BAOC Statement on the Black August movie
Statement on Black August the movie:
To say the movie was a sham would be too much like lending it credibility through negation. The production of this movie is a direct attack on the true origins of the original concepts of Black August as put forth by those sincere and steadfast revolutionary individuals who died standing firm within California’s concentration camps. The many brothers left in isolation behind the walls who still live half lives due to their commitment to collective revolutionary ideals have no connection to or input in any aspect of this concoction. They have suffered these decades in obscurity for faithfully commemorating all of the principles embodied in why the original Black August was conceived. This movie is an insult to the memory of comrade George Jackson, W.L. Nolan, Cleveland Edwards, Alvin Jugs Miller, Fred Billingly, the man-child comrade Jonathan Jackson, James McClain, William Christmas and those not named who gave their last breaths so that the indomitable will and spirit of revolutionaries to come would know the path. The people who put together this collection of indictments against true revolutionaries both gone and surviving have no knowledge or understanding of the times or characters of the individuals portrayed. The movie cosigns the inaccurate and fictional account of people, places, and most especially events the state invented and encouraged the mass media to spread far and wide. Law enforcement has a new tool that is remarkably well
suited to discrediting the accomplishments and continued efforts of actual Black August members. Most people have no idea one way or the other what went on during those of our darkest days and any romanticized notion can and will be accepted as fact without benefit of reason if no reason exists to believe otherwise. This statement is to refute, contradict and vehemently declare that the basis of this movie is falsehood fabricated to entertain while disillusioning any and all who watch it without knowing the truth. It is set before you in the fashion of any other Hollywood farce and should be taken as such.
Let us correct a few of the misconceptions many will believe simply because they are put forth as truth by the filmmakers and their advisors. The brothers this movie speaks about in very degrading terms stood out from those around them because of their revolutionary
character and leadership. They were not seen in the light of the drug dealers and street corner gangland thugs who portrayed themselves as ghetto fabulous and superstars amongst the prison populace. There was a rigid discipline and commitment these brothers held to that raised them from the immature actions of their ignorant beginnings as individuals and set them working towards the collective good of all.
The character of comrade George set him above even these because his knowledge, intricate understanding and practice put him on par with leaders and movements from around the world. This movie does him no justice! George Jackson never had emotional outbursts of immaturity or temper tantrums. While he walked within those walls he never raised his voice in undisciplined anger. There were no one sided ass whippings given to comrade George the entire time he was in prison. Whenever he was shackled with thirty pounds of chains being escorted from one place to the other, he always walked in an upright and dignified manner so that all who saw him knew the chains were meaningless and weighed nothing to him. He did not walk with a swagger or strut because he considered it demeaning and undignified and beneath the character of any who considered themselves conscious. There was never anyone imposing discipline or beliefs on him. W. L. Nolan and George were comrades who shared a commitment to fight the oppression of all oppressed people most especially Africans. One was not the inspiration of the other. They had a common cause, as did several other soldiers who have been left
out of the history books for various reasons but were very important to our growth and determined impact on others. The bond shared between George and Angela Davis was not romantic but ideological and galvanized many both inside America’s gulags and within struggles the world over. The fantasy imaginings in the movie of the two of them dealing only with their sexual nature is strictly Hollywood. These things simply did not happen by any stretch of the imagination of rational beings.
George never told anyone that he threw a prison guard off a tier to his death. Likewise he never told anyone that he ordered his younger brother Jonathan to go and carry out the actions at the Marin county courthouse that led to his death. There was never a group of so-called revolutionary individuals who confronted George in any setting to demand that he get himself together and come to them for guidance. The scene in the movie where George is being directed in pushups and call-and-answer while W.L. Nolan supervises is total fantasy to lend credibility to individual egos and aspirations. It never happened!
Probably the biggest piece of fiction put out by the state and glamorized by the movie is the gun under the Afro wig. With the type of security and scrutiny George was subjected to on a regular basis, he could not have sneaked an extra pencil back to his cell. Each time a high power security individual is escorted from one place to another in prison there is a series of routines that are always observed. George would have been strip-searched several times going to and coming from any visit no matter who the visitor was. Strip searches involve a lot of bending over and spreading your butt cheeks while naked. Bending over and running your fingers through your hair vigorously in front of guards is all part of making sure not even small amounts of drugs are smuggled in by concealing them in your hair. It is virtually impossible to balance something shaped like a gun and weighing several pounds underneath a wig while bending over or walking handcuffed under the watchful eye of sadistic guards looking for any excuse to kill you. We must question the rationale of anyone putting this theory before the public as fact or entertainment. In either event it is only to the detriment of the memory of this bold and courageous brother who stood up for us at a time when standing meant death for so many that this movie preys on the lack of knowledge that generally exists within the Diaspora of our continued efforts at enlightenment. In the movie George is shown ordering people following him as he makes a mad dash towards the cellblock exit, to leave no witnesses behind. This is supposed to account for the two dead guards and three inmates left on the tier. Once again the movie is in true Hollywood style telling you to believe the lies spread by comrade George’s assassins and those who knowingly and unknowingly assist them in their war on the revolutionary minded.
In another part of the movie w.l. Nolan is shown ordering other Africans to choose a man from among the white and Mexican inmates on the prison exercise yard and attack. This is not the way it happened. African inmates were intentionally hand picked and placed onthat yard with the most violent and racist elements of both white and Mexican gangs. These particular individuals had a long history of hatred for and violence against Africans. The guards made sure that brothers were grossly outnumbered and waited for the inevitable. The racists attacked and the brothers were shot down and killed by the expert rifleman working the tower for that special occasion. A ricochet bullet shot off the testicle of one of the white racists. That was their only casualty. The Africans on the yard were murdered while fighting for their lives. It should also be noted that if he had not been out to court on another case on that day, Hugo Yogi Pinell would have been on the yard and probably killed along with the other soldiers.
In the movie Jonathan is portrayed as paranoid and juvenile both emotionally and intellectually. This could not be further from the truth. At this time in his life this young brother was more mature than most of those around him which caused him to have very few people he could truly relate to. He could out shoot most of those who called themselves his comrades and was a quite skilled martial artist in his own right. He would not have been intimidated by anyone or anything. As far as the boob tube depiction of those events and conversations that so directly coincide with the oppressor’s version of history, it is total fabrication and meant only to confuse and confound. Do not be taken in by this nonsense. It is not even a good fairytale.
We would encourage all those involved in the making of this movie who know in and of themselves that it is untrue, to speak out and let others know from you. If left as it is it will become another urban myth believed to be based in fact. In closing please know that no member of Black August had anything to do with the making of the movie or condoned its making. We do in fact condemn it as falsehood and an insult to all that we stand for. Please recognize it for what it is propaganda of the adversary. A true accounting of our history is forthcoming.
The Shoulders Beneath My Feet 
Leave a Reply