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Black August: On George Jackson and Colin Kaepernick
Posted in Uncategorized on August 28, 2016 by legacybc#SitWithColin
Black August is a time for us to reflect on the perpetual struggle against racism and white supremacy in this country. Likewise, it is an opportunity to recommit ourselves to the struggle (or join it, for that matter). During Black August, one of the things that we do is read the works of George Jackson. Jackson, a revolutionary theorist, witnessed and experienced some of the worst examples of the inhumanity that this system of federated States is capable of. This perspective is important lest we forget how vicious the monster is.
On the surface, the differences between Jackson and Kaepernick could not seem more stark. In 1961, Jackson was convicted for a $70 robbery and sentenced to an indeterminate sentence of one-year to life in prison. 54 years later, Kaepernick would sign a 6-year $119 million contract to play football for the San Francisco 49ers.
At the time of Jackson’s incarceration, there was an active prison movement within the California prison system. Jackson was introduced to the movement by W.L. Nolan and others and would soon become politicized by them and through the study of revolutionary theorists such as Karl Marx and Franz Fanon. The prison movement was geared to towards advocating for humane treatment within the prisons where it was not uncommon for Blacks to be brutalized and even killed by guards. In fact, both Nolan and Jackson would eventually be gunned down by prison guards.
45 years following Jackson’s assassination, it remains necessary for a movement to exist that is dedicated to struggling for the protection of Black lives from state sanctioned violence at the hands of state agents. It appears as though Kaepernick has been inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, just as Jackson was inspired by the prison movement.
This is significant in light of Jackson’s analysis of the fate of Black leaders. In his book, Soledad Brother, writing to his lawyer, Fay Stender, Jackson compared the plight of Black people to the plains buffalo, a herd animal, and the manner in which they are hunted.
The great American bison or buffalo — he’s a herd animal, or social animal if you prefer, just like us in that. We’re social animals, we need others of our general kind about us to feel secure….. Social animals eat, sleep, and travel in company, they need this company to feel secure. This fact means that socialistic animals also need leaders. It follows logically that if the buffalo is going to eat, sleep, and travel in groups some coordinating factor is needed or some will be sleeping when others are traveling. Without the leader-follower complex, in a crisis the company would roar off in a hundred different directions…… The hunter understood this. Predatory man learned of the natural occurrence of leadership in all of the social animals; that each group will by nature produce a leader, and to these natural leaders fall the responsibility for coordination of the group’s activity, organizing them for survival. The buffalo hunter knew that if he could isolate and identify the leader of the herd and kill him first, the rest of the herd would be helpless, at his mercy, to be killed off as he saw fit.
Jackson goes on to discuss why he thinks that those who have achieved success in society tend to be disinclined from speaking out against injustice or joining movements for change.
The potential black leadership looks at the pitiable condition of the black herd: the corruption, the preoccupation with irrelevance, the apparent ineptitude concerning matters of survival…… He weighs this thing that he sees in the herd against the possible risks he’ll be taking at the hands of the fascist monster and he naturally decides to go for himself, feeling that he can’t help us because we are beyond help, that he may as well get something out of existence. These are the “successful Negroes,” the opposite of the “failures.” You find them on the ball courts and fields, the stage…..
George Jackson was assassinated, not so much because of his scathing and insightful critique of our society, but because of his ability to organize and inspire people. One of the stated objectives of the FBI’s CounterIntelligence Program was to “prevent the rise of a Black Messiah who could unify and electrify the [people].” Fearless, strong, inspirational, and uncompromising Black leadership is anathema to white supremacy.
Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the national anthem and his pointed statements explaining his actions was momentous. It puts him in the category of John Carlos and Tommie Smith, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, and other athletes who took unequivocal oppositional stances against social injustice – racism in particular. Furthermore, it wasn’t impulsive. It was calculated and deliberate. He knows how intimately the NFL is associated with the military. He knows that that simple gesture may have been career suicide, but he took a principled stance anyway. For that he deserves our support.
I have many friends in the movement who shun professional sports because of the social distraction that the tend to represent. It is indeed an indictment against our societal priorities when the Super Bowl is the most watched event on television. How many people would pay $50 to watch a ball game before they would donate $50 to a political party, or a non-profit, or a homeless person? How many of us read the sports page first? How many of us know the various statistics of players and games, but are clueless to the expenditures of the local, state, and national budget? I get it. And as “woke” as I may be, I’m guilty of it myself. I love football.
However, all of the reasons why one might choose to shun sports are the reasons to support Kaepernick. Similarly, all of the reasons to cheer for sports are the reasons to support Kaepernick. He is danger of losing endorsements and possibly his job because he is taking an unpopular stance. It’s our job to make it popular. To show that he is not alone and significant portion of the population appreciates what he did. Voice your opinion on social media. Support him and chastise others for standing during the anthem. Might I suggest #SitNextToColin and #WhyAreYouStanding. If you can afford it, purchase his jersey on the NFL Shop website or other retailers as a boycott in reverse. Currently, the highest selling jersey is rookie Ezekiel Elliott. Why? Because he is dynamic and fans are excited about him. Kaepernick is dynamic and those of us who agree with him should be excited about him. Supporting him at this moment will encourage others to take similar stances.
