Dice.camp

MikeDunnAuthorToday in Labor History July 4, 1977: The George Jackson Brigade planted a bomb at a power station in Olympia, Washington, in solidarity with a prison strike at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary. They were a revolutionary group founded in the mid-1970s, based in Seattle, named after George Jackson, a prisoner and Black Panther who was shot and killed during an alleged escape attempt at San Quentin Prison in 1971. The Brigade was composed of both communist and anarchist veterans of the women's liberation, LGBTQ and Black Nationalist movements.<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/workingclass" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#workingclass</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LaborHistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#LaborHistory</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/racism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#racism</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/liberation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#liberation</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/nationalism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#nationalism</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/georgejackson" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#georgejackson</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/lgbtq" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#lgbtq</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/anarchism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#anarchism</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/communism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#communism</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/feminism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#feminism</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/prison" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#prison</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/incarceration" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#incarceration</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/strike" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#strike</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/blackpanther" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#blackpanther</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/bomb" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#bomb</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/solidarity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#solidarity</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BlackMastadon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#BlackMastadon</a>

WerkstattGeschichteZum <a href="https://openbiblio.social/tags/AmnestyInternationalDay" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#AmnestyInternationalDay</a> heute ein Lektüretipp aus dem <a href="https://openbiblio.social/tags/Heftarchiv" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Heftarchiv</a>: »politische gefangene«, <a href="https://openbiblio.social/tags/WerkstattGeschichte" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#WerkstattGeschichte</a> 80/2019, im Thementeil (hg. v. Gabriele Metzler & Annelie Ramsbrock) Beiträge u.a. zu <a href="https://openbiblio.social/tags/Hungerstreik" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Hungerstreik</a>s Inhaftierter in der <a href="https://openbiblio.social/tags/WeimarerRepublik" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#WeimarerRepublik</a> & in <a href="https://openbiblio.social/tags/Nordirland" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Nordirland</a>, zu Kommunisten in <a href="https://openbiblio.social/tags/Haft" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Haft</a> im <a href="https://openbiblio.social/tags/Franco" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Franco</a>-<a href="https://openbiblio.social/tags/Spanien" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Spanien</a> u. zu <a href="https://openbiblio.social/tags/GeorgeJackson" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#GeorgeJackson</a>.▶️ <a href="https://werkstattgeschichte.de/alle_ausgaben/politische-gefangene/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank">https://werkstattgeschichte.de/alle_ausgaben/politische-gefangene/</a><a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/histodons" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@histodons</a> <a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/historikerinnen" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@historikerinnen</a> <a href="https://openbiblio.social/tags/histodons" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#histodons</a> <a href="https://openbiblio.social/tags/AmnestyInternational" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#AmnestyInternational</a> <a href="https://openbiblio.social/tags/PoliticalPrisoners" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#PoliticalPrisoners</a> <a href="https://openbiblio.social/tags/HumanRights" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#HumanRights</a> <a href="https://openbiblio.social/tags/AmnestyDay" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#AmnestyDay</a> <a href="https://openbiblio.social/tags/Prison" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Prison</a>

