Revolution Books

Nestled in an alley within the heart of Durant Avenue is a small bookstore with a big vision for nothing less than revolution.

On Friday, Berkeley community members voiced concerns over President Donald Trump’s attempts to delegitimize votes in key swing states at a rally organized by Revolution Books and Refuse Fascism, a national political organization calling for Trump’s removal from office.

The urgency of Redmonde’s words was echoed by everything each speaker had to say, their presentations centering around both the personal and broader significance behind a bookstore that also has an active political presence in Berkeley and elsewhere.

I was ready to enter UC Berkeley’s liberal haven and to experience protest culture when I touched earth on ground zero: Sproul Plaza.

This past Sunday, Sept. 1, pro-Trump protesters once again attempted to march on our bookstore but were prevented from doing so by a defiant and joyous counter-protest. 

Owner Jeff Koren originally opened Sleepy Cat Books a decade ago in Orinda but moved to Berkeley because a new owner bought the building, and tenants who held month-by-month leases had to leave.

Atwood herself graced the campus with her presence and a keynote address entitled “The Handmaid’s Tale Escapes From Its Book” that was equal parts witty and genuine. The event was free to all students with a school ID, and leftover tickets were distributed — again, free of charge — to members of the general public.

The “No to Marxism in America 2” rally held at Civic Center Park was full of chanted slogans and loud arguments with counterprotesters, and there was more violence outside the police-monitored park.

Revolution Books held a press conference after a confrontation with self-proclaimed “western chauvinists” who threatened to burn down the bookstore Saturday.

Seven right-wing protesters tried and failed to enter a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution at Revolution Books, a well-known local communist bookstore, on Sunday evening.