This strategy is applicable to all of our leaders and comrades within the movement. People are apt to be more fearless when they know that others have their back. However, too often we fail our leaders. Betty Shabazz and her family should never have wanted for anything after her husband, our “shining Black prince” was assassinated. But that wasn’t the case. How many political prisoners have been buried alive and forgotten? What of the fate of their families? We have to appreciate the risks that people take when they stand out front. And although Kaepernick may not be a leader in the Black Lives Matter movement, currently, he is standing (sitting) out front and vulnerable. Furthermore, at present he has a larger microphone than any of us. Protecting him now is protecting our movement. The enemy will attempt to make an example out of him. So should we. Let us heed George Jackson and avoid going the way of the buffalo.
Lawyers, Advocates: Prison Hunger Strike Force Feeding Order Political Attack on Peaceful Protest
Posted in Uncategorized on August 23, 2013 by legacybcFor Immediate Release—August 22, 2013
Lawyers, Advocates: Prison Hunger Strike Force Feeding Order Political Attack on Peaceful Protest
Strikers Vow to Continue, Prisoners Rejoin Strike, Supporters Redouble Efforts
Strikers Vow to Continue, Prisoners Rejoin Strike, Supporters Redouble Efforts
Press Contacts:
Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity
Oakland—As prisoners enter their 46th day of the massive California prison hunger strike, supporters continue to condemn Monday’s controversial court order that authorizes force feeding of strike participants and that disregards their medical wishes. According to lawyers just back from a visit to Pelican Bay, the order has emboldened prisoners to continue their strike, while others have decided to rejoin the strike in response to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) attack.
Attorney Anne Weills met with strikers in Pelican Bay Tuesday and Wednesday. “Although some have lost around 30 pounds and are getting significantly weaker, they are still very sharp intellectually and are still deeply united in their struggle for a life with dignity,” said Weills. “They are very much committed to their demands and are waiting for Governor Brown to send someone to Pelican Bay to negotiate about those demands.”
Weills reported that prisoners were disturbed that the Judge who signed the controversial order, along with the Prison Law Office and the Medical Receiver’s office would align themselves with the CDCR’s political repression of the peaceful protest. Strike supporters are particularly disturbed and outraged that the order against strikers’ advanced medical directives (AMD) adds legal weight to the CDCR’s sensational, and largely unsubstantiated, propaganda that all strike participation is part of a gang conspiracy. “This is an extraordinary political attack on the hunger strikers,” continued Weills. “ It is even more absurd when a spokesperson for the Medical Receiver’s office stated that among the hunger strikers who have been starving since July 8th, there are very few who have any advanced medical directives in the first place. So who is being coerced? There is not one shred of evidence that has been presented to Judge Henderson that anyone has been coerced to sign anything. Where are the declarations of such a person? Where is a declaration from a real hunger striker which states that they are being coerced? Is this a fraud being perpetrated on a federal judge, who trusts the Plata plaintiff’s attorneys? Why was there no evidentiary hearing?”
“This is a continuation of CDCR’s attacks on a nonviolent protest,” said Dolores Canales of the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition. “We have seen this before. This is about dehumanizing the strikers, delegitimizing their demands, and disrupting the widespread support for the protest coming from the community. But, as always, this will only cause the strikers, their loved ones, and their supports to fight harder.” Amid CDCR’s latest stunts and Gov. Brown’s continued silence, strike supporters are continuing to put pressure on California politicians, demanding action from the state’s Public Safety Committee .
It seems that the CDCR’s plans have backfired as Weills reports prisoners are rejoining the strike. “As a result of recent events and Judge Henderson’s Order, I was told yesterday that more than 50 people in the SHU at Pelican Bay are now going back on hunger strike,” said Weills. “From what I understand, that 50 may turn into 100 very fast, and that many have already been on rolling hunger strikes—going two weeks on, and then two weeks off. This will all continue until an agreement is reached.”
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Bail request filed by Herman Wallace of the Angola 3
Posted in Updates on issues facing Political Prisoners and POWs on August 23, 2013 by legacybcby International Coalition to Free the Angola 3
Wednesday Aug 21st, 2013 9:54 AM
Wednesday Aug 21st, 2013 9:54 AM
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/08/21/18741863.php
On the evening of August 20, the Angola 3’s legal team filed a request for bail in Herman Wallace’s habeas case. This comes only days BEFORE a recommendation is expected from the Magistrate Judge reviewing the case. Judge Jackson has the authority to issue bail at any time while the case is under consideration, but especially when the facts are compelling and failure to release on bail could “leave the petitioner without remedy.”
