Maysles, visual artist, co-director, Maysles Cinema*; Matthew Shipp, musician; Cornel West, Professor of Religion, Princeton University*; Robert M. Young, film maker and David Zeiger, film maker. (* for identification purposes only) Initial list of event participants and performers include musician Guillermo Brown, Richard Brown, co-founder of The Committee for the Defense of Human Rights, founded by the SF8, Ruby Dee, poet and playwright reg e. gaines, Moist Paula Henderson, baritone sax player and composer, jazz musician David Murray, Outernational, Abiodun Oyewole from The Last Poets, Ted Rall, cartoonist & author and jazz musicians Matthew Shipp and William Parker. The night will also include readings of letters from prisoners responding to Avakian's words, and the ideas of revolution and bringing into being a new world. These will be interspersed with people's own reflections (from the stage or via video) of what it means to them to celebrate revolution and the vision of a new world and readings of quotes from BAsics.  Click for more details. _______________________________________________________________________  HOST STATEMENTS:  from Cornel West, Professor of Religion, Princeton University*:  Watch and share this YouTube piece widely: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WfBKxv37Hc. from Emory Douglas, Revolutionary Artist, former Minister of Culture, Black Panther Party:  Read [here].   Read other statements [here]  _______________________________________________________________________   In Los Angeles: Tuesday, April 5th, 7 pm BOOK RELEASE CELEBRATION!    BAsics, from the talks and writings of Bob Avakian A very accessible, and concentrated, selection of quotations and short essays laying out some of the essential building blocks of Avakian's thinking and his path-breaking leadership. You can't change the world if you don't know the Basics! The author will not be present. Pick up copies of the book ($10 each) and bring your favorite BA quote to share, open-mic style, as we celebrate revolution, the contributions of Bob Avakian, and the vision of a new world.

Available at Revolution Books / Libros Revolucion

Also available at Revolution Books /   Libros Revolución: MORAL COMBAT - Black Atheists, Gender Politics and the Values Wars By Sikivu Hutchinson  $16.95, paperback Save the date: Sunday, April 3, 2 pm, Sikivu Hutchinson will be reading and signing books at Revolution Books / Llibros Revolucion. Check out her blog [here]. . BAsics  From the talks and writings of Bob Avakian $10, paperback Come to a release celebration, April 5th, 7 pm!   Donate now to support it's publication and help send a delegation to NYC, Harlem Stage for a historic April 11th "Celebration of Revolution and the Vision of a New World" on the occasion of the publication of BAsics. $100 contribution gets you a copy of the book, hot off the press!   The New Jim CrowMass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness By Michelle Alexander $27.95, hardcover

ERIC DROOKER: Musical Slide Lecture, Sunday, March 20, 2 PM

Click [here] to listen to an inteview with ERIC DROOKER from the Friday, March 18th Michael Slate Show on kpfk.org. This Week's Show Included:   Is Obama really worse than George W. Bush, and if so, how?  We'll hear from DAVID SWANSON of War is a Crime.org.   Veteran journalist ROBERT PARRY will talk about "Punishing the Truth-Tellers," his recent article on Consortium News, focusing on Bradley Manning and others. As a reporter for AP and Newsweek, Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories in the 1980s. [See a selection of Parry's books below, available at Revolution Books.]  Artist ERIC DROOKER, who will be appearing this weekend at Revolution Books / Libros Revolucion, won a National Book Award for Flood! A Novel in Pictures.  His paintings appear on the cover of The New Yorker.  He designed the animation for the film HOWL, based on the poem by Allen Ginsberg, who collaborated with Drooker on the book Illuminated Poems.  Other works include the graphic novel Blood Song, and cover art for Rage Against the Machine and others.  See more at Drooker.com.  [See a selection of Drooker's books below, available at Revolution Books.]   Available at Revolution Books / Libros Revolución: Neck Deep - The Disastrous Presidency of George W. Bush    By Robert Parry, Sam Parry & Nat Parry Sale Price: $18.00, paperback Secrecy & Privilege - Rise of the Bush Dynasty From Watergate to Iraq By Robert Parry  Sale Price: $18.00, paperback Lost History - Contras, Cocaine, the Press & 'Project Truth' By Robert Parry Sale Price: $16.00, paperback Revolution, Issue #227 On the Publication of BAsics A Celebration of Revolution and the Vision of a New World -  An Evening of Music, Visual Art,   Poetry and Readings Monday, April 11, 7 pm, Harlem Stage Read more at revcom.us $1 per issue / Distribute and Subscribe! Howl A Graphic Novel by Allen Ginsberg, Animated by Eric Drookerl $19.99 paperback Blood Song A Silent Ballad by Eric Drooker $19.95 paperback   Flood! A Novel in Pictures by Eric Drooker $14.95, paperback

