The Militant - February 19, 2001 -- Pathfinder sells well to stores in the South

Vol.65/No.7 February 19, 2001

Pathfinder sells well to stores in the South

BY MARLA PUZISS
ATLANTA--In early January, six supporters of the Socialist Workers Party met with two party members to discuss how to organize sales of Pathfinder books to local bookstores, libraries, and colleges. The meeting began with a report on how Pathfinder supporters in the San Francisco Bay area have begun to organize this work, an effort described in the December 25 Militant.

The Atlanta meeting decided to focus in January on visits to bookstores in African-American and working-class shopping districts, allowing us to take advantage of the preparation by bookstores of their purchases for Black History Month in February.

We were convinced that many of Pathfinder's titles, such as the speeches and writings of revolutionary leaders like Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela, Thomas Sankara, Che Guevara, and others, would appeal to these bookstore owners and buyers.

We targeted eight bookstores. Two of them are small independent African-American bookstores and the rest are branches of national chain bookstores located in malls where many workers shop. We also made plans to visit a local library specializing in Black history, and two booksellers who have outlets at Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport.

We organized ourselves in teams of two, pairing a supporter with some experience in this work with a less experienced partner. This approach allows us to rapidly train new volunteers, who will gain confidence as Pathfinder representatives through participating in the meetings and discussions with bookstore owners and buyers.

We also discussed the importance of maintaining records of all sales visits--a step that will help us as we establish ongoing relationships with the book buyers we visit.

By the end of January we had carried out about half of the projected visits, with very positive results. A visit to one bookstore that has carried many different Pathfinder titles books over the years netted an order totaling $1,109.

As the meeting with the bookstore owner began, she declared that she had completely sold out of all of the Malcolm X titles ordered last year, as well as the copies of Capitalism's World Disorder by SWP leader Jack Barnes.

She ordered a total of 30 books by Malcolm X, including 12 copies of Malcolm X Talks to Young People, and six each of By Any Means Necessary, Malcolm X on Afro-American History, and The Final Speeches.

She also ordered several copies each of How Far We Slaves Have Come, featuring speeches by Nelson Mandela and Fidel Castro, and Nelson Mandela Speaks, as well as Thomas Sankara Speaks and W.E.B. Dubois Speaks. To a new order of Capitalism's World Disorder she added The Changing Face of U.S. Politics, also by Barnes, and 10 copies of the Communist Manifesto.

The owner expressed interest in some of the newest Pathfinder titles, and decided to stock several copies of Making History and Che Guevara Talks to Young People.

Following our discussion of the intensified struggle by Palestinians for their national rights and the key importance of the working-class fight against anti-Semitism, she also decided to order a number of titles dealing with these questions, including Maxime Rodinson's Israel: a Colonial Settler State? and The Jewish Question by Abram Leon.

The buyer for another bookstore placed an order for $486 worth of Pathfinder books. While confining her order to Malcolm X and Cuba titles, she reported that she herself had read Capitalism's World Disorder, and thought it was a "great book" which should draw a wider audience among her customers in the future. This buyer is looking forward to another sales visit in six months' time.

During a sales visit to a bookstore in Atlanta's West End neighborhood, the bookstore manager, who was familiar with Pathfinder, took the catalog at the beginning of the meeting and started ordering books. Most of the titles he chose were by Malcolm X; he also listed five copies of How Far We Slaves Have Come and four copies of Che Guevara Speaks to Young People in an order totaling $768.

When a team of two Pathfinder supporters visited a chain store in a local mall, the buyer told them he was unable to order books directly from Pathfinder. However, in a follow-up phone call the next day, he stated that he planned to order Pathfinder books through a national distributor which stocks a number of Pathfinder titles.

Encouraged by these initial successes, Atlanta Pathfinder supporters have resolved to complete visits to the list of target bookstores before the end of Black History Month. We also hope to draw more local supporters of Pathfinder into this work.

*****
BY NAOMI CRAINE
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina--Pathfinder sales representatives in North Carolina opened a new account in January. The buyer at a Spanish-language book and music store that recently opened in Charlotte placed an order for 39 books and pamphlets, totaling $225. The 14 different titles, all in Spanish, included Che Talks to Young People; Capitalism's World Disorder; The Changing Face of U.S. Politics; The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State; Socialism on Trial; Socialism and Man in Cuba; and five copies of The 1985–86 Hormel Meat-packers Strike in Austin, Minnesota.

The store owner said she had hesitated ordering books for a similar store in Lumberton, doubting the interest among the farm workers, meat packers, and other laborers who constituted the majority of her customers. An initial order of $500 worth of books from various publishing houses had sold out in a few days, however.

Marla Puziss is a member of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1644. Naomi Craine is a member of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees Local 1501.

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