August 9, 2020
What is Black August?
Another Black History Month? Juneteenth, but longer?? Another celebration??? I know … I was curious too.
As someone who has heard about Black History Month their entire life and just recently started appreciating and celebrating Juneteenth, I am open to learning about “Black August” and more ways I can appreciate my Blackness. After reading Harmeet Kaur’s article on CNN’s website, I learned that Black August stems from the actions of activist George Jackson who was accused of stealing $70 and was facing a year-to-life sentence. On August 21, 1971, Jackson was killed for trying to escape prison along with a few other prisoners. Following their deaths, a group of incarcerated people created this month to commemorate Jackson and other prisoners’ deaths.
Coincidentally, there were also other state-wide events that fell under the idea of Black resistance during that month, further enforcing the importance of August 1971. Some of those events consist of “Nat Turner's Rebellion, the March on Washington, and the Watts Rebellion in Los Angeles” (Kaur, CNN). Due to these events, August has become Black August to not focus on celebrating Black culture like Black History Month does but to focus on studying Black resistance and educating our people on activists who supported Black liberation.
Here is a list of some activists from the 1970s who support(ed) Black resistance, some widely known and some not: George Jackson, Nat Turner, Martin Luther King Jr., Stokely Carmichael, Assata Shakur, Zayd Shakur, Sundiata Acoli, and so many others. There are also many activists who support(ed) Black resistance after the 1970s up to today. Acknowledging the hard work and sacrifices these activists made and learning about them helps us analyze the blueprint that has been left for us to help us figure out what needs to be done today to create systemic change.
For more information on Black August, the Afrikan Black Coalition (ABC) posted an informative video on youtube facilitated by Political Education Director, Makonnen Tendaji, giving a brief discussion on the history and significance of Black August.
Lastly, you can watch a movie called “Black August” on YouTube that “covers the last 14 months of George Jackson's life as well as the conditions in California's prison industrial complex.”
Jaida Day, Communications Director
UC San Diego
View Article #1 and Article #2 used to support this piece.
