BY CONNIE JULIAN | Revolution Books (RB) had to shut its W. 26th St. doors on May 31. But we are glad to report that RB will re-open at a great new storefront in Harlem at 437 Malcolm X Blvd./Lenox Ave. at W. 132nd St. We aim to re-open the bookstore in early October, with a Grand Opening the second week of November (stay tuned for dates at revolutionbooksnyc.org).
We want to extend an invitation to all our friends in Chelsea and the Village to hop on a 2 or 3 train for the short ride to the 135th St. stop.
Already, even before opening, there’s excitement Uptown, as people discover a new bookstore is opening in their midst. And what makes RB so unique and vital is that it is a bookstore about the whole world, where people can find books and engaging discussion about why the world is the way it is, and the possibility of a radically different way it could be — a center for the movement for revolution.
During RB’s eight years on W. 26th St., we made many good friends in the neighborhood who came through the bookstore — including to the hundreds of events we hosted. Some highlights include: The “Hidden Lives” series featuring writers Eve Ensler, Edwidge Danticat, and Walter Mosley; emergency forums on torture and Gaza; the screening/discussion series of the film “BA Speaks: Revolution Nothing Less”; performance and conversation with musicians like Arturo O’Farrill; and, in the heat of last December’s street demonstrations against police murder, “Ferguson is Everywhere,” with Saul Williams, Jessica Care More and many other great poets.
It’s sobering to think about what’s happened in the world just since RB closed: The global refugee crisis has grown to a horrific level of misery…the Obama administration okays new oil drilling in the Arctic as global warming intensifies…The police continue to murder with impunity.
Revolution Books is the place to get into what is causing these and other horrors of the system, and to find out what we can do about it. At RB, the world of ideas and culture interact with the movement for revolution. It is where people find and engage with the new synthesis of communism brought forward by Bob Avakian — a breakthrough in the scientific method for understanding the world in the most deepgoing way, and how it can form the basis for making a revolution that can truly emancipate all of humanity.
RB is needed more than ever, and funds are urgently needed now. A few weeks ago, we successfully completed a $30,000 Indiegogo online campaign. Almost 250 people donated, including lawyers, homeless people, professors, Harlem residents, students, musicians and doctors. The Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn wrote a statement of support: “For more than thirty-five years, Revolution Books has been a place where people from various backgrounds have gathered to obtain and swap information about the challenging issues we face in our society, and what we can do to make much needed changes…they urgently need your support to re-open and to continue with the work they do with such conviction and fierceness.”
To finish the renovation and to restock the shelves in Harlem, another $35,000 is needed. We hope our Chelsea friends and the readers of Chelsea Now will help get us over the top. Donations can be made at revolutionbooksnyc.org.
We look forward to seeing you all at the new Revolution Books in Harlem, not far from the Schomburg Center and Studio Museum.