abolitionmediaLife Is Revolution: Jonathan Peter Jackson Jr. On the Family Legacy & the Struggle to Come On 12 March 2025, Unity of Fields interviewed Jonathan Peter Jackson Jr, an artist, scholar, son of martyr Jonathan Peter Jackson, and nephew of martyr George Lester Jackson. Born eight-and-a-half months after his father was assassinated—at the age of 17—leading the Marin County Courthouse Rebellion, Jonathan spent the first 19 years of his life living underground under an assumed identity. He has a forthcoming memoir, “Notes of a Radical Son,” with Seven Stories Press. You can support and follow his work on his Substack (<a class="" href="http://jonathanpeterjackson.substack.com" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">jonathanpeterjackson.substack.com</a>), his website (<a class="" href="http://jonathanpeterjackson.com" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">jonathanpeterjackson.com</a>) and his Twitter (<a class="" href="http://x.com/mudandmayo" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@MudAndMayo</a>).<a class="" href="https://unityoffields.net/jpj-jr-interview/#zine" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Download this article as a zine PDF to print/fold.</a> Unity of Fields: Thank you for doing this interview with us. It is such an incredible honor.Jonathan Peter Jackson Jr: It’s a pleasure to be here!UoF: George and Jonathan Jackson are like <a class="" href="https://unityoffields.net/2018-sinwar/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Yahya Sinwar</a> to us, and really their true story has never been told. <a class="" href="https://t.me/unity_of_fields/1178" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Fascism</a> is here, and it’s been here since before Trump won; it’s been here since amerika’s inception. Right now the people engaged in anti-imperialist resistance here are facing extreme levels of repression, from liberal reformists and fascists alike. Everything George and Jonathan theorized is more relevant than ever and needs to be applied to our conditions right now. So we’re really excited to get into all of this with you. I thought we could maybe start with you just setting some context for the readers about your life, and your father and George’s lives. Even the people who uphold them the most fiercely and see them as the historical throughline for our struggle today don’t necessarily know the Jacksons’ true history, especially the story of their martyrdom, outside of the state narrative. So whatever you are down to get into, we can start there.JPJ Jr: I think that the Jackson family has a really unique take on the discourse of fascism because, of course, George set that stage as he was writing about it earlier than 1969-70—he was writing about it earlier, but it was disseminated from him in those years. And as we should know, his general statement, the take-home magnet statement, is fascism is already here. So you know that in 1969 this is being identified by the radical edge of social movement. And then, of course, to pick up on what you said about people not knowing, and I write about this in the ’94 <a class="" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180218024815/https://www.sfbayview.com/2012/08/jonathan-jackson-jr-s-foreword-to-his-uncle-george-jacksons-soledad-brother-1994/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">foreword</a> [to Soledad Brother] as well, there are reasons why not only the narrative of the Jackson family isn’t known, and those reasons are many, but actually one of the main ones is that he identified fascism so early as a feature of late 20th-century capitalism. I don’t think there were any other translatable messages for popular discourse, any other Black or Black Radical and other radical voices that were talking about it at the time.I’m thinking of obviously King, etc. I do actually believe that King was coming close and would’ve gotten there fairly quickly, not just in his later years when he was speaking outright socialism, which is what got him killed, but he probably would’ve come around to using the F-word (as we can sort of shorthand it). So yeah, the long history of the Jackson family, I think I’m going to leave most of that for the memoir material, mostly because it’s such a cool story that I want people to experience it in text. We did a lot of research going all the way back to our origins in southern Louisiana and Virginia. But the narrative that people who are in the struggle and resisting need to know is that George’s formulation as a political prisoner who was kept in prison because he developed an ideology while incarcerated. Much like Malcolm X in that sense, without the religious aspect to it, but that is the reason why every time he came up on his indeterminate sentence, he was effectively rejected by the parole board. And so as his movement grew inside the prison walls and it was a class-based recognition of the incarcerated position, he became more well-known. And as a result, George got into a situation in Soledad where his mentor, a man by the name of <a class="" href="https://newafrikan77.wordpress.com/2018/01/13/january-13th-1970-soledad-assassination-of-w-l-nolen-cleveland-edwards-alvin-miller-soledad-prison-riot/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">W.L. Nolen</a>, was targeted and sniped by a prison guard.Then, as some of us know, and some of us are right now learning, the case of the Soledad Brothers emerged—a prison guard was found, strangled and thrown over the top tier of the wing. So at that point, George was on trial for his life and became very public. That is when the letters of Soledad Brother began to be collected, and the narrative and the compelling vision of his started gaining momentum as the trial proceeded. Because when you have an indeterminate sentence, you’re effectively up against the death penalty. But there were some tactical complications…One of the things that a lot of people don’t know, so I’ll pass on something new to people who are more familiar with the story, is that George never wanted to plead not guilty for that killing. And if you really stop to think about the true revolutionary spirit of that, you begin to understand George a little bit better. In this way I hope that can fill in a picture of George for the people. But nonetheless, the trial went on, and as it became apparent that things were maybe going sideways, the liberation of the Civic Center in Marin County, California, happened on August 7th, 1970, which is one of our greatest holidays in Black August. My father was killed during that attempt. That event was seismic in a way that is almost incomprehensible in today’s situation. And as you know, because we were talking about this the other day, one of my mantras is everything is situational.UoF: The subjective factor is the determining factor, as Mao said, and Dhoruba Bin Wahad has reminded us.JPJ Jr: I don’t think within the constraints of this format, and I always am very upfront about arguing against the constraints of any media format that I communicate in…I don’t think I can talk about it all. I can’t paint the entire picture of what was going on in 1970 and the aftermath of that event, but I can say that the way in which the event came to be and the events afterward effectively fractured the Black radical movement in this country. Then, of course, as a death blow, George was killed in an escape attempt a year and two weeks later on August 21st, 1971. Obviously, there are a lot of details and important points to talk about, but again, we have a time constraint here. We can fill those pictures out either with more questions or at another time.But certainly for those who are aware of prison resistance and struggle, Attica came about directly after the death of George Jackson. So I think that’s a good crib noted version of the Jackson significance on the world stage. The only other part I would add is that Soledad Brother caught fire, and it was internationally renowned almost instantly, and I think that had more to do with the time period. But it’s really important to grasp that the breadth of that book pulled in an international movement and in some ways continues to do so. That’s why I find it useful to talk about Soledad Brother before talking about Blood in my Eye. And I specifically mentioned that because I know Blood in my Eye speaks directly to people in an advanced stage of resistance, but I don’t think that you can really understand George Jackson until you have read Soledad Brother, because it is truly one of the great books of the 20th century. I also think that it probably will start stretching well into the 21st century…at least that has been my part of the legacy in terms of making sure that the family book stays out there and is read by as many people as possible. I do have something more to say about Blood in my Eye as we go on, but I’ll stop there, and let’s shift into a discursive mode perhaps.UoF: Thank you. That was great. I’m glad you pointed it out because far too few people understand that George never wanted to plead not guilty to killing the CO. And to comrades privately, he claimed it, of course. A lot of liberal solidarity with George was conditional on his innocence, on the story being that he was framed—not that he was resisting and that he was righteous for doing so. At a certain point, George was fighting with his lawyer because he wanted to use all his legal defense funds to launch his guerrilla group on the outside, right, instead of paying his legal bills? We can’t make our defense of political prisoners conditional on their innocence, because no revolutionary is innocent in the eyes of the state. We don’t support Assata because of her perceived innocence; we support her because she’s a revolutionary, and if she offed some fascists, well, we support her even more.You hit on this point in your <a class="" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180218024815/https://www.sfbayview.com/2012/08/jonathan-jackson-jr-s-foreword-to-his-uncle-george-jacksons-soledad-brother-1994/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">foreword</a> to Soledad Brother too, where you wrote, “George was universally misunderstood by the left and the right alike. As is the case with most modern political prisoners, nearly all of his support came from reformists with liberal leanings. It seems that they acted in spite of, rather than because of, the core of his message.” I’m reminded by the message from the Palestinian resistance: If you are in solidarity with our corpses but not our rockets, you are a hypocrite and not one of us. We have to transcend this liberal framework of solidarity that only defends colonized people, whether Palestinians in Gaza or Africans in amerika, when they are passive victims, not when they are resisting. Otherwise we will only be co-opted and our politics diluted.It goes without saying, but everyone reading this should read <a class="" href="https://redyouthnwa.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/george_l-_jackson_blood_in_my_eyebook4you-org.pdf" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Blood in my Eye</a>, <a class="" href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://files.libcom.org/files/soledad-brother-the-prison-letters-of-george-jackson.pdf" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Soledad Brother</a>, and your forthcoming book. (Please make note of the Jackson Family’s request to not buy new copies of Blood in my Eye from Black Classic Press until things are made right with the Family.)JPJ Jr: Once you’ve read Soledad Brother and Blood in my Eye, or if you just read one or even part of one, you’re going to want to understand what happened. And it’s really important for young people in the struggle to understand what happened during that period of history and what was learned and what was lost. Sadly, one of the effects of having baby boomer leftists run the show is that a lot of them aren’t that eager to let that history be known. So if you want to know the source, “Why don’t I know about George Jackson, what happened on August 7th, 1970?” Listen, I’m Gen X. It was our parents that did not allow that message to get out.UoF: For sure. Reading Blood in my Eye, having access to that as a teenager, is what made me a communist.JPJ Jr: Beautiful.UoF: If George was writing that fascism is here in 1970, we have to understand which stage of fascism we are in today, and develop a corresponding level of resistance. At his time, there was an anti-imperialist underground of active guerrilla formations—not the case today, but I think people are beginning to ask these questions again because of the escalating repression and because the Al-Aqsa Flood put the question of armed resistance back on the table. In our view, the contradictions are really intensified internationally and domestically right now, the most they have been in our lifetimes.JPJ Jr: Fully agree. But here’s what I think about that, and you’ll see this specificity with me over and over and over again because maybe it’s my training at the discursive level. I think the term at hand and what needs to be remembered always is apply. Because the thing is, the situation when I wrote the <a class="" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180218024815/https://www.sfbayview.com/2012/08/jonathan-jackson-jr-s-foreword-to-his-uncle-george-jacksons-soledad-brother-1994/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">foreword</a> [to Soledad Brother] in 1994, the situation when George was writing in ’68 or ’71, it is not quite accurate to just say he was writing about things that are happening today. That doesn’t work, at least not in my philosophical understanding about how time works. And so what we have to understand is how to apply these things to a world that George obviously could have never imagined and that I couldn’t have imagined when I wrote that foreword at 23 years old.I also believe that it is our job as leftists who don’t shy away from confrontation and conflict when it’s necessary to do a better job of translating of our situation and what is going on for us at the moment. Because in general, when people understand something clearly, there is a degree, however slight, of a shift towards the progressive stance…and they have to retreat a little bit off of their total petty bourgeois line. A lot of times people, and I’m talking about the general populace here, will shrink back from how we should say UGW [urban guerrilla warfare] or any other form that leftist resistance can take, and not when they see state militarism. But that’s a translation issue. And it’s a communication issue because what we need on the left is for people to understand when everyone walks out of work, or at least let’s just say 65% of people walk out of work, marching down the street, there needs to be a degree of translation so that the extra 15-20% can join the 65%. It is not how they literally view it. It’s a translation issue. They don’t understand the context.UoF: Absolutely. We are in a constant process of raising consciousness that demands we be explicit and clear with what we are saying. For example, it’s important we are precise in that we are not trying to make Amerika a “better place,” or build socialism in Amerika—no, we are trying to destroy Amerika. And I think it’s condescending to assume the masses are too dumb to grasp these ideas, which is the defeatist—and elitist—outlook some organizers have. Maybe Ivy League college students and Democrat voters don’t grasp these ideas, but some portions of the masses absolutely do. During my time inside, my fellow inmates absolutely grasped political ideas; in fact they hungered for political education. If Ho Chi Minh could translate Marx into Vietnamese, teach peasants how to read, and start a people’s war…if George could organize entire prison populations…then we can definitely overcome the obstacles of Amerikan illiteracy and stop making up defeatist cop-outs.But not everyone sees it this way, and not everyone doing “revolutionary” organizing in this country even believes that revolution is possible here. Which logically should be our starting point—that revolution and victory are possible, and they are possible within our lifetime. But there is this swath of “revolutionaries” here in Amerika who see the task of making the revolution and doing the fighting and the dying as the task of exclusively the Third World, which is obviously very racist and social-imperialist in essence.It would be suicidal to pretend this divide does not exist in today’s nascent revolutionary movement. It does exist, and there are people who say they’re part of this movement who aren’t actually in it for the same reasons as us. Publicly addressing that isn’t divisive or sectarian; it’s a necessary debate to have, a contradiction to draw out into the open. Because a lot of the counterinsurgency we’re experiencing isn’t necessarily being enacted directly by the state’s repressive apparatus—it’s being enacted by people <a class="" href="https://unityoffields.net/pcc-la/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">within</a> the movement who want to frame themselves as the “good” protestors and us as the “bad” <a class="" href="https://unityoffields.net/max-ajl-interview-with-samidouns-charlotte-kates-on-repression-resistance/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">militants</a>. They want to keep demanding reform, and the state wants them to keep demanding reform, and they are mad that we are building revolution. Actual revolution, not some faraway abstraction.I mean, it reminds me of how George said, if you could define fascism in one word, that word would be reform. The development of fascism between George’s time and now has been fascism constantly reforming itself.JPJ Jr: Well, okay, so let’s look at that…let’s say a few words about the Black Panther Party then, because I left that out of the initial history. There were the divisions within the party, petty squabbles. That’s where George’s quote comes from, “Settle your quarrels. Come together, understand the reality of our situation, understand that fascism is already here, that people are already dying who could be saved, that generations more will live poor butchered half-lives if you fail to act. Do what must be done, discover your humanity and your love in revolution.” But a lot of that has to get done directly through IRL channels, so to speak. And so one of the things that the establishment is very comfortable with is that we are not communicating through IRL channels very often. The tendency to have leftist interventions be a hindrance to progress is something that the Panthers dealt with. And so people should study the history of the Black Panther Party and then come to people in Gen X to break down some of the mistakes that those books made. Because a lot of the books, they just don’t know. You can interview people till the cows come home, but until you’re talking to me or somebody who was a direct descendant of that, you can’t really know what the history was.UoF: Absolutely. It’s hard to filter through the historical revisionism, especially when this entire generation of Third Worldist revolutionaries and communist revolutionaries within the US were either imprisoned or assassinated or exiled or neutralized into liberal academics. Speaking of academics, I know your memoir will get into your relationship with Angela Davis while you were growing up, but do you want to speak to that at all here, how she fits into your family’s history?JPJ Jr: Let’s take a pause there because we’ll get sidetracked otherwise. Of course, I’m always open to speaking about Angela, but we have to be a little more specific. And the reason for that is that Angela is such a polarizing figure…she’s a receptacle for misunderstanding. Also, and she and I have talked about this, she’s a receptacle for a degree of blind faith. So I always want to be very specific when I’m talking about Angela, because for some people in their stages of development, Angela’s voice is really, really important.She’s done some really substantial work, but it has to be understood not as an end game but as a stage of development…because Angela came from a very bourgeois background. Angela worked within the confines of the institution for the better part of, somebody else could probably tell me better, 45, 40 years, something like that. And Angela retains her emeritus gold card. Okay, that’s not talking shit. That’s just the reality.So I would take it one step further than your formulation of liberal professors and say that radical professorship is nowhere, man. There’s functionally no difference between them. I would leave out maybe one or two from there, Robin DG Kelly being one. But there is functionally no difference between radical professorship and liberal professorship. They can come at me all they want. I’ll sit up there like the Chomsky/Foucault debate if they want to. But I would say that from my position and, getting into a little bit of my biography, being banished from the academy after having completed my doctoral work but essentially living as an outsider working person, hustling to get by, etc. but having gotten the training that was necessary to do what it is that they do, I could tell you, and I went to the academy at the highest level possible. I have three master’s degrees and a PhD from Berkeley, Cornell, and a Columbia satellite in Europe. So there’s no part of the institution that I didn’t see. And I can tell you with full conviction, radical professorship actually doesn’t even exist.See, when you work in service of an institution, that institution coerces you in ways that you’re not even aware of. So let’s just take, for example, ‘time.’ :et’s just get down to everyday lived experience. Your life is run by the schedule of the institution. What has more power over you than that? The way that you experience your day-to-day, year-to year-life. There are times when I can’t even talk to the few academics that I need to have a conversation with about whatever it is, whether it’s the NBA finals or the epistemology of something. They can’t do it…why…they’re grading finals or whatever it is. At that basic fundamental level, you are being controlled by a billion-dollar institution. So yeah, great armchair. It’s very nice. Enjoy your privilege, live behind your walls. But that’s only part of it. The real issue with academia, and I talk about that occasionally online on Twitter just as a jest, but it’s not really a jest…We actually really do need People’s Universities. And the great part is…guess what? The infrastructure already exists. It’s campuses all over the country.UoF: Yeah. I mean, I didn’t realize how much time you’ve spent in the academy, and I’m curious what your assessment is of the Student Intifada, and the ongoing discursive battle over its legacy. Unity of Fields writes a lot about the Student Intifada and has come out of the Student Intifada in some ways.JPJ Jr: Well, specifically in this case, what is needed at this particular junction on March 12th nearing 4pm in the afternoon Pacific time, is that a charismatic, media-friendly spokesperson needs to step forward…not on their own, but as a product of an ask by a committee. Do you understand what I’m saying?To address the media, and by media I mean broad scope media, both mainstream media and social media. I have seen, and again, I’m old enough to be in a father role to the students…I’m old enough to be their dad, so obviously I have concerns, etc. We can talk about that in a minute…But the tactical response right now is you’ve got to address the media. And I saw Mahmoud Khalil’s lawyers’ press conference today, and it was fine and very functional, but it is not enough, and it’s not actually coming from the student-led orgs. I saw that last summer. There’s always a juncture, there’s always a point in time in which that is needed. Last summer, I felt that things began to fray a little bit because of that. You would see a few people talking outside their tents. You would see this and that people addressing the microphone. But I didn’t see any form of actuated leadership. I am not chronically online, but I’m pretty online. You got to remember, I’m coming out of a 10-year isolation where I was living in a house in the woods. So I’m pretty savvy about my online shit, and I just didn’t see it. Maybe it happened and it didn’t pass my radar. But if you don’t do it early, it’s too late.So somebody’s got to step up, and somebody has to take the slings and arrows. Somebody has to be able to handle the slings and arrows, unlike the usual White House press secretary across administrations. I mean, they can’t handle anything. Let’s be real for anybody who’s listening to this: if you have any type of organization, the one or two people that could handle that role…you know who they are…okay, ask ’em. No, everybody can’t fulfill every role in a movement. It’s very important on a basic tactical level to understand that. I mean, you mentioned urban guerrilla warfare, so we’re talking basic Ho Chi Minh tactics here, Uncle Ho. There has to be a lack of ego in the group such that you can identify people’s talents and put them in their roles, ask them, or better ask them to be in their roles. That’s one of the problems with the Panthers, by the way. It was too top-down. People were getting told to do things that they A: didn’t necessarily want to do, and B: that they weren’t equipped to do. How’s that going to work out?So can you ask me a specific question about Angela so we can at least talk specifically about her and then we can move on?UoF: I remember you messaged me when she appeared at one of the Gaza solidarity encampments, I believe it was at a university in Colorado. Did you want to speak to that?JPJ Jr: Yeah, absolutely. So if I remember correctly, and actually it was around that juncture that we were just talking about, the crucial juncture of having a spokesperson out front. You would see other public figures come and talk, and it was all very fine and gray. And then somebody asked Angela to step up and say a few words. There’s one thing you have to understand about Angela: she is incredibly generous, and also her ability to speak is just almost unsurpassed in public, right? Her ability, I said that backwards, but her ability to speak in public is almost unsurpassed. She is adept at that, let’s say it that way, because she’s been in front of microphones for so long, and she also just has a natural gift of communication.So I am almost positive from having hung around when this sort of thing happened that she was in the area to do something for a local university or something, and they asked her to. But in a very similar way…and maybe you can refresh my memory, something like this went down on the NYU campus too, where a boldfaced name got up and was speaking words, and I believe it might’ve even been within the encampment, although it may have been outside the gates. And when the videos came out, I’m asking—why are they speaking? Somebody said, ‘well, they were asked to by the student group’…but that was the wrong thing to do at the time, and it was the wrong thing to do for Colorado too. The voice has to come from within the movement. So in other words, even if I showed up to…what was the most strident campus in California?UoF: Cal Poly Humboldt.JPJ Jr: God bless those brave soldiers.UoF: Yes. They’re the fucking best.JPJ Jr: We love that. So let’s just take, for example, a hypothetical. I love hypotheticals. Very necessary within your organizational meetings to have space for people to speak hypothetically, by the way. But let’s just take a hypothetical. I’m cruising through the area on my drive from the Pacific Northwest, where I’m based, down to the Bay Area, and they ask me to stop by right when I am around. I’m not jumping up on a microphone now. Is it Angela’s responsibility to say “no thank you”? Yes, it is. She should have known better, but it also has to come from the organizational side, which is a direct edge—”We love you, dah, dah, dah, dah…We’d love you to write something, but we’re going to pass on the press conference right now or the public speech opportunity right now.’ I think it’s because people deify her or whatever. And I guess there’s some logic to that. But the bottom line is, she’s generationally wrong for that discourse specifically because she’s a baby boomer. She’s three generations removed. Okay? So that’s why I had the reaction online that I did, which is essentially FFS, right? Oh, for fuck’s sake.Because we can do better. We can do a lot better. We have to do better than that. And that completely disregards the content of the speech because, in many ways, I don’t give a shit. I know what she says, and a lot of it is righteous discourse, albeit just discourse. But let’s put it this way: if you need a space cadet glow, go listen to Angela. If you’re feeling down in the dumps about your position, and don’t get me wrong, you will feel down in the dumps about your subject position. That’s why I always say a sense of humor is one of the most important tools for any revolutionary or anyone on the left, because you’re going to take a lot of losses. So if you’re in that position, go to her, but she is not a spokesperson for a Gen Z movement, she just isn’t. I’d be hard-pressed to think that I am because I’m two generations removed at the most, it should be a millennial. Does that make sense?So I mean, before we move on, and then I actually do want to move on from Angela, because the thing is, speaking also in the hypothetical, and I think people will understand this more once they study the Jackson story, is in some ways if my father didn’t exist, if my father hadn’t taken over that courthouse at 17 years old, by the way, you wouldn’t even know who Angela is. Period.UoF: Exactly. But so many more people know who she is than who your father is or who George is.JPJ Jr: We’ve got to be very clear here. We are not right now dissing or denigrating Angela, because in public there’s no need to talk about that. But what I’m saying is that if you live in that “what if” universe for a second, Angela would’ve been a very distinguished, probably leftist professor at a very nice university, and maybe in some ways, obviously, we would’ve suffered for that a little bit. And because Women, Race, and Class, etc. wouldn’t have come out, and her abolition discourse probably. Well, if those hasn’t come out, they wouldn’t have gotten the widespread understanding that they’ve gotten. And by the way, Angela is very generous in talking about that in her speeches. She says constantly that if it wasn’t for my dad and George, but really my dad, she wouldn’t have had the opportunity that she has had. So it should be sort of understood in that context that she’s an important voice. She’s done really good work. I don’t agree with her on most of what she says about prison abolition. I find it reactionary, and utopian. But that’s okay. We can work through that, and that’s not to say that we shouldn’t completely dismantle the system of incarceration. That’s a given. But I just happen to find her voice on that to both lack precision and not go far enough. And I find it to be reactive against capitalism rather than progressive forward. But that’s another topic for another day, perhaps.UoF: How do you see the prison as a site of struggle? You mentioned Attica, there have been a lot of uprisings in the New York state prisons very recently.JPJ Jr: Well, as far as I know, I think there’s a lot of uprisings happening in pockets all over the country. So there’s that. And I also don’t think that incarcerated populations are sort of, what did you say? You said it was ‘a’ site of struggle? I’m just going to add to your discourse a little bit. I don’t think it’s a site of the struggle. I think it’s the site of the struggle. I think it is the epicenter of the struggle. Because the thing is: incarcerated peoples are the manifestation of all of the things wrong with capitalist society. And so the unification and resistance of incarcerated peoples is actually the essence of leftist struggle.Because if you’re locked up, it is for a reason. And that reason, going back to George Jackson, is because of capitalism. Yes, racism, sexism, and homophobia—all of those things play a role, important roles, but they’re not the reason. The reason is more macro. And that was George’s brilliance. And that’s why the movement, the prisoner’s rights movement in the early sixties began, because they were able to talk to people about ‘Why are you in here?’Especially if consciousness has happened, or is in the process of happening, there does have to be some degree of political consciousness. You can’t rebel against nothing. It is really important for people to understand that. Otherwise, it just becomes a personal rebellion. And we start talking about psychology…Unfortunately, third spaces are mostly taken away from Americans. And so that’s another thing that I would say to leftists and organizers and resistors out there, which is Occupy. We’ve all seen the fucking bullshit about Occupy, but I’m going to use the word anyway. Occupy your third spaces that are still available. I don’t give a fuck if it’s a Barnes and Noble, it probably shouldn’t be, but I’m just saying if you live in a rural area or whatever and don’t have other access, occupy that. I guarantee you the person serving coffee to you behind the counter at the Starbucks is more leftist than in some of the other places that you could congregate. And if they’re not, you’ll convert ’em. But for real, occupy your third spaces because through the elevation of political consciousness, the entire space will become yours.UoF: Yeah, for sure. No, exactly. It’s all about occupying buildings.JPJ Jr: It is all about occupying buildings of all kinds. And I mean, I think we should talk about Columbia and Humboldt and all the other campuses, and there are many where building occupation is a tactic.I’m not updated with what’s going on right now in terms of that, but I can tell you that in the past, when I was in my thirties, so you’re talking nineties, early 2010s, what have you, building occupation was a standard thing for us…squatting. And that certainly also used to be the case in London and Detroit…it’s less possible in New York now…but certainly in all cities and some rural areas, it’s totally a tactic, but first of all, you have to learn how to do it. And the way that you learn how to do it is by occupying a space that isn’t contested in the immediate. You get the point, right? Which is, if occupation is your part of the movement, you don’t want the big show to be the first time that you’re doing it. Right? Do you understand what I’m saying?UoF: Yeah. That makes sense. And there are limitations to just defending a static space like a building or encampment rather than choosing when and where you strike your enemy and then retreat, which is like basic principles of guerrilla warfare.JPJ Jr: Yes. If occupation is your thing, make occupation your thing. There are all kinds of abandoned areas and even areas in plain sight, like I said, with the people living in the van across the way because there’s a certain toughness that’s involved in that kind of action and a certain mindset, more importantly, that you need to be accustomed to.UoF: Maybe changing the topic a bit, but one thing I also wanted to ask you about is your art and the role of cultural reproduction in the revolution. Your work is really incredible. We should include it in the artwork for the zine version of this interview.JPJ Jr: First of all, thank you very much. And I will say that it is not necessarily off-topic, because one of the main tactics of artists is to occupy spaces and work in them. So I can’t count on one hand the number of times that that was just the way we did it. I came up, it was a really vibrant scene in the late 2000s, in the late aughts, as they say, of Black artists in Baltimore. And we would just occupy spaces, frankly. So it’s not necessarily off-topic. You guys should use my piece, Saint Jerome in the Wilderness. And if you’ll remember, that is an emaciated figure chained to the floor. And so yeah, Saint Jerome in the Wilderness, I believe I executed that in 2022.UoF: Yeah, I’m looking at it right now. Beautiful.JPJ Jr: I did that painting for Ruchell Magee. By the way, Ruchell Magee’s holiday is coming up. We’re going to be doing a little something, and everybody should do a little something on his birthday every year, which is this Sunday, March 16th. Ruchell did 53 years in some of the most brutal penitentiaries in the world for the movement. He could have gotten out of it, but he didn’t. He took the weight. So I did that painting for him. All of my work has heavy political content, but I think this piece in particular speaks more volumes than I could say about it in general. Artists are integral to the world, and I’m about to get controversial here because I have found that in my online discourse that, unfortunately, leftists have not, by and large, acquired Gramsci, which means they don’t understand the nature of cultural production within any kind of capitalism. Forget even postmodern capitalism.I think the most important part to remember about artistic production, I’m talking real art here, not commercial art, is not simply a reflection always of the world as it exists. I know that viewpoint is controversial, and I know that with a lot of classically trained or just trained Marxists, that will ruffle some feathers. But again, I don’t really give a damn because they don’t know what they’re talking about. I can always tell what people have read by the shit that comes out of their mouth. My grandpa used to say a version of that, Lester Jackson. He always used to tell my cousin Billy that. Anyway…what I want people to remember about artistic production within all progressive movements is that it is not simply a reflection. It can also be a production of a vision. It can shape the world and what is coming. That’s what many Marxists don’t understand, at least what I call vulgar Marxists.UoF: Of which there are many, unfortunately.JPJ Jr: Of which there are many, and I got to be frank, it’s fucking tragic because that discourse has been around for 70, 80 years, and it is just not being taught. One of the reasons it’s not being taught, again to beat the dead horse, is because the truly radical voices of my generation were silenced, not just from the right, but also from the left. I want you to name a protégé of Angela Davis, not someone who uses her work, but a direct protégé. I’ll pause….Okay. That’s a problem.So at its highest level, art can be an incredibly powerful thing to organize around. In fact, it can be the most powerful thing to organize around, hence the need for People’s Museums. And guess what? They already exist, the infrastructure. I’ll say the same thing I said about college campuses. The infrastructure for People’s museums already exists, but you cannot go forward without proper aesthetic components because if you do, you’re improperly recognizing the stage of postmodern capitalism that we are in now.The main problem with leftist progressive movements is that there is a vacuum of leadership. We have a rudderless ship, as they say on the seas, and that’s some scary shit if you can’t steer your boat, or even if the till or the wheel is there. Let’s just say that the wheel is there, so the infrastructure exists to steer the ship, and if nobody knows how or if nobody is at the wheel, you have real-world problems. I don’t see a lot of Gen X, millennial, Gen Z leadership…it’s maybe not appropriate for Gen Z yet, but there is a vacuum of voices that are stepping up or can step up. There’s some desire to step up, but with no support, you’re just speaking into a void. Yeah.UoF: Absolutely. Anarchists tend to diagnose the existence of leadership as the problem when, like you said, the absence of radical leadership is the problem. There are self-appointed “movement leaders,” but they are mostly liberal opportunists, and these opportunists take the lead precisely because there are these structural vacuums. We need to create an alternative leadership that isn’t NGO shit and also isn’t this anarchistic no-leadership shit. And like I said earlier, we lost a whole generation of revolutionary leadership to COINTELPRO. Is there anyone today you do consider a leader?JPJ Jr: No. No. At least, I mean, in the US, in the Global South, it’s different. I try to stay very specific to my situation because I am not a liberal. One of the lessons I learned after coming back from the Middle East is that whenever I would communicate back, my comrades there were so involved in their struggle that they just didn’t have the lens to lend a perspective to my situation.That’s okay. In fact, that means it’s radical. And let’s forget about expressions of solidarity for a minute. That’s important, but let’s just suspend that for a second. I try to stay really, really involved in my particular situation, which is being a Black Radical in the United States of America. So that’s what I mean when you asked your question, and I said, ‘No,’ I mean, ‘No,’ fair enough. We aren’t at that stage here. Internationally, we’re talking about some different things. And yes, Hamas and the leadership there are doing a fantastic job, I think, just to put it in general terms. You know what I’m saying? And I very well may be, I mean, I could be sitting there right now and have a different view, but I’m just saying that in terms of my context. I yearn for leadership voices here in the States, as you call it, the belly of the beast. The reason I yearn for that is twofold. Either A: I want to sort of follow what it is that they’re saying and respond, ‘Yeah, right on! I’m down with that! How can I help?’ Or B: cut them to shreds. I mean, deconstruct every single thing that they’re talking about…and everybody would benefit from it, probably including them.But the tragic part of this is a lot of this stuff currently being spouted is beneath my comment, frankly, when you see some university poser or something like that, getting up there talking loud…UoF: Absolutely. I want to be respectful of your time, but do you have any last words?JPJ Jr: We can definitely pick up some threads at another time. But the crucial thing is that my book, Notes of a Radical Son, is coming out next spring with Seven Stories Press. It was originally supposed to be this fall, but there have been some, how should we say, there’ve been a few struggles with constraints of the published industry, between the story they want vs. the story I need to tell.  Of course I lived the first 19 years of my life under an assumed identity as a result of August 7th. I think it will be really interesting for people to read about my experience of the revolution.UoF: We can’t wait.JPJ Jr: Thank you. Yeah, it should be great. One way or another, it is coming out in the spring. So whether it’s by traditional route, and I signed a really good book contract with a lot of distribution…So whether it’s by that route or if stuff just gets too heavy, we’ll either go to another smaller house that can get it done quickly, or I’ll just start serializing it on my Substack. By the way, if people want to keep up with what I’m doing day to day, that’s my primary mode of expression right now. And it’s just under my full name, Jonathan Peter Jackson.The other important part of that memoir, I speak of ‘that’ memoir, it’s been done for five months, so I kind of think about it as ‘that’ book now. But I guess it’s ‘this’ book…the historical section about where the Jacksons come from is probably one of the more important anchors of the story, because California is only a middle part of the entire legacy as it stands now. And so that part and my 10 years in seclusion, I think are things that people will really want to try to acquire and understand because I don’t make moves lightly. When I decided to withdraw from society, it was for very good reasons. I think that I came to understand a lot during that period. As you know, I’m always talking to you about trekking and the need to be outside in your natural environment.The main message that I would give about getting outside is that everyone in the larger progressive movement has a role to play. Nobody has no role to play. It’s really foolish to think that everyone has to do the same and think the same things and think the same way in order to bring about the desired results. That notion is being discouraged within the current form of how we’re interacting with each other. But it’s a really important thing to remember that in a larger social movement, everybody has a different role to play. So play a role. And if you don’t know your role, trust people that you trust to help you find your role.UoF: Absolutely, we need to commit our lives to the struggle and find our role if we don’t know it already, because we all have one. Life is revolution, to quote George. And the world will die if we don’t read and act out its imperatives.JPJ Jr: It’s a way of life for all of us. It’s very complicated. I mean, it’s simple in its conception, and it’s simple, certainly in its realization and its goal, but the enactment of the struggle is very nuanced. And nuance is a thing that we don’t know how to talk about anymore because it’s been hijacked by our devices. So the struggle, and again, you’ll find this in advanced resistance movements in, say, the West Bank and Gaza, where there’s an understanding of the nuance of life, you can pray, and if that brings you solace, you should pray. Whether that’s to Allah or Marx, hell yeah. Okay. But it’s complicated, and it’s nuanced, and it requires community organization.UoF: Definitely, it’s complicated—moving from just reading and discussing these ideas to applying them materially, especially in the belly of the beast. A revolution here is going to look like no revolution that has ever taken place before. I mean, there are experiences we can learn from elsewhere, but it’s going to be so unique in this prison house of nations at such an acute degree of capitalist development. But we’ll only learn by trying.JPJ Jr: Yeah, absolutely. I’ll hijack a line from some show I was watching where they were talking about, ‘Well, it looks like it’s going to be another tough year.’ And the guy says, ‘Well, to be honest, I don’t remember a year that wasn’t tough.’ You can bring that down to the daily level. It’s literally a daily struggle. So let’s pick this back up next time.UoF: We’re excited to talk to you again soon, and to read your book. Thank you so, so much. 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abolitionmediaAttica was built to break men brutally, particularly Black men. Orisanmi Burton’s book, Tip of The Spear, draws a direct line from the “European trade in enslaved Africans,” to the bowels of D block Yard in Attica, during contemporary times where the cruelty is still ongoing and fresh. Humanhood required a response to this brand of oppression. “ATTICA! ATTICA!” The world came to shout.Tip of The Spear speaks in the narrative voice of those men in Attica who refused to be vanquished. One of those voices is mine, although echoed from afar in time. The “Long Attica Revolt” sits inside a timeless context of human suffering and revolution. It “speaks to the very essence of this psychological war,” Burton wrote. Tip of The Spear captures this war of ideologies fought on the base level of society, where the bottom is filled with beaten Black flesh, gray ash, and rusty red coagulated blood. Over 40 years after the Attica uprising, Burton wrote my life on the pages of his work with their pain. This book review is my lineage, link and lock to the legacy of resistance! ATTICA! ATTICA!Attica is a “site of war,” writes Burton. Attica was one of America’s last strongholds for patriarchal pride and white supremacy to operate with complete immunity to the law. After the Jim Crow era, Attica was the criminal justice system end game for Black men who resisted neo-slavery as a substitute for their civil liberties.The societal structure for Jim Crow didn’t crumble. Instead, it evolved to criminalize being Black and poor. Then came mass incarceration. It began during the 1970s when former President Nixon declared a war on drugs and crime, thus Black people. Christian Parenti’s Lockdown America exposes former President Nixon as a racist when he, “invoked the specter of street crime, political chaos and narcotics abuse––much of which was thinly veiled code for “the race problem.” The political and social climate was akin to the social lynching Hilter launched on the Jewish people during the Holocaust through concentration camps.Attica as a physical structure was designed to contain a human body in a cage. Each cell was meant to break the man inside those bodies it imprisoned. Finally, the overall desired effect was to breed what was left inside the body into a beast of burden. This process was all the more brutal when the bodies were Black. Burton calls this process of making a man into an object, “thing-a-fication.”The prison’s organic culture of normalized cruelty against its influx of Black men as a result of Nixon’s war on crime and drug policies, produced prisoners like George L. Jackson. He was a revolutionary and theorist who was murdered in August 1971 by prison guards at San Quentin prison. Burton offers Jackson’s insight as to how Black people were to survive in prison under such conditions. “The Black commune is capable of nurturing a revolutionary culture and alternate modes of collective life.” Burton, George Jackson, and I don’t glorify the violence of the uprising on either side. Rather, we are romanticizing the humanity involved that came with struggling to survive the massacre.No one heals in a steel cage. Instead you survive, and become further broken inside of it. Or, you harden from building yourself up against the bars. “It’s the other kind of killing, the kind that assails the body but truly targets the personality, spirit,” Burton reports. I agree because I was “one of those boys.” Burton wrote that people never came back the same.In 1994, I was 16 years old, incarcerated, and sentenced to one to three years for drug possession. While detained on Rikers Island, I mentally and emotionally snapped after being locked in solitary confinement and repeatedly sexually assaulted by the Emergency Service Unit (ESU), while there.“They herded us in like animals and forced us to lie on top of each other while guards made cruel and racist remarks like ‘Put that dick in him n**ger.’ Prisoners who refused were beaten mercilessly,” reported Black Panther Albert Woodfox. It’s the same way they did it to me. Except we were made to stand up naked and heel to toe.From Rikers Island, I was shipped to an adult male prison, where I was supposed to be rehabilitated. No such thing happened. Instead, I was further animalized and released back into society, an 18-year-old wounded animal. A year later in 1997, I became a 19-year-old killer and was sentenced to 25 to life. Next stop for me was Attica.Within the 30-foot-high gray walls of Attica Correctional Facility, brown and orange bricks stand sturdy, stacked and stained with human blood. Inside these draconian cell blocks, close and far-off screams shattered the mandate for silence while you suffer slow. Seeing the photos of Attica in Burton’s book transported me back to the first night I arrived there.In 1998, the bright white lights of the newly renovated hospital were a fake out for what laid down the hall. The heat came rushing at me from the hallway and yelled! “WELCOME TO HELL ASSHOLE!” Upon stepping out the hospital corridor, any hope I had of leaving Attica alive evaded me.The ideology of Attica has always been one of human torture. White guards habitually raped, murdered and brutalized Black flesh to emphasize terror and maintain control directly over the prison population. Burton elaborates that, “The White man’s ongoing effort to maintain racial and gender dominance helps explain why the political repression of Black men often takes explicitly sexualized forms.” Tip of The Spear collapses how we think about time, space, and the sequence of events that connect them. Instead it offers a narrative of a timeless suffering and struggle that roars in a single voice of resistance against an on going oppression. ATTICA! ATTICA!One of those voices was mine. After numerous racist and sexual remarks about my anatomy during strip frisks, I rebelled.“HEY FUCK FACE. ON THE NOISE OR ELSE I’M GOING TO TAKE ARTHUR’S DICK AND SHOVE IT DOWN YOUR THROAT,” yelled a guard to another prisoner being strip-frisked in the booth next to me.Another time a different guard said to me during a strip frisk. “Arthur not for nothing, but if another Attica happens, just don’t fuck me up the ass with that n**ger stick huh.” Then he spit some tobacco off to the side and threw my underwear at me.That’s where I drew the line. There would be no next time. I decided to wage my own personal war for dignity and respect. “They will never count me among the broken men,” George Jackson wrote. I would fall into the ranks of my revolutionary forefather and resist the strip frisk.In November of 2002, I refused to be strip frisked after a visit with two women friends of mine. I said “No!” when I was ordered to remove my clothing in the small secluded booth. This activated the actors of the carceral state to beat me up, forcibly rip the clothing from my body, and probe my body cavities for contraband. No contraband was ever found. Yet, I laid there beneath the soles of their steel toe boots, a Black massive heap of hurting flesh. I recovered my pride as a man, because I took a stand.“I became a man in Attica.” Despite its horrific history, “it’s where I grew up.” In 2015, that’s what I told journalist Alexander Nazaryan from Newsweek about my 13 years at Attica. It’s where I refused to be any longer what Burton refers to as “one of those boys that something happened too.” ATTICA! ATTICA!In 2010, I left Attica hard as the rock I carried in my soul (see below), and wounded. Upon entering Coxsackie Correctional Facility, I found that the tension of Attica had tapered off somewhat. Things looked different, but inwardly felt the same. Despite the “Programming Pacification,” Burton explains, the atrocities didn’t stop. The oppression just changed appearance to the same effect. “The war was not over. . . it had only transformed in sophisticated ways,” Burton wrote.Burton has convincingly proven that what happened at Attica in 1971 and the events leading up to its eruption wasn’t just a shameful episode in time. “State actors waged an imperialist war, a war of capture and conquest that had the production of slaves as its unspoken object,” Burton wrote about the premise of systematically putting Black men in prison. Attica also represents a deeply encoded strand of resistance within our DNA to oppression. I encourage everyone intent on taking a stand for what Burton calls “humanhood” to read this book.Oppression and revolution go hand and hand. Burton’s work gives us a deeper and more profound look at, not just what happened at Attica, but also why Nelson Rockefeller, the Governor during the Attica uprising, described the state’s massacre of Black men in prison as a “really beautiful operation.” Eventually, if left unchecked the white patriarch imperialist will come to operate on you and your loved ones next. “Everybody is a n**ger,” if you’re not aligned with the white man, explained one survivor of Attica.“Revolution must be a love inspired act.” That’s how George Jackson put it. That’s how it went down in the Attica uprising. Today I’m evolving the resistance, by the wisdom of Black lesbian feminist Audre Lorde. “You can’t use the master tools to tear down the master’s house.” Lorde also theorized “Black life as warfare,” writes Burton, who continues to make a brilliant use of Lorde’s “The Erotic” as proof that George Jackson’s theory of Black communal life laced with love is a reality.Those men survived the Attica massacre because they practiced feminism, mutual aid, social care, and brotherly love. Albeit unconsciously, Burton’s interview with an Attica uprising survivor reports that “he witnessed someone spontaneously break into tears because he could not remember ever being so close to other people.” Decades later when I was in Attica I felt the same with my brothers in arms. Little did those brothers back then in the uprising, or I decades later would know, but we were being forged by feminism.In 2020, the finer points of George Jackson’s and Aurde Lorde’s words would find me and force me to finesse my resistance with feminism. That same year Covid clapped the world. I led my prison community at Fishkill Correctional Facility as their Inmate Liaison Chairman through the pandemic while still resisting the carceral state without a single violent act. I employed love universally across the board to every human being on the compound. This is what Burton calls, “Humanhood.” This is how we all survived the COVID-19 crisis.It’s also how I further resisted the state by beginning a movement with an art exhibit called “She Told Me To Save The Flower.” It’s my plea to use feminism as a way to heal in the carceral state as opposed to brutal cruelty. The global community heard my call and clicked up to crash the carceral state.The Long Attica Revolt still resides with us today, although it has significantly evolved. New “technologies are also facilitating new forms of surveillance and control,” Burton asserts, and I agree. This book review has been censored by this same technology––JPay. Since you are reading this, we have successfully resisted the carceral state once again. Unfortunately, it’s not enough. The Tip of The Spear still needs sharpening by our strongest hearts and most brilliant minds. For every cry of oppression, there will always be someone resisting and shouting. . . ATTICA! ATTICA! Corey Devon Arthur is an incarcerated writer and artist who is part of the Empowerment Avenue Collective, with his work published in venues including, The Marshall Project, Writing Class Radio, The Drift, and Apogee. He exhibited his art at 2 galleries in Brooklyn, New York in early 2023. You can check out more of his work at dinartexpression on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/dinartexpressions/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, and on Medium.From: <a href="https://www.studyandstruggle.com/blog/2024/8/29/always-attica" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Study and Struggle</a><a href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/2024/08/30/corey-devon-arthur-always-attica/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/2024/08/30/corey-devon-arthur-always-attica/</a><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/attica/" target="_blank">#attica</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/feminism/" target="_blank">#feminism</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/george-jackson/" target="_blank">#georgeJackson</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/north-america/" target="_blank">#northAmerica</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/prison-struggle/" target="_blank">#prisonStruggle</a>

