Be The Revolution
Book Reading and Discussion with Jay Ponti
Please join us December 28th for an evening of conversation, community, and movement-building.
The event will feature a reading from Be The Revolution: How Occupy Wall Street and the Bernie Sanders Movement Reshaped American Politics, followed by a panel discussion focusing on “Why the left keeps losing, and what it will take to defeat fascism and stop the climate apocalypse.”
in discussion with Stanley Fritz (Vera Institute of Justice) and Antonio “Tony” Rosario (Teamsters Local 804)
About the Event:
Author Jay Ponti—organizer, impact producer, and strategist—will read from his debut book, which has been praised by Noam Chomsky, Cornel West, Mark Ruffalo, and other leading voices in politics, culture, and activism.
Jay has been deeply involved in frontline movements including Occupy Wall Street, Standing Rock, and the #BankExit fossil fuel divestment campaign. He served as a top surrogate organizer for Bernie Sanders’s 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns and currently is the Director of Campaigns with Turn Left PAC. In 2024, he directed Leonardo DiCaprio’s SaveYourVote.org initiative to combat voter suppression targeting Black and Brown communities in swing states.
Following the reading, Jay will be joined by local organizers and movement leaders to discuss the path forward for the left, examining strategies for building real power, rebuilding solidarity across movements, and winning against fascism, neoliberalism, and climate collapse.
Panelists:
Stanley Fritz is the Director of State and Local Policy at the Vera Institute of Justice. In his role, Stan supports initiatives across the Institute in building and executing strategic campaigns to pass policies aiming to reduce the harms of the criminal legal and immigration systems nationwide.
Before joining Vera in 2023, Stanley spent seven years at Citizen Action of New York as Political and Campaign Director. At Citizen Action, he served as the organization’s chief lobbyist and spokesperson and led its local, state, and federal endorsement processes.
In addition to his work at Vera, Stan authors a newsletter titled Let’s Not Be Trash, which seeks to generate discussions with men about patriarchy, race, and politics through essays, podcasts, and music.
Antonio “Tony” Rosario
Lead Organizer, Teamsters Local 804
Anthony “Tony” Rosario is a veteran Teamsters organizer based in New York and serves as the New York market lead, not the entire Northeast. He has more than three decades in the labor movement, with 31 years of organizing experience.
Tony began as a UPS worker and was a striker in the historic 1997 UPS strike at just 22 years old. He later became a UPS driver and then a full-time organizer. He was a leader in the landmark 2023 UPS contract campaign and is now helping lead the charge to organize Amazon delivery workers in New York City.
He is an active member of Teamsters for a Democratic Union and continues to play a key role in major union organizing campaigns across the region.
The evening will include a live Q&A and will close with a brief open share-out. Local activists are invited to share about their organizing efforts, campaigns, and ways to get involved.
★ PRAISE FOR BE THE REVOLUTION ★
“Be The Revolution offers important insights into some of the most significant developments in modern America, based on intimate knowledge and direct participation.”
— Noam Chomsky
“We should thank Jay for his life’s work. As an organizer, he is a wonder to watch in action. This accounting of events of the last ten years is a profound and seismic piece of American political and cultural history that has gone all but unnoticed in the mainstream. Be The Revolution is not about a battle of right or left, but the battle for humanity and the natural world. The timing of this book couldn’t be more right, nor the message more on point. Ken Burns should do a doc on this!”
— Mark Ruffalo
“Jay Ponti is a legendary long-distance revolutionary thinker and activist whose vision, analysis, and courage is a beacon of hope in our bleak times. Don’t miss this jewel of a book!”
— Dr. Cornel West
“Wopila (Thank you) for writing the blow-by-blow actions of the war we faced at the Oceti Sakowin Camp (Standing Rock). Jay Ponti had great influence on the two Declarations written at Oceti Sakowin, particularly the Divestment Treaty among Nations. The First Declaration defies the Doctrine of Discovery and illegal actions used by it. The second called for divestment by countries from fossil fuels, especially by DAPL and all other oil corporations. Thank you for your written words.”
— Phyllis Young, American Indian Rights Activist