It’s been an honor to celebrate Black August with all of my readers.
As we close out this powerful month, let’s remember what it’s truly about:
Education. Resistance. Community. Liberation.
Let’s continue to build with intention, support our people, and fight for our political prisoners — the freedom fighters whose sacrifices gave us some of the very rights we now defend.
Black August is more than a month.
It’s a movement.
A mindset.
A memorial.
A call to remember the blood, brilliance, and boldness of Black resistance — past and present.
Born behind the prison walls of San Quentin in the 1970s, Black August was created by incarcerated revolutionaries to honor George Jackson — a fearless author, thinker, and soldier for the people. He was assassinated by prison guards on August 21, 1971. His death wasn’t just a murder — it was a message:
The system fears our minds when they’re liberated.
But George wasn’t alone.
Black August honors all those who’ve been captured, silenced, or killed for daring to fight back.
Jonathan Jackson. Nat Turner. Fred Hampton. Assata Shakur. Malcolm X. Angela Davis. Mumia Abu-Jamal. Mutulu Shakur.
These names are not just martyrs — they’re blueprints.
And the fight continues.
We call the names of today’s political prisoners — not to mourn, but to mobilize:
- Mumia Abu-Jamal – Behind bars over 40 years, targeted for his radical journalism.
- Mutulu Shakur – Released after 37 years, a revolutionary healer and organizer.
- Sundiata Acoli – Paroled after nearly 50 years; former Black Panther.
- Jalil Muntaqim – Freed in 2020 after almost five decades inside.
- Ruchell Cinque Magee – Imprisoned since 1963, the longest-held political prisoner in the U.S.
- Veronza Bowers – Held long past his sentence for standing firm in his beliefs.
- Kevin “Rashid” Johnson – Still incarcerated, a revolutionary prison writer and organizer punished for speaking truth from behind the walls.
- Rev. Joy Powell – Pastor, mother, activist, silenced for standing up to corruption.
- Shaka Shakur – Still incarcerated, a powerful writer, freedom fighter, and organizer behind the walls and on the streets.
- Askari Lumumba – Still incarcerated, a revolutionary and freedom fighter continuing to advocate for the rights and dignity of prisoners across the nation.
- Kwame “Beans” Shakur – Still incarcerated, an outspoken abolitionist and political educator, carrying the torch of Black resistance from inside the belly of the beast.
These are not just names.
They are reminders that the war on Black resistance is far from over.
Black August is not about mourning — it’s about mobilizing.
We fast.
We study.
We build.
We organize.
We remember — not just to look back, but to move forward.
We honor our ancestors.
We amplify voices they tried to silence.
And we carry the torch of liberation until we’re all free.
Call to Action
This Black August, don’t just post — participate:
- Write to a political prisoner. Remind them they’re not forgotten.
- Read their words. Let them teach you from behind the bars they never belonged in.
- Donate to commissary and legal defense funds.
- Host a study group, poetry night, or film screening on Black resistance.
- Educate the youth. Teach the stories that schools erase.
- Organize locally. Build safe, strong, radical spaces in your community.
Because until all our people are free — none of us are.
This is Black August.
And we move with purpose — in memory, in power, and in unity.
“Settle your quarrels, come together, understand the reality of our situation, understand that fascism is already here, that people are already dying who could be saved, that generations more will die or live poor butchered half-lives if you fail to act.”
— George Jackson