Post on Facebook, Twitter, Send to e-lists, Spread the Word!   Musical Slide Lecture by   Renowned Visual Artist ERIC DROOKER In Conversation with   MICHAEL SLATE, Writer for Revolution Newspaper   and KPFK Radio Host Sunday, March 20th, 2 PM A Benefit for Revolution Books / Libros Revolución 5726 Hollywood Blvd, L.A. 90028  $10 Donation at the Door Check out this Howl animation youtube piece.   One of the foremost visual artists in the country, ERIC DROOKER is the award-winning author of Flood! A Novel in Pictures and Blood Song. His paintings are frequently seen on covers of The New Yorker, and he recently designed the animation for the film Howl, based on the epic poem by Allen Ginsberg, who collaborated with Drooker on the book Illuminated Poems.  His album covers for Rage Against the Machine, Faith No More, and Propagandhi are legendary. Mr. Drooker will explore his early years as a street artist in New York City, trace the evolution of his graphic novels into animation, and discuss his experiences creating street posters, covers for The New Yorker and his "infiltration of the mainstream" - told through the projection of hundreds of stunning images. Check out the artist's website at: drooker.com  Special event poster above designed by Eric Drooker, available at the bookstore.  Join us this weekend for other events: Saturday, March 19: Anti-War March in Hollywood begins at 12 noon, Hollywood & Vine; ends at Hollywood & Highland with rally.  Meet us at the bookstore at 10 am to help with a book table or look for us at Hollywood & Vine at noon. Sunday, March 20: L.A. Marathon passes by on Hollywood Blvd. in front of the bookstore - join us at the bookstore from 9 am on to welcome runners and supporters, popularize and fundraise for the bookstore and the movement for revolution we are building, flyer for upcoming events, and have a lot of fun! (Streets will be closed until 11:30 am, so take the Metro Redline to the Hollywood/Western station and walk 3 blocks west to the store.  Or park south of Hollywood Blvd.) Then stay for the Eric Drooker event at 2 pm!

Wed: Libya Discussion; Weekend Events; BAsics Release Celebration April 5th!

"Hot topic" discussion: Wed., March 16th, 7 PM: Revolution Interviews Raymond Lotta: The Events in Libya in Historical Perspective... Muammar Qaddafi in Class Perspective... The Question of Leadership in Communist Perspective.     Read this interview online at revcom.us (#226) and join us in discussion.  We'll have the new issue of Revolution newspaper to pick up. Also listen to Raymond Lotta interviewed on the Michael Slate show last Friday on KPFK Radio (Audio Archives, Friday, March 3, 2011, 10 am) [here]. Sat., March 19th -March and Rally Against the Wars - Raise your voice against the unjust and brutal imperialist wars in Afghanistan and Iraq!  U.S. get the hell out! Meet at the bookstore at 10 AM to join our team, or find our booth at Hollywood & Vine at Noon.  Let's spread the word about Revolution Books, a bookstore at the center of building the movement for revolution.  We'll have key books, Revolution newspaper, Fuck Capitalism t-shirts, and more. April 5th,   Tues, 7 pm RELEASE CELEBRATION! of BAsics - a new book of quotes and essays from Bob Avakian, Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA.  A very accessible and  concentrated selection of quotations and short essays laying out some of the essential building blocks of Avakian's thinking and his pathbreaking leadership.  April 11th, in Harlem, will see a night of music, visual art, spoken word and readings celebrating revolution and a vision of a new world, marking the occasion of this book's publication. [Read more.]  On April 5th in L.A., come to pick up copies and celebrate!  (More details to be announced)

Sun., March 20th - L.A. Marathon will pass in front of Revolution Books, at Mile Marker 10.  What a great opportunity to introduce many, many people to the bookstore, and invite them to participate in the stunning musical slide presentation by Eric Drooker at 2 PM.  We'll have thousands of our new bilingual palm cards to distribute the word to people passing by.  We'll be at the bookstore from 10 AM on.    Are you or anyone you know running in the Marathon?  If so, you can wear a Revolution Books message on your shirt for thousands to see.  Contact us for more information. Travel advisory: to get to the bookstore in the morning, best to take the MTA Redline, get off at the Hollywood/Western station and walk 3 blocks west to the bookstore. Or if driving, park south of Hollywood Blvd. The streets are scheduled to open up to traffic near the bookstore after 11:30 am.

