The Militant(logo) 
    Vol.60/No.21           May 27, 1996 
 
 
Join The Campaign To Sell Pathfinder Books And Pamphlets  

BY HILDA CUZCO

The Militant subscription drive and socialist election campaigns offer a good combination of opportunities to step up the sales of socialist literature around the world.

Steve Gordon and Ved Dookhum from the Young Socialists in San Francisco sent in a report on the participation of young supporters of the Socialist Workers presidential election campaign of James Harris and Laura Garza in the first weekend of the five-week Militant subscription drive. "Selling off literature tables, as well as campaigning door to door, a total of eight subscriptions to the Militant, four to Perspectiva Mundial, and two copies of New International were sold over the May 11-12 weekend," they wrote.

Mai Yang, a college student at the University of California at Davis, was one of the Young Socialists for Harris and Garza who campaigned with other supporters of the Militant on the kickoff of the subscription drive. Mai was part of a team that sold 11 copies to the Militant and 2 Militant subscriptions. The team attributed its success to the paper's coverage of Cuba.

The Young Socialists for Harris and Garza have been campaigning for the Socialist Workers candidates at political events in the San Francisco area as well, Gordon and Dookhun report. They participated in the May 3 demonstration in front of San Quentin State Prison against the death penalty, and in a May 10 march in San Jose in response to the police slaying of Gustavo Soto there a week earlier. Young Socialists met many youth who were interested in the U.S.-Cuba Youth Exchange in July, as well as selling the Militant and Pathfinder books.

Initial results from several cities from the subscription drive appear in the chart below. The Militant will report on the progress of this campaign, which aims to advance the long-term effort to step up the sales of revolutionary books and literature, based on subscriptions and money received each Tuesday by noon, E.D.T.

New, upgraded bookstores
A number of grand openings and renovations of bookstores are taking place in different cities that will help make Pathfinder books more visible and accessible.

On May 4 a new storefront Pathfinder bookstore opened in Peoria, Illinois. The construction of the store had the collaboration of supporters in the region. It will be staffed by volunteers five days a week. Angel Lariscy reports that the first day the store was open, an employee from the offices upstairs stopped by, bought Two Speeches by Malcolm X, and joined the Pathfinder Reader Club. "Volunteers held a grand opening event on Saturday, May 11, with a panel speaking on what Pathfinder books mean to them."

"Supporters of the Pathfinder Bookstore in Des Moines are finishing up work at the store's new location," reported supporter Bill Kalman. "It is a bright, modern storefront located in a small commercial plaza along a major thoroughfare," he added. Among those who helped with the construction of the store were two former Firestone strikers, a United Auto Workers member from Fawn Engineering, and several packinghouse workers from Perry, Iowa. The effort also succeeded in raising $3,000 to cover everything from the professional installation of carpeting to a brand new computer. Kalman was quoted in the daily Des Moines Register announcing the store's grand opening on June 1.

In Greensboro, North Carolina, M.J. Rahn reports that Pathfinder supporters just completed a renovation of the local bookstore "with new carpet, displays, improved lighting, a new outdoor sign, and repainted and designed bookshelves." To celebrate the success of the project, supporters are offering discounted packages of Nelson Mandela Speaks with New International no. 5, and New International no. 7 with U.S. Hands off the Middle East! on the job and in the community. "This should help us lead off discussions on the new South African constitution, along with the continuing resistance in Lebanon to Israel's occupation," added Rahn.

Persistence pays off
From Atlanta, supporter Linda Joyce sent a note about an overdue sale at work. "It took several weeks to complete a sale to a fellow UAW member at the Ford plant here who had indicated he wanted Blacks in America's Wars," said Joyce. "It was always, `Catch me tomorrow,' or `I'll bring the money Friday,' etc., until I thought I was being a nuisance. Then he bought it and just a few days later he said, `Hey, do you have any more books like that? I didn't want it to end!' I mentioned that we could look through the catalog, but he said, `No, I want to come down to the bookstore, I want to see them all.' I intend to follow through on that - no matter how long it takes."

Pathfinder supporters in the unions are continuing to campaign for a monthly goal of selling 400 books and pamphlets a month to their co-workers. Weekly totals for these sales, which seem to have been swallowed up in cyberspace this week, should continue to be sent in by 8 a.m. each Monday.  
 
 
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