In addition to an overwhelming body of evidence pointing to actual innocence, his habeas claim presents not one but 4 strong constitutional violations each sufficient on their own to trigger release. According to the prisons own mechanisms of review, he does not pose a danger to himself or others and has not had a disciplinary write up for any incidence of institutional violence in over 30 years. Most crucially at this time, his health continues to deteriorate rapidly, in no small part due to “the sub-standard care of the Louisiana Department of Corrections,” and if bail is denied, he may not survive the weeks or months possibly needed to complete the litigation of his claim, even if the Court rules in his favor.According to the legal team, this sort of request for bail pending habeas review was once relatively routine 20 years ago but is only very rarely granted now. However, as we all know well, and as the attorneys do an excellent job of summarizing for the Court, Herman’s case is “exceptional,” and “deserving of special treatment in the interests of justice.”
Let us hope Judge Jackson agrees.
We will update you as soon as we hear anything from the Court.
BLACK AUGUST DC 2013
Posted in Black August 2013 on August 1, 2013 by legacybcBLACK AUGUST 2013 – WASHINGTON DC
Black August Film Series at Sankofa, Every Wednesday at 6pm, $5 admission
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Tune in to Voices With Vision on Tuesdays from 10-11am and The Super Funky Soul Power Hour on Fridays from 11-noon on 89.3fm WPFW-Pacifica Radio or stream at www.wpfw.org
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August 1 – One man play, Jay Sun for President; Directed by John Johnson
Location: Anacostia Playhouse; 2020 Shannon Pl. SE (Behind the Big Chair), Time: Doors 7pm; House Open 7:30pm; Show 8pm
Welcome to the New World. Meet the New President.
August 3 – War Resister’s League 90th Anniversary Conference; Political Prisoner Panel
Location: Georgetown University (37th & O St NW) Inter-Cultural Center, Room 205b
Time: 1-330pm
Cost: Free
Political Prisoners: How people become political prisons: how do we support them?
The workshop will focus on the forces that turned 3 people – Jihad AbdulMumit, Jericho Co-chair; Ramona Africa, Move; Cisco Torres, former political prisoner from SF – into Resistance Movement organizers against The War by Amerkia on People of Color in the 1970’s. There will be short presentations that discuss how theses forces were perceived and resisted by the panelists and their actions in response. The remainder of the time will be for discussion. Led by Paulette D’Auteuil from DC-Jericho.
August 6 – Black August Concert
Location: The Howard Theater
Time: Doors open at 6pm, Show starts at 8pm
Cost: $20
featuring Dead Prez, Maimouna Youssef, Martin Luther, Gods’illa, and Farafina Kan. Hosted by Wise Intelligent (Poor Righteous Teachers). See more at: http://thehowardtheatre.com/show/2013/08/06/black-august-ft-dead-prez-maimouna-youssef-martin-luther-godsilla-and-farafina-kan/
August 7 – Wilmington 10; USA 10,000
Location: Sankofa Video & Books; 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington DC
Time: 6pm
Cost: $5
“Wilmington 10; USA 10,000” by Haile Gerima, looks at the case of nine black boys and men as well as one white woman held as political prisoners in the 1970’s on trumped up charges designed to discourage their organizing in Wilmington, North Carolina. Ben Chavis and icons such as Charles Cobb Sr. and the United Church of Christ are featured. Includes Assata Shakur, and other political prisoners.
August 10 – Dr. CR Gibbs Annual Black August lecture “Let Your Motto Be Resistance”
Location: Southwest Library; 900 Wesley Place SW (1 block from Waterfront Metro)
Time: 11am – 130pm
Cost: Free
This year, Professor Gibbs annual lecture will focus on the history of the effective use of the boycott for purposes of Black self-determination, liberation, and protest.
August 14 – Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary
Location: Sankofa Video & Books; 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington DC
Time: 6pm
Cost: $5
Before he was convicted of murdering a policeman in 1981 and sentenced to die, Mumia Abu-Jamal was a gifted journalist and brilliant writer. Now after more than 30 years in prison and despite attempts to silence him, Mumia is not only still alive but continuing to report, educate, provoke and inspire.
Stephen Vittoria’s new feature documentary is an inspiring portrait of a man whom many consider America’s most famous political prisoner – a man whose existence tests our beliefs about freedom of expression. Through prison interviews, archival footage, and dramatic readings, and aided by a potent chorus of voices including Cornel West, Alice Walker, Dick Gregory, Angela Davis, Amy Goodman and others, this riveting film explores Mumia’s life before, during and after Death Row – revealing, in the words of Angela Davis, “the most eloquent and most powerful opponent of the death penalty in the world…the 21st Century Frederick Douglass.”
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August 21 – Herman’s House
Location: Sankofa Video & Books; 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington DC
Time: 6pm
Cost: $5
Herman Wallace may be the longest-serving prisoner in solitary confinement in the United States—he’s spent more than 40 years in a 6-by-9-foot cell in Louisiana. Imprisoned in 1967 for a robbery he admits, he was subsequently sentenced to life for a killing he vehemently denies. Herman’s House is a moving account of the remarkable expression his struggle found in an unusual project proposed by artist Jackie Sumell. Imagining Wallace’s “dream home” began as a game and became an interrogation of justice and punishment in America. The film takes us inside the duo’s unlikely 12-year friendship, revealing the transformative power of art.
