The Militant (logo) 
   Vol.65/No.22            June 4, 2001 
 
 
Target week and new book will give boost to circulation drive
 
BY RÓGER CALERO  
The May 20 meeting in New York, "In Defense of Leninism: Expanding Opportunities for Communists Today," kicked off the final segment of the international circulation drive to win new subscribers to the Militant and its sister monthly publication Perspectiva Mundial. The event also launched a campaign to sell Cuba and the Coming American Revolution, one of three Pathfinder titles that are part of the subscription drive.

Making the most of every day of the May 26–June 3 target week in the drive will be the best way for all partisans of the Militant to bring the revolutionary perspective discussed at the May 20 meeting to workers, farmers, and young people, along with news and information about the resistance of working people around the world to the assaults, racism, and wars of the capitalists and their governments.

Cuba and the Coming American Revolution--available to new subscribers for only $5--together with two other pamphlets, is an effective tool to explain why workers and farmers in the United States need to build a communist youth organization and party that will lead the coming battles for power in this country.

Already during the drive Militant supporters have put The Working Class and the Transformation of Learning and Pathfinder Was Born With the October Revolution into the hands of hundreds of people, as indicated in the chart on this page. Cuba and the Coming American Revolution should give a boost to these efforts heading into the final weeks of the campaign. For example, those attending the May 20 meeting purchased 58 copies of the new title and an additional $334 in books along with several subscriptions.

At the meeting SWP leader Mary-Alice Waters said the campaign to double the size of the Young Socialists is simultaneously a campaign to double the number of candidates for party membership, the quality of the Militant Labor Forums, the reach of revolutionary and communist literature, the outreach of socialist election campaigns, and the exposure and face of the Young Socialists and Socialist Workers Party. These political goals and spirit are what the circulation campaign and book distribution efforts are all about.

The day before the meeting socialist workers and Young Socialists set up tables in the Garment District in New York. In one afternoon they sold five copies of Cuba and the Coming American Revolution, another $139 worth of books, and a subscription to a member of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees.

In Upper Manhattan, Don Mackle reports a team sold several subscriptions and copies of the new book at a meeting in Harlem commemorating the birthday of revolutionary leader Malcolm X. A college student who bought a subscription said he has been increasingly angry about the reactionary assaults in the world. "At first I decided to just ignore everything," he said. "But now I decided I should do something about the problems. I want to start reading and get to know more about what is going on." By the end of a short afternoon of sales the team had sold seven subscriptions to the Militant, one subscription to Perspectiva Mundial, and more than $125 in Pathfinder books. Three people took advantage of the special offer of $15 for a Militant subscription and the new book.

Through the circulation campaign partisans of the Militant can look forward to finding the "ordinary working men and women," such as those described in the new book who were responsible for making the Cuban Revolution. There are plenty of places to do that today, such as at the action of coal miners in West Virginia in their fight against the mining bosses; the June 2 march in Cincinnati against police brutality; a June 9 rally demanding justice for the five longshore workers in South Carolina accused of "inciting to riot;" on the picket lines with garment workers in Baltimore; at rallies to demand equal rights for immigrants; and elsewhere. All are opportunities to introduce workers and farmers to the politics found in Cuba and the Coming American Revolution.

Creativity and initiative, along with a well-planned effort during the target week can help put the drive on track.
 

*****

BY BOB TUCKER  
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama--"This is a good paper for me to read," said one resident of Natchez, Mississippi, who lives two blocks from the Titan Tire plant. Workers from Birmingham who read the Militant introduced the paper to Titan Tire strikers and other working people in the city during a trip there in mid-May. As part of an antiunion drive, Titan bosses locked workers out of that plant more than two years ago. But the strike and round-the-clock picketing of the facility remain strong. One striker on the picket line decided to get a subscription just minutes before the two-day team left for home. Nine other single copies were sold there.

Back in Birmingham supporters of the Militant made a concerted effort to reach out to the growing number of Spanish-speaking workers in the area. In just two blocks of door-to-door sales, three workers bought subscriptions to Perspectiva Mundial, sending Birmingham over our goal of five. We decided to raise our goal to seven PM subscriptions.

A number of people have filled out subscription forms and asked us to call them back later, and we plan some more door-to-door sales. It was quite a good week for us here and an excellent warm up for the worldwide target week.  
 
 
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