abolitionmediaWhat does Black August commemorate? Well, it is a month where prisoners, specifically Black, honor George Jackson and the sacrifices he made in the California prison system. For those who don’t know, Jackson was given a 1-year-to-life term for a petty crime, as is what happened during that time with indeterminate sentences. He could have kept his head low and gotten out, but what Jackson saw as a young man in the system, was a system of oppression so bad his morals and character would not allow him to go along to get along.Blacks at that time faced violence from guards and white supremacist groups and gangs all around. During that time, guards put glass and shit in Blacks’ food. They chained Blacks to tables and let us get stabbed by white supremacist groups. Jackson sought to change that. Jackson helped to organize the Blacks into a unit to fight back. Jackson and the other vanguard groups, BGF [Black Guerilla Family], BLA [Black Liberation Army], and the Black Panther Party, as well as the Kumi, formed the frontline to protect our people. He taught and led our people at the expense of his freedom and, ultimately, his life. He was framed for the murder of a coward guard who killed several Blacks during a riot. In fighting that case, he educated himself, taught his people, stifled several attempts on his life, wrote books, and ultimately gave his life for the people, as he left us so much, he did without question.Jackson was so feared, as we all are, they had to portray him as a Black superman, saying he killed five guards in 30 seconds barehanded before being killed, as a way to justify it — that’s one hell of a man, so I’ll believe it! As his name echoes throughout history, those guards are not even a footnote in the life of Jackson — peanuts to an elephant.So every August, prisoners all over honor him by doing 100 of something, standing together and working out militantly as a show of solidarity and preparedness for having to go to war if necessary. Black August and George Jackson is one of my idols, meaning more to me than one month can just display. Just like Juneteenth, and Black History Month, and Native American Heritage Month, and Mexican American Heritage Month, and AAPI Heritage Month — all of those days and , months sting and strike me as irritating that we have to have culture, history, pride and solidarity regulated to set time. It also gets to me about Black August. Of course, like all of us, I bust down, I do my 100 burpees, I also add in 100 pushups, crunches, dips and pullups, as well as whatever else I want — I also shout up Black August and Jackson for those who don’t know. But to me, Jackson and his brother and their memory and legacy are more than a month of solidarity, because Jackson put solidarity in his everyday, 365 days a week, no break, no exceptions, at all costs and by any means.So for me, Black August is another reminder to stay the course, no matter how frustrated I get, or how bad I get done, no matter how oppressed I feel, the oppression I face, or the pain I experience, I have a duty to stay the course as Jackson did. Jackson and his sacrifices mean everything. As I sit in the hole going on a year, I stay strong because of what Jackson went through. “In my objection,” as he said, “you’ll never count me among the broken men”. If I am lucky and privileged enough, I live among the men like Jackson who paved the way for us. Those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for the people, his [indistinct] for the people, we have a duty to honor and spread his legacy and fight for the people and a brighter future, or give our lives trying. To me, every day is Jackson’s Death Day, Jonathan’s too. Every month is Black August, and Black History, and Native American Heritage Month, and Mexican Heritage Month. Every day is a time to show solidarity and be more militant with purpose and focus, acting boldly and autonomously to accomplish our goals.I do love Black August commemorating the man I hold in such regard. I hope to one day see Black August everywhere, especially outside the prisons. Power to the people, all the people!Ending quote by George Jackson: “If my enemies and your enemies prove stronger to us, at least I want them to know they made a righteous African man extremely angry.”And lastly, to all those out there prepared to vote for Kopmala, remember: she built her career locking up Blacks for petty crimes like truancy and weed, all the while laughing about its arbitrary nature. So this Black August, remember: among those she would have kept confined to death with us would also have been George Jackson and Jonathan. It is not in the spirit of revolution, remembrance or equity to vote for that cop. She would have been the architect of his demise. Don’t think “lesser of two evils”, ’cause that’s how we got here. The lesser of two evils for Jackson would have been to do his time and get out and take it on the chin, but no! He took the road less traveled by to see what he could do.So dream bigger than a two-party system. Be bold, be brash, and be autonomous. Audio file link: https://malikspeaks.noblogs.org/files/2024/08/malik-speaking-2024-08-21.mp3From: <a href="https://malikspeaks.noblogs.org/post/2024/08/22/every-month-is-black-august/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Malik Speaks</a><a href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/2024/08/23/malik-muhammad-every-month-is-black-august/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/2024/08/23/malik-muhammad-every-month-is-black-august/</a><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/black-august/" target="_blank">#BlackAugust</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/george-jackson/" target="_blank">#georgeJackson</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/malik-muhammad/" target="_blank">#malikMuhammad</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/north-america/" target="_blank">#northAmerica</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/political-prisoners/" target="_blank">#PoliticalPrisoners</a>