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August 25 – Annual Black August book event [RESCHEDULED – SEE BELOW]
Feat. Maroon the Implacable: The Collected Writings of Russell ‘Maroon’ Shoatz
Location: Sankofa Video & Books; 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington DC
August 28 – Free Angela Davis & All Political Prisoners
Location: Sankofa Video & Books; 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington DC
Time: 6pm
Cost: $5
Free Angela is a gripping historic account of the events that catapulted a young University of California philosophy professor into a controversial political icon in the turbulent late 1960’s. Angela Davis joins the Communist Party, protests with the Black Panthers, and becomes a principle spokesperson for the burgeoning prison reform movement. As a result, she finds herself Fighting to keep her job, and in the national media spotlight characterized by her many detractors as a dangerous subversive menace, and by her supporters as a strong leader challenging authority and boldly advocating for “Power to All People.”
It’s an edge-of-your seat thriller told for the first time by Angela and others who lived through the events firsthand. The interviews recount the politics that led her to challenge authority and spur a worldwide movement for her freedom that cemented Angela Davis, and her signature Afro hairstyle, as an iconic symbol of this still relevant political and social movement — the right to challenge the system. You know her name. Now, you will finally know her story.
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AUGUST 29 – Discussion on the Prison Labor Movement
Location: UDC Law School; 4240 Connecticut Ave, Bldg. 52, Room 505
Time: 5pm
Cost: Free
This program will feature Donald F. Tibbs, JD/Phd of Drexel University Law School and author of the book From Black Power to Prison Power: The Making of Jones v. North Carolina Prisoners’ Labor Union. The book is a legal history of how the social and cultural history of the Black Power era connects to the legal history of the Prisoner’s Rights Movement; and what the Supreme Court did to eviscerate both.
Donald F. Tibbs. FROM BLACK POWER to PRISON POWER: The Making of Jones v. North Carolina Prisoners’ Labor Union. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/donald_tibbs/4
This book uses the landmark case Jones v. North Carolina Prisoners’ Labor Union to examine the strategies of prison inmates using race and radicalism to inspire the formation of an inmate labor union. It thus rekindles the debate over the triumphs and troubles associated with the use of Black Power as a platform for influencing legal policy and effecting change for inmates. While the ideology of the prison rights movement was complex, it rested on the underlying principle that the right to organize, and engage in political dissidence, was not only a First Amendment right guaranteed to free blacks, but one that should be explicitly guaranteed to captive blacks—a point too often overlooked in previous analyses. Ultimately, this seminal case study not only illuminates the history of Black Power but that of the broader prisoners’ rights movement as well.
September 7 – Annual Black August book event
Feat. Maroon the Implacable: The Collected Writings of Russell ‘Maroon’ Shoatz
Location: Sankofa Video & Books; 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington DC
Time: 6-8pm
Cost: Free
Russell Maroon Shoatz is a political prisoner who has been held unjustly for over thirty years, including two decades in solitary confinement. He was active as a leader in the Black Liberation Movement in Philadelphia, both above and underground. His successful escapes from maximum-security prisons earned him the title “Maroon.” Despite the torture and deprivation that has been everyday life for Maroon over the last several decades, he has remained at the cutting edge of history through his writings. Maroon the Implacable: The Collected Writings of Russell ‘Maroon’ Shoatz is the first published collection of his accumulated written works, and also includes new essays written expressly for this volume.
This program will feature Russell Shoatz III on behalf of his father.
Black August in DC 2012 schedule
Posted in Black August 2012 on August 15, 2012 by legacybcWednesday August 1st; 7pm
Umoja House; 2015 Bunkerhill Rd NE, Washington DC
Political Education Class
Political Prisoner Letter writing and commissary donations. We display video’s on political prisoners, send them cards and make donations to their commissary.
sponsored by the National Black United Front
More info: NBUFDC@gmail.com
Saturday August 4; 11am
Turkey Thicket Recreation Center; 1100 Michigan Ave NE, Washington DC
NBUF N’Joya Weusi Rites of Passage Program/Saturday School
Children will create art projects and send to political prisoners.
sponsored by the National Black United Front
More info: NBUFDC@gmail.com
Sunday August 5; 2pm
Intersection of Malcolm X Ave SE & MLK Jr. Ave SE, Washington DC
NBUF Feed the Hood Project
The NBUF Feed the Hood Project is based upon the Black Panther Party for Self Defense Survival Programs & the principles of Kwanzaa. We will be having a food & clothing drive and circulating info on political prisoners as well.
sponsored by the National Black United Front
More info: NBUFDC@gmail.com
Wednesday August 8; 6-7pm
Howard University Yard between Douglass Hall and Fine Arts building
Students Against Mass Incarceration (SAMI) weekly Political Education class
Featuring Naji Mujahid, this class will focus on the purpose and history of Black August.
sponsored by SAMI
Saturday August 11; 730-Midnight
Outdoor Theater; 8th & Taylor NW
Black August film series outdoors featuring the film Angola 3: Black Panthers and the Last Slave Plantation
The film starts at 9pm. Come beforehand to mingle and build. Bring your own food for the grill or to share. Some food will be available for purchase; while it lasts. Bring your own chair.
