The Shoulders Beneath My Feet

Wednesday August 1^st; 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 8^th will mark the 34^th 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

BLACK 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