abolitionmediaPublished in 1972, “Blood In My Eye” is a collection of writings by George Jackson, a political prisoner and a Black freedom fighter. He finished the writings shortly before prison guards murdered him in August 1971. George had been convicted over a decade prior at age 18 — taking $70 from a gas station resulted in a conviction with an indeterminate sentence – one year to life.While California kept him imprisoned, he read extensively, learning history and economics, discovering Marx, Lenin, Mao, Engels, Trotsky, and developing a strong material analysis and solidarity lens that he shared with his comrades incarcerated alongside him.Blood in My Eye considers more broadly questions of armed struggle, communism, and Black revolutionary thought, or put simply “it is a book about taking the revolution that George worked and died for inside prison out into society at large.”<blockquote>“Settle your quarrels, come together, understand the reality of our situation, understand that fascism is already here, that people are already dying who could be saved, that generations more will die or live poor butchered half-lives if you fail to act. do what must be done, discover your humanity and your love in revolution. Pass on the torch. Join us, give up your life for the people.”</blockquote>George Jackson recognized his position as a member of the lumpenproletariat, and remained uncompromising in his approach to a revolutionary future; his view of the world from within the carceral system illuminated the depth of racism in the U.S., and its overlap with capitalist exploitation.Behind bars he organized sit-ins against segregated cafeterias and taught martial arts to other inmates to fight back against the ever-present, abusive prison guards. He worked with the Oakland chapter of the Black Panthers to recruit members that were incarcerated, and he often highlighted the political consciousness of his comrades that were behind bars.His work at organizing prisoners across race gained the attention of prison guards, wardens, and the FBI. The state falsely accused him (along with Fleeta Drumgo and John Clutchette), collectively known as the “Soledad Brothers,” of murdering a guard in retaliation to that guard’s murder of three Black people that were incarcerated (W. L. Nolen, Cleveland Edwards and Alvin Miller) at Soledad Prison in January 1970.His younger brother, Jonathan Jackson, a high school student in Pasadena, staged a raid on the Marin County courthouse with a satchelful of handguns, an assault rifle, and a shotgun hidden under his coat, all registered to Angela Davis. Educated into a political revolutionary by George, Jonathan invaded the court during a hearing for three Black San Quentin inmates, not including his brother, and handed them weapons. As he left with the inmates and five hostages, including the judge, Jonathan demanded that the Soledad Brothers be released within thirty minutes. In the shootout that ensued, Jonathan was gunned down. Of Jonathan, George wrote, “He was free for a while. I guess that’s more than most of us can expect.” The state murdered Jonathan on August 7, 1970 at the Marin County Courthouse. He was 17. The sole accomplice that survived, Ruchell Magee, was imprisoned for over 50 years (released in July 2023); a manhunt for Angela Davis began, she was tried and ultimately found not guilty; the Weathermen (a militant leftist organization of students) bombed the courthouse in October 1970 in retaliation for the murders of Jonathan Jackson and his comrades.His first publication, Soledad Brother, compiles letters he wrote between 1964 and 1970, most of which he spent in the most stringent forms of solitary confinement. George dedicated Soledad Brother to Jonathan, and many letters between them can be found within Blood in My Eye, as well as correspondence with Angela Davis.—FascismAn excerpt from Blood in My Eye by George Jackson1971FascismIts most advanced form is here in Amerika.Comrade John,I’ve just finished rereading Angela’s analysis of fascism (she’s a brilliant, “big,” beautiful revolutionary woman — ain’t she!!). I’ve studied your letters on the subject carefully. It could be productive for the three of us to get together at once and subject the whole question to a detailed historical analysis. There is some difference of opinion and interpreta- tion of history between us, but basically I think we are brought together on the principal points by the fact that the three of us could not meet without probably causing World War III.Give her my deepest and warmest love and ask her to review these comments. This is not all that I will have to say on the subject. I’ll constantly return to myself and reexamine. I expect I will have to carry this on for another couple of hundred pages. We’ll deal with the questions as they come up, but for now this should provoke both of you to push me on to a greater effort.The basis of Angela’s analysis is tied into several old left notions that are at least open to some question now. It is my view that out of the economic crisis of the last great depression fascism-corporativism did indeed emerge, develop and consolidate itself into its most advanced form here in Amerika. In the process, socialist consciousness suffered some very severe setbacks. Unlike Angela, I do not believe that this realization leads to a defeatist view of history. An understanding of the reality of our situation is essential to the success of future revolutionizing activity. To contend that corporativism has emerged and advanced is not to say that it has triumphed. We are not defeated. Pure fascism, absolute totalitarianism, is not possible.Hierarchy has had six thousand years of trial. It will never succeed for long in any form. Fascism and its historical significance is the point of my whole philosophy on politics and its extension, war. My opinion is that we are at the historical climax (the flash point) of the totalitarian period. The analysis in depth that the subject deserves has yet to be done. Important as they are, both Wilhelm Reich’s and Franz Neumann’s works on the subject are limited. Reich tends to be over analytical to the point of idealism. I don’t think Neumann truly sensed the importance of the antisocialist movement. Behemoth is too narrowly based on the experience of German National Socialism. So there is so much to be done on the subject and time is running out. If I am correct, we will soon be forced into the same fight that the old left avoided.6/20/71 It is not defeatist to acknowledge that we have lost a battle. How else can we “regroup” and even think of carrying on the fight. At the center of revolution is realism. To call one or two or a dozen setbacks defeat is to overlook the ebbing and flowing process of revolution, coming closer to our calculations and then receding, but never standing still. If a thing isn’t building, it must be decaying. As one force emerges, the opposite force must yield; as one advances, the other must retreat. There is a very significant difference between retreat and defeat. I am not saying that our parents were defeated when I contend that fascist-corporativism emerged and advanced in the U.S. At the same time it was making its advance, it caused, by its very nature, an advance in world-wide socialist consciousness: “When U.S. capitalism reached the stage of imperialism, the Western great powers had already divided among themselves almost all the important markets in the world. At the end of World War II when the other imperialist powers had been weakened, the U.S. became the most powerful and richest imperialist power. Meanwhile, the world situation was no longer the same: the balance of forces between imperialism and the socialist camps had fundamentally changed; imperialism no longer ruled over the world, nor did it play a decisive role in the development of the world situation” (Vo Nguyen Giap).In my analysis, I’m simply taking into account the fact that the forces of reaction and counterrevolution were allowed to localize themselves and radiate their energy here in the U.S. The process has created the economic, political and cultural vortex of capitalism’s last reform. My views correspond with those of all the Third World revolutionaries. And nate in the seizure of state power. Our real purpose is to redeem not merely ourselves but the whole nation and the whole community of nations from colonial-community economic repression.The U.S. has established itself as the mortal enemy of all people’s government, all scientific-socialist mobilization of consciousness everywhere on the globe, all anti-imperialist activity on earth. The history of this country in the last fifty years and more, the very nature of all its fundamental elements, and its economic, social, political and military mobilization distinguish it as the prototype of the international fascist counterrevolution. The U.S. is the Korean problem, the Vietnamese problem, the problem in the Congo, Angola, Mozambique, the Middle East. It’s the grease in the British and Latin Amerikan guns that operate against the masses of common people.6/21/71 The nature of fascism, its characteristics and properties have been in dispute ever since it was first identified as a distinct phenomenon growing out of Italy’s state-supported and developed industries in 1922. Whole libraries have been written around the subject. There have been a hundred “party lines” on just exactly what fascism is. But both Marxists and non-Marxists agree on at least two of its general factors: its capitalist orientation and its anti-labor, anti-class nature. These two factors almost by themselves identify the U.S. as a fascist-corporative state.An exact definition of fascism concerns me because it will help us identify our enemy and isolate the targets of revolution. Further, it should help us to understand the workings of the enemy’s methodology. Settling this question of whether or not a mature fascism has developed will finally clear away some of the fog in our liberation efforts. This will help us to broaden the effort. We will not succeed until we fully accept the fact that the enemy is aware, determined, disguised, totalitarian, and mercilessly counterrevolutionary. To fight effectively, we must be aware of the fact that the enemy has consolidated through reformist machination the greatest community of self-interest that has ever existed. Our insistence on military action, defensive and retaliatory, has nothing to do with romanticism or precipitous idealistic fervor. We want to be effective. We want to live. Our history teaches us that the successful liberation struggles require an armed people, a whole people, actively participating in the struggle for their liberty!The final definition of fascism is still open, simply because it is still a developing movement. We have already discussed the defects of trying to analyze a movement outside of its process and its sequential relationships. You gain only a discolored glimpse of a dead past.No one will fully comprehend the historical implications and strategy of fascist corporativism except the true fascist manipulator or the researcher who is able to slash through the smoke screens and disguises the fascists set up. Fascism was the product of class struggle. It is an obvious extension of capitalism, a higher form of the old struggle — capitalism versus socialism. I think our failure to clearly isolate and define it may have something to do with our insistence on a full definition — in other words, looking for exactly identical symptoms from nation to nation. We have been consistently misled by fascism’s nationalistic trappings.We have failed to understand its basically international character. In fact, it has followed international socialism all around the globe. One of the most definite characteristics of fascism is its international quality.6/22/71 The trends toward monopoly capital began effectively just after the close of the Civil War in Amerika. Prior to its emergence, bourgeois democratic rule could be said to have been the predominant political force inside Amerikan society. As monopoly capital matured, the role of the old bourgeois democracy faded in process. As monopoly capital forced out the small dispersed factory setup, the new corporativism assumed political supremacy. Monopoly capital can in no way be interpreted as an extension of old bourgeois democracy. The forces of monopoly capital swept across the Western world in the first half of this century. But they did not exist alone. Their opposite force was also at work, i.e., “international socialism” — Lenin’s and Fanon’s — national wars of liberation guided not by the national bourgeois but by the people, the ordinary working-class people.At its core, fascism is an economic rearrangement. It is international capitalism’s response to the challenge of international scientific socialism. It developed from nation to nation out of differing levels of traditionalist capitalism’s dilapidation. The common feature of all instances of fascism is the opposition of a weak socialist revolution. When the fascist arrangement begins to emerge in any of the independent nation-states, it does so by default! It is simply an arrangement of an established capitalist economy, an attempt to renew, perpetuate and legitimize that economy’s rulers by circumflexing and weighing down, diffusing a revolutionary consciousness pushing from below. Fascism must be seen as an episodically logical stage in the socio-economic development of capitalism in a state of crisis. It is the result of a revolutionary thrust that was weak and miscarried — a consciousness that was compromised. “When revolution fails . . . it’s the fault of the vanguard parties.”It is clear that class struggle is an ingredient of fascism.It follows that where fascism emerges and develops, the anti-capitalist forces were weaker than the traditionalist forces. This weakness will become even more pronounced as fascism develops! The ultimate aim of fascism is the complete destruction of all revolutionary consciousness.6/23/71 Our purpose here is to understand the essence of this living, moving thing so that we will understand how to move against it.This observer is convinced that fascism not only exists in the U.S.A. but has risen out of the ruins of a once eroded and dying capitalism, phoenix-like, to its most advanced and logical arrangement.One has to understand that the fascist arrangement tolerates the existence of no valid revolutionary activity. It has programmed into its very nature a massive, complex and automatic defense mechanism for all our old methods for raising the consciousness of a potentially revolutionary class of people. The essence of a U.S.A. totalitarian socio-political capitalism is concealed behind the illusion of a mass participatory society. We must rip away its mask. Then the debate can end, and we can enter a new phase of struggle based on the development of an armed revolutionary culture that will triumph.On May 14, 1787, the Constitutional Convention with George Washington presiding officer, the work of framing the new nation’s constitution proceeded with fifty-five persons and only two were not employers!!!There have been many booms and busts in the history of capitalism in this nation and across the Western Hemisphere since its formation. The accepted method of pulling the stricken economy out of its stupor has always been to expand. It was pretty clear from the outset that the surplus value factor eventually leads to a point in the business cycle when the existing implementation of the productive factors makes it impossible for the larger factor of production (labor) to buy back the “fruits of its labor.” This leads to what has been erroneously termed “overproduction.” It is, in fact, underconsumption. The remedy has always been to expand, to search out new markets and new sources of cheaper raw materials to recharge the economy (the imperialist syndrome).Conflicts of interests develop, of course, between the various Western nations and eventually lead to competition for these markets. The result is always an ever-increasing international centralization of the various capitalists’ elites, world-wide cartels: International Telegraphic Unions (now International Tele-communications Union), universal postal union, transportation, agricultural, and scientific syndicates. Before World War I there were forty-five or fifty such international syndicates, not counting the purely business cartels. The international quality of capitalism is not happenstance.It is clearly in the interests of the ruling class to expand and unite. I am one Marxist-Leninist-Maoist-Fanonist who does not completely accept the idea that the old capitalist competitive wars for colonial markets were actually willed by the various rulers of each nation, even though such wars stimulated their local economies and made it possible to promote nationalism among the lower classes. War taken to the point of diminishing returns weakens rather than strengthens the participants, and if the rulers of these nations were anything at all they were good businessmen. Expansion, then, which often led unavoidably to war, was the traditional recourse in the solving of problems created by a vacuous, uncontrollable system, which never considered any changes in its arrangement, its essential dynamics, until it came under a very real, directly threatening challenge from below to its very existence. Fascism in its early stages is a rearrangement of capitalist implementation in response to a sharpening, threatening, but weaker egalitarian socialist consciousness.In regional or national economic crisis the traditional remedies also include measures which stop just short of massive expansion on the international level. Traditional controls short of expansion and war have always existed in the form of government intervention, tariffs, public expenditure, government export subsidy and limited control of the capital market and import licenses, and monopolies have always used government to help direct investment.<a href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/2024/08/22/black-august-excerpt-of-george-jacksons-blood-in-my-eye/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/2024/08/22/black-august-excerpt-of-george-jacksons-blood-in-my-eye/</a><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/black-august/" target="_blank">#BlackAugust</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/black-liberation/" target="_blank">#blackLiberation</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/black-panther-party/" target="_blank">#blackPantherParty</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/blood-in-my-eye/" target="_blank">#bloodInMyEye</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/george-jackson/" target="_blank">#georgeJackson</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/north-america/" target="_blank">#northAmerica</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/soledad-brother/" target="_blank">#soledadBrother</a>

