Black August
Black August is an annual commemoration observed primarily in the United States to honor the lives and struggles of Black revolutionaries and activists. It is a time to reflect on the contributions and sacrifices made by those who fought for racial justice and liberation. The observance often includes education about the historical and ongoing struggles against systemic racism and oppression.
Black August was initiated by the Black Guerilla Family in San Quentin State Prison in 1979 when a group of incarcerated people came together to commemorate the deaths of brothers Jonathan P. Jackson (d. August 7, 1970) and George Jackson (d. August 21, 1971) at San Quentin State Prison.
Black August has influenced the arts, with notable works including the 2008 film Black August, Gloria Verdieu’s 2019 book Black August: 1619 – 2019, the 2019 Black August Mixtape by the Black Collective, and the 2020 virtual exhibition “Black August” in Los Angeles.
Dates commemorated during Black August include:
August 1: Emancipation Day in several Caribbean nations and Canada.
August 5: Nelson Mandela’s arrest and imprisonment in 1962.
August 7: Death of Jonathan P. Jackson at San Quentin State Prison in 1970.
August 9: Killing of Mike Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, leading to the Ferguson Uprisings in 2014.
August 10: The Attica Prison Rebellion is remembered as part of Black August, with some arguing that the revolt began on August 10, 1970, in Manhattan’s House of Detention, and continued through the official rebellion dates of September 9-13, 1971.
August 11: Watts riots, also known as the Watts Uprising, which occurred from August 11-16, 1965.
August 14: Bois Caiman Vodou ceremony, which sparked the Haitian Revolution.
August 17: Birth of Pan-Africanist leader Marcus Garvey in 1887.
August 21: Beginning of Nat Turner’s Rebellion (August 21-23, 1831) and death of George Jackson at San Quentin State Prison in 1971.
August 22: Start of the Haitian Revolution in 1791.
August 23: Uprising in Saint Domingue and the start of the Haitian Revolution, commemorated by UNESCO as the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.
August 30: Birth of Fred Hampton, deputy chairman of the Black Panther Party, who was assassinated by the FBI.
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