Vol. 73/No. 10      March 16, 2009

The January 24 through February 24 campaign successfully expanded the long-term readership of the paper, while at the same time supporters of the socialist newsweekly deepened their political relationships with readers through visits to discuss politics and introduce them to revolutionary books and activities in their areas. During the same period, another 100 people subscribed to the paper for the first time.

While the campaign is over, the work can be built upon and strengthened in the coming months.

Those who renewed expressed their appreciation for a paper that offers what no other publication does—the truth about the impact of the capitalist economic crisis and the resistance and struggles of workers worldwide.

A young Burkinabé worker and student from Newark, New Jersey, renewed for six months and commented about what he appreciated most about the Militant: “The articles about the five Cuban revolutionaries in U.S. jails. I learned something no other paper would teach me. It’s wrong what the U.S. government is doing to them.” He also decided to purchase the new Pathfinder titles Is Socialist Revolution in the U.S. Possible? and Capitalism and the Transformation of Africa.

Other readers wanted to discuss how to fight to build unions. “I work in a bakery. We lost the union five years ago. What can we do?” a Dominican worker asked New York supporters of the paper. After a discussion, he purchased a six-month renewal and asked them to return with books by Che Guevara and The First and Second Declarations of Havana.

In the coming months, supporters will be using the paper as the main instrument to campaign for Socialist Workers Party candidates in the United States and Communist League candidates in other countries, as they explain the need for workers to organize a revolutionary movement to take political power out of the hands of the capitalist class.

2009 'Militant' subscription renewal drive: final chart