Speaking at the event were Olympia Newton, organizer of the Young Socialists in Newark, New Jersey; Nelson González, who was recruited to the Socialist Workers Party through the fight—which Lobman helped lead—for community control of schools in New York City's District 1 in the 1970s; and Jack Barnes, the national secretary of the Socialist Workers Party. (See article on pages 8-9.)

Brian Taylor, staff writer for the Militant, closed the celebration with an appeal for the Pathfinder Fund. Taylor spoke about the place of Pathfinder literature in winning youth and others to the revolutionary movement today, describing how a high school student in Florida recently found his way to communist ideas.

The student first bought Ernesto Che Guevara's Episodes of the Cuban Revolutionary War at a commercial outlet. He was "blown away by the book" and started ordering more books by mail from Pathfinder in New York, Taylor said. Recently, upon learning of the Pathfinder bookstore in Miami, he immediately bicycled over to meet for the first time ever with worker-Bolsheviks.

Soon after, he asked to join the Young Socialists.

Particularly when combined with activity and study with members of the communist movement, Taylor pointed out, Pathfinder books can help change "a person's life. A number of revolutionists, some in this room today, came across a book or pamphlet by Pathfinder that stretched your imagination beyond the framework you had before reading it. In some cases it leads to you making profound life decisions."

In the best week in the fund to date, supporters sent in $11,571. The Pathfinder fund stands just shy of $40,000 or 32 percent of the $125,000 goal. To be on target, however, $76,920—or 62 percent—should have been paid. Local goals surpass the international target. Supporters must now zero in on collecting all of these contributions in order to meet the totals pledged by the November 15 deadline. To do that, special attention will be necessary to collect on average $17,000 each of the next five weeks.

To find out more about the Fund, to get involved or to make a contribution, contact your nearest Pathfinder bookstore listed on page 12. Please make all checks and money orders out to Pathfinder, earmarked Pathfinder Fund, and send to:

Pathfinder, 410 West Street, New York, NY 10014-2570.

Susan Anmuth is a member of UAW Local 980 in Edison, New Jersey  
 
 
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