The Angola 3: Black Panthers and the Last Slave Plantation tells the gripping story of Robert King, Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox, men who have endured solitary confinement longer than any known living prisoner in the United States. Politicized through contact with the Black Panther Party while inside Louisiana’s prisons, they formed one of the only prison Panther chapters in history and worked to organize other prisoners into a movement for the right to live like human beings. This feature length movie explores their extraordinary struggle for justice while incarcerated in Angola, a former slave plantation where institutionalized rape and murder made it known as one of the most brutal and racist prisons in the United States. The analysis of the Angola 3’s political work, and the criminal cases used to isolate and silence them, occurs within the context of the widespread COINTELPRO being carried out in the 1960’s and 70’s by the FBI and state law enforcement against militant voices for change.
For more info: 202-718-8323
Wednesday August 15: 7-10pm
Studio W; 628 W St NE, Washington DC
Bilal Sunni Ali, Live in Concert [$20]
Bilal Sunni Ali returns to Banneker city Washington DC as he has for the last three Augusts to Lecture and Perform. Each year Bilal has uplifted and inspired us with great music and energy. Bilal Sunni Ali who grew up with Gil Scott Heron, played in the Midnight Band is the UNIA-ACL Ambassador of Belize, where he currently lives on his 50 acre farmland. He was co-defendant to political prisoner Mutulu Shakur and member of the Republic of New Afrika.
This years concert taking place in Black August, once again is a Tribute to the works, words and deeds the legendary of Gil Scott Heron. The cost is $20.00 per person. There will be food sales and refreshments. Tickets can be purchased at Blue Nile Trading Company [Georgia Ave & Harvard St. NW, Wash. DC] and MMTI now. Plans are underway to stream the event at the www.mmtidc.org web site.
Sponsored by the UNIA-ACL and Baye Services
More info: SenghorB@hotmail.com or 202-256-2518
Saturday August 18; 830am-130pm
BUS DEPARTS FROM BUSBOYS & POETS 1025 5TH ST. NW. (5TH & K ST.) 8:30AM RETURNING 1:30PM
TICKETS $20.00 IN ADVANCE; $25.00 DAY OF TOUR; $15.00 Under 18/y.o.
Tickets can also be purchased through PAYPAL {to black.august07@gmail.com} for $21.50
SNACKS AND BEVERAGES INCLUDED
Tickets may also be purchased at Sankofa Video & Books
2714 Georgia Ave, Washington, DC 202-234-4755
“Let Your Motto Be Resistance”
CR Gibbs Black August Lecture and Bus tour
This year Dr. Gibbs will introduce us to new and original research about the underground railroad. It’s an exhilarating experience to be able to receive new information from Dr. Gibbs while visiting the the actual sites.
Tour goers receive a unique sense of ancestral connection and spiritual uplifting unlike the experience in lecture rooms. We will continue to observe the theme of resistance by looking at how slavery operated in the DC area. We will make first hand visits to key points of resistance from Silver Spring to Alexandria.
This tour promises to be intellectually interesting and culturally stunning.
Sponsored by the Black August Planning Organization
More info: 202-470-7780 or freedomkoofshaw@yahoo.com
Saturday August 18; 830pm
Please RSVP to 888-245-4789 with number in your party; We will call you back with address.
Movie Night Under the Stars – Black August Double Feature! – QUILOMBO & EYES ON THE RAINBOW
Legacy Empowerment Invites you to “Movie Night Under the Stars,” at Nkechi & Dakarai’s Backyard Home Theatre!
Featuring the story of the legendary Palmares Repbulic in “QUILOMBO” and rare footage of Assata Shakur in “EYES ON THE RAINBOW”
Bring sweater, blanket, lawn chair $5.00 per person for the evening (no fee for movies or food; cost covers overhead)
We show these films on August 18th, in honor of Black August and its spirit of resistance, the birthday season of the Honorable Marcus Garvey, and in remembrance of Imari Obadele and the Aug. 18, 1971 attack on the RNA residence in Jackson, MS. In the words of Mumia Abu-Jamal – “Black August is a month of injustice and divine justice, of repression and righteous rebellion, of individual and collective efforts to free the land and break the chains that bind us.”
QUILOMBO – in 17th century Brazil, groups of runaway Blacks escaped to mountainous jungle strongholds, where they formed self-governing communities known as quilombos. This film chronicles Palmares, the most famous of these centers of resistance, which flourished for several hundred years under the reign of the mighty legendary warrior-priest – Ganga Zumba. This movie, based on fact, illuminates how African spirituality worked side by side with the resistance movement. (portuguese with english subtitles)
EYES ON THE RAINBOW – Gloria Rolando’s masterful film illuminates the life, politics and spirituality of revolutionary freedom fighter Assata Shakur, who escaped from prison in 1979 and was granted political asylum in Cuba. The film highlights poignant footage from the era of the Panthers, including rare interviews with Sister Assata.