Jailhouse Lawyers SpeakThey killed one but in turn his death created thousands more! Long Live The Guerilla! Long Live The 🐉 <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/georgejackson" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#georgejackson</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BlackAugust" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#BlackAugust</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/weusiagosti" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#weusiagosti</a>

abolitionmediaBlack August study, fast, train, fight: Nurturing Militancy and Preparing for the Day of Action.Black August holds a profound significance for abolitionist prisoners, as it serves as a time to honor the resistance of our fallen comrades and reflect on the ongoing struggle against the carceral system. During this month, we not only deepen our political education but also prepare ourselves militantly, inspired by the spirit of George L. Jackson, for a day when conditions may require militant actions. As members of Jailhouse Lawyers Speak [the more militant segment of our membership], we understand the importance of utilizing Black August as a catalyst for growth, education, and collective preparation.Within the confines of U.S.A prison system, nurturing militancy becomes a pivotal aspect of our resistance. Black August provides a space for abolitionist prisoners to foster a mindset of militant preparedness, drawing inspiration from past resistance campaigns. We recognize that the struggle against the carceral system may demand actions beyond peaceful advocacy. Therefore, during this month, we engage in rigorous physical and mental training, fortifying ourselves for a day when conditions may necessitate militant resistance.Through physical fitness routines, martial arts training, and mental conditioning, we prepare ourselves to confront the oppressive forces that seek to silence our voices. Embracing the spirit of George L. Jackson, we study his writings, such as “Soledad Brother” and “Blood in my Eyes” which not only provide us with insights into the prison-industrial slave complex but also pushes us to challenge the status quo through bold and militant actions. We understand that true liberation may require us to transcend the limitations imposed upon us and be ready to seize opportunities for radical change.Black August serves as a potent reminder that our struggle extends beyond the confines of prison walls. It is an opportunity for abolitionist organizers to recognize the need for militant preparation and to stand in solidarity with individuals who are actively engaging in this process.During this month, we actively seek to build bridges of solidarity and create networks that transcend the razor wires. By connecting with organizations and individuals outside the prison walls, we amplify our collective voices and join the global struggle against the carceral system.We encourage organizers to continue centering the experiences and lessons from people like George L. Jackson. Organizers can help build a movement that understands the importance of militant preparedness as a means to challenge oppressive structures and pave the way for transformative change.Long Live The Spirit of George L. Jackson…Big Sike,Jailhouse Lawyers Speak** Big Sike is a JLS member currently confined is FBOP<a href="https://jailhouselawyersspeak1.wordpress.com/2024/08/06/abolitionist-militancy-in-the-spirit-of-black-august/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Jailhouse Lawyers Speak</a><a href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/2024/08/09/abolitionist-militancy-in-the-spirit-of-black-august/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/2024/08/09/abolitionist-militancy-in-the-spirit-of-black-august/</a><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/abolitionist/" target="_blank">#abolitionist</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/black-august/" target="_blank">#BlackAugust</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/george-jackson/" target="_blank">#georgeJackson</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/jailhouse-lawyers-speak/" target="_blank">#JailhouseLawyersSpeak</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/militancy/" target="_blank">#militancy</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/north-america/" target="_blank">#northAmerica</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/prison-struggle/" target="_blank">#prisonStruggle</a>

