This month marks Black August. A time for Black people of the diaspora to train, fast, study and fight! A time to honor the ancestors of the Black Liberation Movement, support, and call for release of political prisoners as well as educate the community on our continued history of resistance. It originated in California prisons with George Jackson who was sentenced to 1 year to life in San Quentin for stealing $70 from a local gas station. While incarcerated he became politicalized through teachings of his fellow prisoners and mentors W.L. Nolen, Cleveland Edwards and Alvin Miller. This led to him co-creating a chapter of the Black Panther Party in the jail and publishing two books, “Soledad Brother” and “Blood in My Eye.”
During his time in jail, he witnessed the assassination of his mentors by a prison guard. As a result, he led a hunger strike and demanded an investigation. The guard was not held accountable which led to uprisings inside the jail, where a guard was killed. George, along with Fleeta Drumgo and John Cluchette, were charged and the three became known as the Soledad Brothers. This led to the creation of Black August as the campaign received international support and highlighted prison abuse. Our ancestors wanted Black people to use it as time to broaden our revolutionary consciousness. To effectively do this we have to recognize the connection with Black August and the revolutionary history of our ancestors across the diaspora.
Black people have a revolutionary connection to the month of August. Many revolts occurred during this time. The Montgomery Riverfront Brawl of 2023 is an example of this. Here it should be noted that a group of Black women just two hours before the brawl, conducting a ceremony to honor our ancestors who were sold on that dock. The connection here is not a coincidence. It’s rooted in our ancestral connections of resistance in August that goes back to revolts such as the Haitian Revolution, Nat Turner’s Rebellion and Gabriel’s Rebellion.
On August 22, 1791, enslaved Africans led by ancestors such as Dutty Boukman, Jean‑François Papillon, Georges Biassou and Jeannot Romaine‑la‑Prophétesse organized a massive rebellion that became known as the Haitian Revolution. This resulted in the establishment of Haiti as the first independent Black republic. In addition, in August of 1831, Nat Turner started the only effective enslaved rebellion, lasting two days and killing over 50 White slave owners for their crimes against enslaved people such as murder, rape and cannibalism.
Gabriel’s Rebellion was another revolt that in a lot of ways laid the groundwork for Nat Turner. This uprising was planned by ancestor Gabriel Prosser in August of 1800. He planned on seizing Richmond and freeing people, but after a rain delay, someone revealed his plan to slave owners. He was later arrested along with others. Prosser, who was literate, planned the revolt over six months, demonstrating the keen planning, intelligence and resistance of Black enslaved people that White slave owners tried to hide.
A lot of these stories and names may be new to you, as they don’t appear in the history books. On the other hand, we can’t depend on non-Black people to teach us these things. As a people we should increase our STUDY, as countless names and stories have gone unknown. It’s our duty to tell our ancestors’ stories. We must move and continue in the spirit of our ancestors to study, fast, train and fight. I will stress that in today’s times we need to be heavy on the FIGHT part and continue to RESIST!