Sponsored by Legacy Empowerment and BAPO
Sunday 19 August; 2-4pm
Sankofa Video & Books Cafe
2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington DC
Fundraiser and Support Rally for the MOVE feat. Pam and Ramona Africa
Admission is $10
August 8th will mark the 34th year of imprisonment for the MOVE 9. Following the shooting death of Philadelphia Police Officer James Ramp during the August 8, 1978 police siege on Move’s headquarters in West Philadelphia, MOVE members Janine, Debbie, Janet, Merle, Delbert, Mike, Phil, Eddie, and Chuck Africa were convicted of 3rd degree murder, conspiracy, and multiple counts of attempted murder and aggravated assault. Each was given a sentence of 30-100 years. MOVE and others have contested both the evidence and the fairness of the MOVE 9 trial.
Ramona Africa (sole adult survivor of the May13,1985 attack on Move headquarters) and Pam Africa (Move minister of confrontation) will join us. Come get the background on this beautiful family/organization that was twice unjustly and savagely attacked by the Philadelphia police department, then charged and convicted of a crime they could not have committed. If ever there were a time to mobilize for their freedom THAT TIME IS NOW. After 34 years of imprisonment and the loss of Merle Africa how can we, as a community, tolerate this evil of injustice any longer? This will be a fundraiser/friendraiser for their support. Join us and find out what you do th support the MOVE 9 and advocate for their release. Free all Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War!
Sponsored by BAPO
Friday August 24; 6-8pm
Sankofa Video & Books; 2714 Georgia Ave, Washington DC
5th Annual Black August book signing at Sankofa
Featuring former political prisoner Jamal Joseph and his new autobiography Panther Baby: A Life of Rebellion & Reinvention
In the 1960s he exhorted students at Columbia University to burn their college to the ground. Today he’s chair of their School of the Arts film division. Jamal Joseph’s personal odyssey—from the streets of Harlem to Riker’s Island and Leavenworth to the halls of Columbia—is as gripping as it is inspiring.Eddie Joseph was a high school honor student, slated to graduate early and begin college. But this was the late 1960s in Bronx’s black ghetto, and fifteen-year-old Eddie was introduced to the tenets of the Black Panther Party, which was just gaining a national foothold. By sixteen, his devotion to the cause landed him in prison on the infamous Rikers Island—charged with conspiracy as one of the Panther 21 in one of the most emblematic criminal cases of the sixties. When exonerated, Eddie—now called Jamal—became the youngest spokesperson and leader of the Panthers’ New York chapter.He joined the “revolutionary underground,” later landing back in prison. Sentenced to more than twelve years in Leavenworth, he earned three degrees there and found a new calling. He is now chair of Columbia University’s School of the Arts film division—the very school he exhorted students to burn down during one of his most famous speeches as a Panther.In raw, powerful prose, Jamal Joseph helps us understand what it meant to be a soldier inside the militant Black Panther movement. He recounts a harrowing, sometimes deadly imprisonment as he charts his path to manhood in a book filled with equal parts rage, despair, and hope.
Sponsored by the Black August Planning Organization
Saturday August 25; 730-Midnight
Outdoor Theater; 8th & Taylor NW
Black August film series outdoors featuring the film Against the Wall
The film starts at 9pm. Come beforehand to mingle and build. Bring your own food for the grill or to share. Some food will be available for purchase; while it lasts. Bring your own chair.
Against the Wall is an HBO docudrama depicts the notorious 1971 prison revolt at the Attica State Penitentiary in upstate New York. One can sense the mastery of veteran theatrical feature director John Frankenheimer in the movie’s gripping suspense and gritty, hard-hitting realism. The semi-fictionalized narrative is told from the point of view of young Michael Smith (Kyle MacLachlan), a newly recruited prison guard. (The real Smith worked as a consultant on the film.) When Smith arrives at Attica, the place is a revolt waiting to happen. When riots break out and the inmates take command of the prison, Smith and several other guards are held hostage. In this powder-keg climate, a relationship develops between Smith and the rebellion’s wise, cool-headed leader, Jamaal (the superb Samuel L. Jackson), a political prisoner representing the African Liberation Movement. The insurrection at Attica became emblematic of protests taking place all over the United States at the time. “We’ve got a civil war going on in this country,” says one prison guard, “This is where we hold the line.” Against the Wall illustrates in no uncertain terms which side won this particular battle, and at what tragic cost. Then it goes one step further, becoming a platform for contemporary prison reform. The film’s terrific performances include Clarence L. Williams III as a wild-eyed, malcontent prisoner, Frederic Forrest as a rabid prison guard, and Anne Heche as Smith’s stalwart wife.