MikeDunnAuthorToday in Labor History August 7, 1971: Jonathan Jackson, aged 17, brother of imprisoned Black Panther George Jackson, burst into a Marin County, CA courtroom with an automatic weapon, freed prisoners James McClain, William A. Christmas and Ruchell Magee, and took Judge Harold Haley, Deputy District Attorney Gary Thomas, and three jurors hostage. He demanded the release of the "Soledad Brothers," including his brother. Police killed 3 of the hostages as they attempted to drive away from the courthouse. Angela Davis, who owned the weapons used by Jackson, was jailed for 2 years, but was later acquitted of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder. Prior to the escape attempt, Davis had organized a defense committee for the Soledad Brothers which included Noam Chomsky, Pete Seeger, Marlon Brando, Jame Fonda, the scientist Linus Pauling, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Allen Ginsberg.In 1970, George Jackson had published his book, “Soledad Brother,” a collection of his prison writings from the 1960s, including numerous letters he had written to his then kid brother Jonathan. He also wrote critically about racism and white supremacy, class, and the brutality of the prison system. The Soledad brothers were George Jackson, Fleeta Drumgo and John Clutchette, accused of murdering a prison guard at Soledad Prison, in California, in retaliation for the murder of three black inmates by prison guards three days prior. Clutchette and Drumgo were later acquitted. Jackson never got his day in court. He was murdered by prison guards, at San Quinten Prison, California, before his trial, exactly two weeks after his brother’s murder in the botched escape attempt. George Jackson had been in prison for the crime of stealing $70 from a gas station in 1961. <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/workingclass" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#workingclass</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LaborHistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#LaborHistory</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/georgejackson" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#georgejackson</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/angeladavis" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#angeladavis</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/blackpanthers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#blackpanthers</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/soledadbrothers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#soledadbrothers</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/riot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#riot</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/sanquinten" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#sanquinten</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/prison" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#prison</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/murder" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#murder</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/police" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#police</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/policeabuse" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#policeabuse</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/conspiracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#conspiracy</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/racism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#racism</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/books" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#books</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#writer</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#author</a> <a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/bookstadon" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@bookstadon</a>

abolitionmediaThis story was originally published Aug. 3, 2009. Kiilu Nyasha, legendary fighter for the freedom of political prisoners, often wrote a special tribute to other freedom fighters to commemorate Black August. She joined the ancestors in 2018 at the age of 78.Black August is a month of great significance for Africans throughout the Diaspora, but particularly here in the U.S. where it originated. “August,” as Mumia Abu-Jamal noted, “is a month of meaning, of repression and radical resistance, of injustice and divine justice; of repression and righteous rebellion; of individual and collective efforts to free the slaves and break the chains that bind us.”On this 30th [now 45th] anniversary of Black August, first organized to honor our fallen freedom fighters, Jonathan and George Jackson, Khatari Gaulden, James McClain, William Christmas and the sole survivor of the Aug. 7, 1970, Courthouse Slave Rebellion, Ruchell Cinque Magee, it is still a time to embrace the principles of unity, self-sacrifice, political education, physical fitness and/or training in martial arts, resistance and spiritual renewal.The concept, Black August, grew out of the need to expose to the light of day the glorious and heroic deeds of those Afrikan women and men who recognized and struggled against the injustices heaped upon people of color on a daily basis in America.One cannot tell the story of Black August without first providing the reader with a brief glimpse of the “Black Movement” behind California prison walls in the ‘60s, led by George Jackson and W.L. Nolen, among others.As Jackson wrote: “[W]hen I was accused of robbing a gas station of $70, I accepted a deal … but when time came for sentencing, they tossed me into the penitentiary with one to life. It was 1960. I was 18 years old. … I met Marx, Lenin, Trotsky, Engels and Mao when I entered prison and they redeemed me. For the first four years I studied nothing but economics and military ideas. I met Black guerrillas, George ‘Big Jake’ Lewis and James Carr, W.L. Nolen, Bill Christmas, Torry Gibson and many, many others. We attempted to transform the Black criminal mentality into a Black revolutionary mentality. As a result, each of us has been subject to years of the most vicious reactionary violence by the state. Our mortality rate is almost what you would expect to find in a history of Dachau. Three of us [Nolen, Sweet Jugs Miller and Cleve Edwards) were murdered several months ago [Jan. 13, 1969] by a pig shooting from 30 feet above their heads with a military rifle.” – “Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George Jackson”When the brothers first demanded the killer guard be tried for murder, they were rebuffed. Upon their insistence, the administration held a kangaroo court and three days later returned a verdict of “justifiable homicide.” Shortly afterward, a white guard was found beaten to death and thrown from a tier. Six days later, three prisoners were accused of murder and became known as The Soledad Brothers.“I am being tried in court right now with two other brothers, John Clutchette and Fleeta Drumgo, for the alleged slaying of a prison guard. This charge carries an automatic death penalty for me. I can’t get life. I already have it.”On Aug. 7, 1970, just a few days after George was transferred to San Quentin, his younger brother Jonathan Jackson, 17, invaded Marin County Courthouse single-handed, with a satchel full of handguns, an assault rifle and a shotgun hidden under his raincoat. “Freeze,” he commanded as he tossed guns to William Christmas, James McClain and Ruchell Magee. Magee was on the witness stand testifying for McClain, on trial for assaulting a guard in the wake of a guard’s murder of another Black prisoner, Fred Billingsley, beaten and tear gassed to death.A jailhouse lawyer, Magee had deluged the courts with petitions for seven years contesting his illegal conviction in ‘63. The courts had refused to listen, so Magee seized the hour and joined the guerrillas as they took the judge, prosecutor and three jurors hostage to a waiting van. To reporters gathering quickly outside the courthouse, Jonathan shouted, “You can take our pictures. We are the revolutionaries!”Operating with courage and calm even their enemies had to respect, the four Black freedom fighters commandeered their hostages out of the courthouse without a hitch. The plan was to use the hostages to take over a radio station and broadcast the racist, murderous prison conditions and demand the immediate release of The Soledad Brothers. But before Jonathan could drive the van out of the parking lot, the San Quentin guards arrived and opened fire. When the shooting stopped, Jonathan, Christmas, McClain and the judge lay dead. Magee and the prosecutor were critically wounded, and one juror suffered a minor arm wound.Magee survived his wounds and was tried originally with co-defendant Angela Davis. Their trials were later severed and Davis was eventually acquitted of all charges. Magee was convicted of simple kidnap and remains in prison to date – 46 years with no physical assaults on his record. An incredible jailhouse lawyer, Magee has been responsible for countless prisoners being released – the main reason he was kept for nearly 20 years in one lockup after another. Currently at Corcoran State Prison, he remains strong and determined to win his freedom and that of all oppressed peoples. [Ruchell was finally freed July 21, 2023, but lived only until Oct. 17, 2023, when he joined the ancestors.]In his second book, “Blood in My Eye,” published posthumously, George Jackson noted: “Reformism is an old story in Amerika. There have been depressions and socio-economic political crises throughout the period that marked the formation of the present upper-class ruling circle and their controlling elites. But the parties of the left were too committed to reformism to exploit their revolutionary potential. … Fascism has temporarily succeeded under the guise of reform.” Those words ring even truer today as we witness a form of fascism that has replaced gas ovens with executions and torture chambers: plantations with prison industrial complexes deployed in rural white communities to perpetuate white supremacy and Black and Brown slavery.The concentration of wealth at the top is worse than ever: One percent now owns more wealth than that of the combined 95 percent of the U.S. population; individuals are so rich their wealth exceeds the total budgets of numerous nations – as they plunder the globe in the quest for more.“The fascist must expand to live. Consequently he has pushed his frontiers to the farthest lands and peoples. … I’m going to bust my heart trying to stop these smug, degenerate, primitive, omnivorous, uncivil – and anyone who would aid me, I embrace you.“International capitalism cannot be destroyed without the extremes of struggle … We are the only ones … who can get at the monster’s heart without subjecting the world to nuclear fire. We have a momentous historical role to act out if we will. The whole world for all time in the future will love us and remember us as the righteous people who made it possible for the world to live on. … I don’t want to die and leave a few sad songs and a hump in the ground as my only monument. I want to leave a world that is liberated from trash, pollution, racism, nation-states, nation-state wars and armies, from pomp, bigotry, parochialism, a thousand different brands of untruth and licentious, usurious economics.” – George Jackson, “Soledad Brother”On Aug. 21, 1971, after numerous failed attempts on his life, the state finally succeeded in assassinating George Jackson, then field marshal of the Black Panther Party, in what was described by prison officials as an escape attempt in which Jackson allegedly smuggled a gun into San Quentin in a wig. That feat was proven impossible, and evidence subsequently suggested a setup designed by prison officials to eliminate Jackson once and for all.However, they didn’t count on losing any of their own in the process. On that fateful day, three notoriously racist prison guards and two inmate turnkeys were also killed, presumably by Jackson, who was shot and killed by guards as he drew fire away from the other prisoners in the Adjustment Center (lockup) of San Quentin.Subsequently, six A/C prisoners were singled out and put on trial – wearing 30 pounds of chains in Marin Courthouse – for various charges of murder and assault: Fleeta Drumgo, David Johnson, Hugo L.A. Pinell (Yogi), Luis Talamantez, Johnny Spain and Willie Sundiata Tate. Only one was convicted of murder, Johnny Spain. The others were either acquitted or convicted of assault.Pinell is the only one remaining in prison and has suffered prolonged torture in lockups since 1969. He is currently serving his 19th year in Pelican Bay’s SHU, a torture chamber if ever there was one. A true warrior, Pinell would put his life on the line to defend his fellow captives. [Only two weeks after Yogi was released to the yard after 26 years in solitary confinement, he was killed on Aug. 12, 2015, by two white prisoners.]As decades passed, our Black scholars, like Mumia Abu-Jamal, learned of other liberation moves that happened in Black August. For example, the first and only armed revolution whereby Africans freed themselves from chattel slavery commenced in Haiti on Aug. 21, 1791. Nat Turner’s slave rebellion began on Aug. 21, 1831 (coincidence?) and Harriet Tubman’s Underground Railroad started in August. As Mumia stated, “Their sacrifice, their despair, their determination and their blood has painted the month black for all time.”Let us honor our martyred freedom fighters as George Jackson counseled: “Settle your quarrels, come together, understand the reality of our situation, understand that fascism is already here, that people are dying who could be saved, that generations more will live poor butchered half-lives if you fail to act. Do what must be done; discover your humanity and your love in revolution.”Kiilu Nyasha, Black Panther veteran, revolutionary journalist and Bay View columnist, beloved by activists worldwide, joined the ancestors on April 10, 2018. She is sorely missed.source: <a href="https://sfbayview.com/2024/08/black-august-a-story-of-african-freedom-fighters-2/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">SF Bayview</a><a href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/2024/08/05/black-august-a-story-of-african-freedom-fighters/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/2024/08/05/black-august-a-story-of-african-freedom-fighters/</a><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/black-august/" target="_blank">#BlackAugust</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/black-liberation/" target="_blank">#blackLiberation</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/black-panther-party/" target="_blank">#blackPantherParty</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/george-jackson/" target="_blank">#georgeJackson</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/north-america/" target="_blank">#northAmerica</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/us/" target="_blank">#us</a>