Sun: Special Expanded Staff & Volunteer Meeting; Fri.: Michael Slate Show

Special Expanded Staff & Volunteer Meeting Sunday, March 13th, 2 PM It's been an exciting two months since our grand opening!  We've met many people who have been hungering for exactly this kind of space - with the books, events, and engagement that they find here.  And at a time when suddenly new possibilities, and great dangers, are in the air  - from Tunisia, Egypt, Wisconsin -  this  bookstore is needed more than ever.  There is still much to be done to grow, so if you appreciate this center of the movement for revolution, your ideas, energy, and donations are critical now for us to survive and thrive. "Many people insist, 'there could never be a revolution in this country: the powers-that-be are too powerful, the people are too messed up and too caught up in going along with the way things are, the revolutionary forces are too small.' This is wrong - revolution is possible." But the paths by which people come to this insight, and the channels of real world developments that make it possible, are many and variegated. The task of Revolution Books is to explore these paths and channels, starting with the path-breaking work of Bob Avakian and embracing the whole world of authors who have contributed to our understandings of history, science and art. This is what makes us an intellectual center for a growing movement for revolution. Questions: What are the key things the bookstore should be doing at this point? How do we better conduct outreach? How can we expand the financial base of the store? How should we be organized to allow growing numbers of people to join in the excitement and responsibility for the various aspects of running the store and its programs? This will be a brainstorming and working meeting.  We've got a very busy calendar ahead (see below), and your input will make a vital difference in Revolution Books having the most powerful impact in society.        Any day now, we'll be getting a new book that can help change the world:  BAsics - From the Talks and Writings of Bob Avakian.  And we will be meeting just 4 weeks before what we want to be a breakthrough evening at Harlem Stage in New York City: "On the Occasion of the Publication of BAsics: A Celebration of Revolution and the Vision of a New World." Sat., March 19th - Noon - Stop the G*d-d#m'd War!  Hollywood & Vine.  Meet us at the bookstore to pack up at 10 AM, or join us at our booth at the rally site. Sun., March 20th - L.A. Marathon.  We are right at Mile Marker 10!  Help us reach thousands with our new palm cards.  Best to take the Red Line to Western & Hollywood, and walk a few blocks west to the bookstore.  Sun., March 20th - 2 PM - Be the first in line to see the amazing slide show by visual artist Eric Drooker, animator and illustrator.  In conversation with Michael Slate, writer for Revolution newspaper and KPFK (90.7 PM) host.  $5-10 donation requested. Sun., March 27th - 2 PM - Booksigning with Jeffrey Haas, The Assassination of Fred Hampton:  How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther. $5-10 donation requested. Sun., April 3rd - 2 PM - Sikivu Hutchinson, reading from her new book, Moral Combat:  Black Atheists, Gender Politics and the Values Wars.  $5-10 donation requested.  Sat. & Sun., April 30 -May 1st - Festival of Books, now at USC.  We have corner booth #888, in the center of campus.  We'll need lots of volunteers and special fundraising for what is always our biggest book event of the year! Donate NOW to enable Revolution Books / Libros Revolución to survive and thrive!   It matters that there is an intellectual center in Los Angeles for building a movement for REVOLUTION.  At a time when suddenly, new possibilities are in the air, people need revolutionary strategy, theory, vision and engagement with each other about the possibility of a radically different world.  Only with your donation today, with you becoming a sustaining Friend of Revolution Books, will this essential place continue to survive and have even greater impact!  [DONATE HERE.]

We Recommend - Received in an Email From Michael Slate: The Michael Slate Show:  Friday, March 11th 10 to 11 AM, KPFK, 90.7 FM or Listen Live at www.kpfk.org     This week's show: Raymond Lotta, revolutionary communist intellectual and political economist, on the situation in Libya, what underlies it, and its significance to the region and the world. Read a Revolution interview with Lotta on events in Libya [here] from issue #226 online at revcom.us. PZ Myers, biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris, and author of the Science Blog Pharyngula. He'll talk about the origin of life on earth, whether bacteria have been discovered on meteorites, the creation of artificial life in the laboratory and other hot topics.