For more info: 202-718-8323
Political Prisoner Radio links
Posted in Audio files on August 14, 2012 by legacybcCLICK THE LINK for Bro. Bilal Sunni-Ali on the case of Dr. Mutulu
Shakur at http://blacktalkradio.blogspot.com/2012/08/political-prisoner-radio-dr-mutulu.html
CLICK THE LINK for the case of PP Robert “Seth” Hayes w/guests his
daughter, Crystal Hayes, and
long-time supporter, Nate Buckley at
http://blacktalkradionetwork.com/events/political-prisoner-radio-robert-seth-hayes-8-00-pm-est
CLICK THE LINK for Sis. Gloria LaRiva on the case of the Cuban Five at
http://blacktalkradio.blogspot.com/2012/07/political-prisoner-radio-cuban-five.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BlackTalkRadioNewsViews+%28Black+Talk+Radio+News+%26+Views%29
CLICK THE LINK for Bro. Herman Ferguson and Sis. Iyaluua Ferguson on
the case of Bro. Abdul Majid at
http://blacktalkradio.blogspot.com/2012/07/political-prisoner-radio-w-baba-herman.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BlackTalkRadioNewsViews+%28Black+Talk+Radio+News+%26+Views%29
CLICK THE LINK for Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. at
http://blacktalkradio.blogspot.com/2012/07/political-prisoner-radio-w-fred-hampton.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BlackTalkRadioNewsViews+%28Black+Talk+Radio+News+%26+Views%29
CLICK THE LINK for Bro. Ralph Poynter on the case of Atty Lynne
Stewart at http://blacktalkradio.blogspot.com/2012/07/political-prisoner-radio-free-lynne.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BlackTalkRadioNewsViews+%28Black+Talk+Radio+News+%26+Views%29
CLICK THE LINK for Bro. Robert King Wilkerson on the case of the
Angola 3 at http://blacktalkradionetwork.com/events/political-prisoner-radio-the-case-of-the-political-prisoners-know
CLICK THE LINK for Atty Robert Boyle and Brooke Reynolds on the case
of Bro. Jalil Abdul Muntaqim at
http://blacktalkradio.blogspot.com/2012/06/political-prisoner-radio-free-jalil.html
CLICK THE LINK for Sis. Karima Al-Amin on the case of Imam Jamil
Al-Amin at http://blacktalkradio.blogspot.com/2012/06/political-prisoner-radio-imam-jamil.html
CLICK THE LINK for David Hill, Peter Clark and Wanbli Tate on the case
of Bro. Leonard Peltier at
http://blacktalkradio.blogspot.com/2012/06/political-prisoner-radio-leonard.html?spref=fb
CLICK THE LINK for former PP’s Vicente “Panama” Alba and Ricardo
Jimenez on the case of Bro. Oscar Lopez-Rivera at
http://blacktalkradionetwork.com/events/political-prisoner-radio-free-oscar-lopez-rivera-8-00-pm-est
CLICK THE LINK for Sis. Dequi Kioni-Sadiki on the case of Bro. Sekou
Odinga at http://blacktalkradionetwork.com/events/political-prisoner-radio-free-sekou-odinga-8-00-pm-est
CLICK THE LINK for ex-PP Bro. Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin and the upcoming
Memphis Black Power Conference!
http://blacktalkradionetwork.com/events/political-prisoner-radio-w-lorenzo-komboa-ervin
CLICK THE LINK for Sis. Fayemi Shakur and Sis. Walidah Imarisha on the
case of Bro. Sundiata Acoli!
http://blacktalkradionetwork.com/events/political-prisoner-radio-free-feedom-activist-sundiata-acoli
CLICK THE LINK for Sis. Dominque Stevenson on Bro. Marshall “Eddie”
Conway (features a call-in from Bro. Eddie)!
http://blacktalkradionetwork.com/events/political-prisoner-radio-free-marshall-eddie-conway-8-00-est
CLICK THE LINK for Sis. Theresa Shoatz on Bro. Russell “Maroon”
Shoats! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8XGCZTxrB0
CLICK THE LINK for Prof. Johanna Fernandez and Sis. Jamila Wilson on
Bro. Mumia Abu-Jamal!
http://blacktalkradionetwork.com/events/political-prisoner-radio-free-mumia-abu-jamal
CLICK THE LINK for Sis. Kiilu Nyasha on Bro. Hugo “Yogi” Pinell!
http://blacktalkradionetwork.com/events/political-prisoner-radio-w-sis-kiilu-nyasha-8-00-pm-est
CLICK THE LINK for Sis. Ramona Africa on the MOVE 9!
http://blacktalkradionetwork.com/events/political-prisoner-radio-w-ramona-africa-8-00-pm-est
Kumasi Speaks: What is Black August?
Posted in Audio files on August 12, 2012 by legacybcKumasi, the official historian of the Black August Organizing Committee, speaks about the origins of the California prison movement and the meaning behind Black August.
http://archive.org/details/KumasiSpeaksWhatIsBlackAugust
Black August originated in the California penal system to honor fallen Freedom Fighters, Jonathan Jackson, George Jackson, William Christmas, James McClain and Khatari Gaulden. Jonathan Jackson was gunned down outside the Marin County California courthouse on August 7, 1970 as he attempted to liberate three imprisoned Black Liberation Fighters: James McClain, William Christmas and Ruchell Magee. Ruchell Magee is the sole survivor of that armed liberation attempt. He is the former co-defendant of Angela Davis and has been locked down for 38 years, most of it in solitary confinement. George Jackson was assassinated by prison guards during a Black prison rebellion at San Quentin on August 21, 1971. Three prison guards were also killed during that rebellion and prison officials charged six Black and Latino prisoners with the death of those guards. These six brothers became known as the San Quentin Six.