abolitionmediaThis is second Black August words for Sun…The significance and important part of Black August is that those who have joined in, with what it’s commemorations are inspired by, and identify with the deep sense of commitment and sacrifices made by this specific group of brothers, (Black men) who had grown up out of the degradations of California’s racist prison system and proclaimed their humanity in extraordinary form; to the extent that they declared and took their freedom or death in furtherance of Black people’s historical struggle plus the attempted liberation of themselves and other comrades/prisoners to further the political demands being made on Amerika by Blacks across the country and inside its prison walls. Thing is, this sort of thing builds pride in our history as a people, commemorations, builds traditions which builds cultural (group) identification and awareness of common destinies. All of our COMMON DESTINIES…We celebrate these brothers and others of our peoples who have likewise sacrificed lives and brought progress which made this month of August worthy of standards to be emulated.TAKE A STANCE, MAKE A DIFFERENCE MEASURED BY YOUR OWN STANDARDS ACCORDING TO THE TIMES OF TODAY. WE HAVE NO TIME NOR BROTHERS AND SISTERS TO WASTE… OUR STRUGGLES CONTINUE…The following incidents are part of the origins of Black August’s commemorations:On August 7th, 1971 young 16 year old Jonathan Jackson stepped into one of America’s court rooms, short trench coat with guns of liberation hidden; as he approached his position he announced “all right gentlemen I’m taking over now” and took control of the court with intent to liberate prisoners of San Quentin there going to trial. They eventually took hostages of judge and jury to further demand that other San Quentin prisoners (freedom fighters) be released including Jonathan’s brother George Jackson. Jonathon died that day August 7th, under a hail of bullets (from San Quentin’s guards and other law agencies) along with other freedom fighters; William Christmas, James McClain; one survived, Ruchell Magee, [who was eventually paroled and died]; of the hostages, the judge died; a district attorney and three female jurors survived their wounds, and the highest tribute to events of that day was given by George Jackson, Jonathon’s brother in his published book “Soledad Brothers” last pages of his letter to Joan, quoted as followsDear JoanWE reckon all time in the future from the day of the man child’s death.Man-Child, Blackman Child with submachine gun in hand, he was free for a while, I guess that is more than most of us can expect. I want people to wonder at what forces created him, terrible, vindictive, cold, calm man-child, courage in one hand, the machine gun in the other, scourge of the unrighteous “an ox for the people to ride”!Go over all the letters I’ve sent you, any reference to Georgia (their mother) being less than a perfect revolutionary’s mama must be removed. Do it now! I want no possibility of anymore misunderstanding her as i did. She didn’t cry a tear. She is, as I am, very proud. She read two things into his rage, love and loyalty…I cant go any further, it would just be a love story about the baddest brother this world has had the privilege to meet, and it’s just not popular or safe to say I love him. Cold and Calm, “all right gentleman, I’m takin over now” Revolution…!(note that last sentence was George quoting Jonathan’s statement to the court on August 7th.)On August 21st, 1971 Jonathon’s brother comrade George Jackson; having a righteous love for the People and perfect hate for the enemies of the People chose August 21st’s confrontation with the guards of San Quentin’s adjustment center to exact retribution plus to fulfill his destiny of liberation/freedom or death.The exact unfolding of events on that day is not public knowledge : what is known is after an attempted search of George returning from a visit, an unidentifiable gun emerged, source unknown but the gun became the object of confrontation between the guards and George, who gained its possession, subdued the guards then demanded that the doors of prisoners locked in the adjustment center be opened. The aftermath of that was that two avowed white racist prisoners were killed along with three guards; before George was gunned down by San Quentin’s gun tower guards as he and Larry Spain made their way out of the adjustment center towards the North double walls of San Quentin (an unlikely route for escape attempt as the prevailing claims has it). Larry Spain was also out on the path and captured. He later won freedom and release from prison.Black August resistance and commemoration encompasses much more as other contributions will be put forward.CANT STOP – WONT STOPDOC** Doc at the time of this communication in late July 2024 was housed at FBOP USP Hazelton. Commemorating Our New Afrikan Revolutionaries:The FLEA Days in Black August is important as we recognize and commemorate the revolutionaries who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the liberation struggle. Within the framework of Black August, there are four significant days known as FLEA days in Weusi Agosti: the 1st, 7th, 13th, and 21st. These days hold special significance as we honor our fallen.On the first FLEA day, August 1st, 1978, we remember the assassination and medical neglect of Khatari Gaulden. His untimely death serves as a stark reminder of the injustices faced by revolutionaries and the price they pay for their unwavering commitment.The second FLEA day, August 7th, commemorates the Marin Court Rebellion of 1970. It is a day to reflect on the lives lost, including Jonathan Jackson, James McClain, and William Christmas. Their courageous actions during the rebellion exemplify the spirit of resistance and the lengths individuals will go to challenge oppressive systems.Moving to the third FLEA day, August 13th, we honor the memory of W.L. Nolen, Alvin Miller, and Cleveland Edwards. These individuals were assassinated by prison guards on January 13, 1970. Their lives serve as a testament to the brutal repression faced by those who dare to fight back against white supremacy and speak truth to power.Lastly, on the fourth FLEA day, August 21st, we pay tribute to George Jackson, who was assassinated by prison guards in 1971. His unwavering dedication to the cause of liberation and his powerful writings continue to inspire generations of activists.These FLEA days hold immense significance within the Black August observance. They remind us of the sacrifices made by our revolutionaries and serve as a call to action to continue their legacy. As we participate in Black August, we honor their memory and reaffirm our commitment to the struggle for justice, equality, and liberation.In conclusion, the FLEA days in Weusi Agosti are an integral part of the Black August. They provide us with opportunities to reflect, commemorate, and draw inspiration from the lives of our fallen comrades. As we engage in the fasting, abstinence, educational pursuits, and symbolic gestures of Black August, let us also remember and honor our fallen during Black August Memorial- BAM. Through our collective efforts, we strive to build a world that recognizes and upholds the ideals for which they fought and sacrificed.New Afrikan Political Prisoner,Sundiata Jawanza <a href="https://givebutter.com/BlackAugust" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Black August Mutual Aid</a>Black August mutual aid goes 100% directly towards people inside that need commissary, law books and phone time. This mutual aid will be distributed through the Jailhouse Lawyers Speak national network.<a href="https://www.jailhouselawyersspeak.com/campaigns/view-campaign/Oqp8TPy3I0ozLLha4zLf8jprbjPg3Ww7sy5azIJpJ3AoN5ACVy0uJQKIWgkBLj_GkCV8lgJ3W8stGfZW3lQURpmlbMUQ7TO8" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Jailhouse Lawyers Speak</a><a href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/2024/08/03/jailhouse-lawyers-speak-salute-black-august/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/2024/08/03/jailhouse-lawyers-speak-salute-black-august/</a><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/black-august/" target="_blank">#BlackAugust</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/black-liberation/" target="_blank">#blackLiberation</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/george-jackson/" target="_blank">#georgeJackson</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/jailhouse-lawyers-speak/" target="_blank">#JailhouseLawyersSpeak</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/north-america/" target="_blank">#northAmerica</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/tag/prison-struggle/" target="_blank">#prisonStruggle</a>

MikeDunnAuthorToday in Labor History April 15, 1986: Author Jean Genet died on this day. Genet was a novelists, political activist and petty criminal. His book, The Thief’s Journal (1949), relates his experiences as a young prostitute and thief. That same year, the authorities tried to sentence him to life in prison for his ten convictions. Jean Cocteau, Jean-Paul Sartre and Pablo Picasso successfully petitioned the government on his behalf. In 1968, Genet was censored in the U.S. and expelled from the country after they refused him a visa. But he returned in 1970, upon an invitation by the Black Panthers. He stayed three months, giving lectures and attending the trial of Huey Newton. Later that year, he went to Palestine and visited refugee camps. He supported U.S. political prisoners Angela Davis and George Jackson. He also supported the anti-prison, anti-police brutality work of Michel Foucault, in France. <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/workingclass" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#workingclass</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LaborHistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#LaborHistory</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/blackpanthers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#blackpanthers</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/sexwork" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#sexwork</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/prostitution" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#prostitution</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/lgbtq" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#lgbtq</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/jeangenet" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#jeangenet</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/sartre" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#sartre</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/picasso" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#picasso</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HueyNewton" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#HueyNewton</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/angela" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#angela</a>=davis <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/georgejackson" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#georgejackson</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/prison" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#prison</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#writer</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/novel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#novel</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/play" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#play</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/poetry" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#poetry</a> <a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/bookstadon" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@bookstadon</a>

WerkstattGeschichteAm Internationalen Tag der politischen Gefangenen empfehlen wir <a href="https://openbiblio.social/tags/WerkstattGeschichte" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#WerkstattGeschichte</a> 80/2019 "politische gefangene", im Thementeil (Hg. Gabriele Metzler & Annelie Ramsbrock) Beiträge zu <a href="https://openbiblio.social/tags/Hungerstreik" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Hungerstreik</a>s Inhaftierter in der <a href="https://openbiblio.social/tags/WeimarerRepublik" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#WeimarerRepublik</a> (Max Buschmann) & in <a href="https://openbiblio.social/tags/Nordirland" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Nordirland</a> (Andreas Spreier), zu kommunistischen Gefangenen im franquistischen Spanien (Lucia Hermann) & zu Haftbriefen von <a href="https://openbiblio.social/tags/GeorgeJackson" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#GeorgeJackson</a> (G.Metzler)▶ <a href="https://werkstattgeschichte.de/alle_ausgaben/politische-gefangene/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank">https://werkstattgeschichte.de/alle_ausgaben/politische-gefangene/</a><a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/histodons" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@histodons</a> <a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/historikerinnen" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@historikerinnen</a><a href="https://openbiblio.social/tags/histodons" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#histodons</a> <a href="https://openbiblio.social/tags/PoliticalPrisoners" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#PoliticalPrisoners</a>

MMR Nmd<a href="https://todon.eu/tags/Sabotage" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Sabotage</a> <a href="https://todon.eu/tags/GeorgeJackson" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#GeorgeJackson</a> <a href="https://todon.eu/tags/Quotes" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Quotes</a> <a href="https://todon.eu/tags/OutOfPatience" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#OutOfPatience</a>

Jailhouse Lawyers SpeakThis <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/blackaugust" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#blackaugust</a> reflect on the times and revolutionary culture BA originated out of. Understand its intent. Black August Resistance! <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/georgejackson" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#georgejackson</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/blackguerrillas" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#blackguerrillas</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/freeallpolitcalprisoners" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#freeallpolitcalprisoners</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/newafrikanrevolutionarynationalist" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#newafrikanrevolutionarynationalist</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/blackliberation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#blackliberation</a>

Abolition MediaRuchell Cinque Magee Released From Prison After 67 Years of Being Caged<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RuchellCinqueMagee" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#RuchellCinqueMagee</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RuchellMagee" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#RuchellMagee</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PrisonStruggle" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#PrisonStruggle</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MarinCountyCourthouse" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#MarinCountyCourthouse</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GeorgeJackson" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#GeorgeJackson</a> <a href="https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/2023/08/05/ruchell-cinque-magee-was-just-released-from-prison-after-67-years-of-being-caged/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/post/2023/08/05/ruchell-cinque-magee-was-just-released-from-prison-after-67-years-of-being-caged/</a>

MikeDunnAuthorToday in Labor History July 4, 1977: The George Jackson Brigade planted a bomb at a power station in Olympia, Washington, in solidarity with a prison strike at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary. They were a revolutionary group founded in the mid-1970s, based in Seattle, named after George Jackson, a prisoner and Black Panther who was shot and killed during an alleged escape attempt at San Quentin Prison in 1971. The Brigade was composed of both communist and anarchist veterans of the women's liberation, LGBTQ and Black Nationalist movements.<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WorkingClass" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#WorkingClass</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LaborHistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#LaborHistory</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/racism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#racism</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/liberation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#liberation</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/nationalism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#nationalism</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GeorgeJackson" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#GeorgeJackson</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/lgbtq" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#lgbtq</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/anarchism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#anarchism</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/communism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#communism</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/feminism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#feminism</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/prison" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#prison</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/incarceration" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#incarceration</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/strike" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#strike</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BlackPanther" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#BlackPanther</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/bomb" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#bomb</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/solidarity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#solidarity</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BlackMastadon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#BlackMastadon</a>

MikeDunnAuthorToday in Labor History April 15, 1986: Author Jean Genet died on this day. Genet was a novelists, political activist and petty criminal. His book, The Thief’s Journal (1949), relates his experiences as a young prostitute and thief. That same year, the authorities tried to sentence him to life in prison for his ten convictions. Jean Cocteau, Jean-Paul Sartre and Pablo Picasso successfully petitioned the government on his behalf. In 1968, Genet was censored in the U.S. and expelled from the country after they refused him a visa. But he returned in 1970, upon an invitation by the Black Panthers. He stayed three months, giving lectures and attending the trial of Huey Newton. Later that year, he went to Palestine and visited refugee camps. He supported U.S. political prisoners Angela Davis and George Jackson. He also supported the anti-prison, anti-police brutality work of Michel Foucault, in France. <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WorkingClass" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#WorkingClass</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LaborHistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#LaborHistory</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BlackPanthers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#BlackPanthers</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SexWork" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#SexWork</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/prostitution" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#prostitution</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/lgbtq" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#lgbtq</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/JeanGenet" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#JeanGenet</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/sartre" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#sartre</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/picasso" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#picasso</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HueyNewton" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#HueyNewton</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AngelaDavis" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#AngelaDavis</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GeorgeJackson" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#GeorgeJackson</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/prison" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#prison</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#writer</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/novel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#novel</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/play" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#play</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/poetry" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#poetry</a> <a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/bookstadon" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@bookstadon</a>

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