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Black August

I am pleased to launch my blog, STEEL CASKETS, in August 2017, during Black August. Black August is recognized by many organizations around the country to commemorate revolutionary figures, including those who are incarcerated.

Black August is not a celebratory review of black history moments. Rather, Black August is a period of reflection, study, and renewal. It serves to instill a spirit of proud resistance to imperialism and oppression. It seeks to impart knowledge of self and self-discipline.

Black August was born in California’s San Quenton State Prison in 1979 when inmates began wearing black armbands and spent hours studying the writings of slain San Quenton inmate, George Jackson, and other black political thinkers.

George Jackson, while serving an indeterminate prison sentence for the petty stealing of $10 from a gas station, was killed by San Quenton prison guards on August 21, 1971. One year earlier on August 7, 1970, his younger brother, Jonathan Jackson, was killed by California police when he attempted to free him and other San Quenton inmates, James McClain, William Christmas, and Ruchell Magee, during the courthouse shooting at California’s Marin County Courthouse which resulted in the deaths of McClain, Christmas and Judge Harold Haley.

While Black August originated in the turbulent California prison camps, it has long since represented a resistance movement that extends beyond those serving prison sentences. Today Black August is a reflection of the tenacity and fortitude of those who despite all odds, never fail.

Black August

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