Khatari Gaulden was a prominent leader of the Black Guerilla Family (BGF) after Comrade George was assassinated. Khatari was a leading force in the formation of Black August, particularly its historical and ideological foundations. Khatari, like many of the unnamed freedom fighters of the BGF and the revolutionary prison movement of the 1970’s, was murdered at San Quentin Prison in 1978 to eliminate his leadership and destroy the resistance movement.
The brothers who participated in the collective founding of Black August wore black armbands on their left arm and studied revolutionary works, focusing on the works of George Jackson. The brothers did not listen to the radio or watch television in August. Additionally, they didn’t eat or drink anything from sun-up to sundown; and loud and boastful behavior was not allowed. The brothers did not support the prison’s canteen. The use of drugs and alcoholic beverages was prohibited and the brothers held daily exercises, because during Black August, emphasis is placed on sacrifice, fortitude and discipline. Black August is a time to embrace the principles of unity, self-sacrifice, political education, physical training and resistance.
BLACK AUGUST RESISTANCE 2012
Posted in Black August 2012 on August 3, 2012 by legacybcBLACK AUGUST RESISTANCE 2012
As we focus our energies, resources and collective spirits to acknowledge and commemorate another Black August, we give thanks to those who continue to unselfishly recognize and work on behalf of our Political Prisoners. It is no easy task to stay involved with such an unforgiving and unpopular mission. The law enforcement empire Is quite relentless in their ongoing efforts to undermine and destroy the concept and heart of Black August. It should come as no surprise that the need to build more and stronger support for Political Captives is greater than ever. The fact that we are forced to count the years of false and unjust imprisonment of Americas’ Political Prisoners in decades in so many instances should move many more to become very seriously involved in the fight for their freedom. The names don’t roll off the tongue like some of our more famous movie stars, but only because society’s value system bends our minds to the emptiness of the big screen.
When we talk about some of the brothers in Corcoran, Pelican Bay or some other of California’s 34 prisons in which they have been warehoused out of sight out of mind in some cases nearly fifty years, the conversation must involve movement now. The Move 9 have been held captive 34 years, obvious Political Prisoners whose family members were burned alive by a government gone mad with power. Why would anyone question working for their freedom? Still they sit growing older, health failing while the true facts of their innocence are ignored and grow fainter in the minds of some like the years of their wasted lives. Black August is a clarion call to get involved with the Move Organization and all others working to gain their freedom.
Injustice is heaped upon us as our daily lot and we preen for the cameras that march us determinedly away from our focus. Black August Resistance is about ignoring the temptations and distractions we face year round if only in the month of August as we dedicate that energy to solving some portion of the problem of mass Political incarceration. Black August as an entity is totally dedicated to continuing the work of freeing all Political Prisoners and educating people in so-called free society on the insidiously corrupt and unfixable nature of Americas’ concentration camps. Black August as a concept seeks to involve individuals, groups and organizations in every way possible on a back breaking mission to put Americas’ night and day mare prison system in check.
With the numbers of men, women and children flowing through the gates of the largest system of incarceration in the world increasing daily, America is in no danger of giving up or even sharing that #1 position and those of us down here on the ground are in danger of oblivion. We cannot afford to ease our vigilance on a policy and system of imprisonment that literally eats our young and tortures our elders to death. Black August is about that vigilance, about making folks inside know we will not leave them to the embedded cruelty of their captors.
Over the past three decades people have used the name Black August to represent issues, causes and personal opinions that have absolutely nothing to do with the original and ongoing concept of working to enlighten the world about Americas’ prisons, solutions and hands on involvement working with and for Political Prisoners. While enthusiasm is much needed in dealing with such treacherous and heartrending problems as sensory deprivation units and behavioral control programs, we must confine ourselves to the journey or all meaning will be lost.
We salute all those who have defied the police state and the curious animosity of friend like individuals to maintain the core principles of black august. We salute all those who have been inspired by Black August to further their commitment to the struggle for freedom by taking on challenges that require concentrated dedication and a single minded determination that will ultimately yield a fruit that will serve the people greatly. We must pull it all back together in spite of the people who selfishly pull others away or harbor petty grudges or jealousies that fester in dark places and in the end harm all concerned. Once again it is not about us. There is a captive audience waiting for us to echo Comrade Georges’ words as my elder sister Kiilu continues to remind us, come together and settle our quarrels not for ourselves but for the people we claim to serve. Black August Resistance!!!
BLACK AUGUST ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS
OAKLAND CALIFORNIA
The Shoulders Beneath My Feet 