[Ppnews] Black August 2006

[Political Prisoner News]

Subject: Black August 2006
From: Kiilu Nyasha <Kiilu1 at mindspring.com>


BLACK AUGUST 2006
by Kiilu Nyasha

"I am an extremist.  I call for extreme measures to solve extreme 
problems." George L. Jackson

This Black August commences with the horrific U.S. sponsored, Israeli 
bombing of Gaza and Lebanon in the Middle East (See page ?) But this 
time the "Paper Tiger" has run into a hornet's next of resistance and 
retaliation.  Jackson's words written decades ago are more relevant 
than ever as Hezbollah, Lebanon's freedom fighters, and Hamas, 
leaders of the Palestinian Government of resistance, take on the 
imperialist monsters:

"International capitalism cannot be destroyed without the extremes of 
struggle. The entire colonial world is watching the blacks inside the 
U.S., wondering and waiting for us to come to our senses. Their 
problems and struggles with the Amerikan monster are much more 
difficult than they would be if we actively aided them. We are on the 
inside. We are the only ones (besides the very small white minority 
left) who can get at the monster's heart without subjecting the world 
to nuclear fire. We have a momentous historical role to act out if we 
will. The whole world for all time in the future will love us and 
remember us as the righteous people who made it possible for the 
world to live on."

2006 marks the 27th anniversary of Black August, first organized to 
honor our fallen freedom fighters, Jonathan and George Jackson, 
Khatari Gaulden, James McClain, William Christmas, and the sole 
survivor of the August 7, 1970 Courthouse Slave Rebellion, Ruchell 
Cinque Magee. It is a time to embrace the principles of unity and resistance.

Black August has its origins in the "Black Movement" behind 
California prison walls in the Sixties, led by Jackson, W. L. Nolen, 
James Carr, Hugo Pinell, Kumasi, Howard Tole, Warren Wells, and many 
other conscious, standup brothers who ultimately made it safe for a 
brotha to walk the yards of California's racist gulags.

August 7, 1970 witnessed the spectacular courthouse slave rebellion 
that hit the front pages of newspapers throughout the 
world.  Pictures of four, young Black freedom fighters emerging from 
Marin County court with guns and hostages, disarming guards, provoked 
panic among the bourgeoisie and the white supremacists.  But others, 
especially Black and Brown folks, took great pride and inspiration 
from the sight of such courageous resistance to the ongoing brutality 
and murder of Blacks inside and outside of prison.

"Freeze!" shouted 17-year-old Jonathan Jackson, "We're taking over" 
-- as he tossed guns to McClain, Christmas, and Magee.  With courage 
and calm they ushered their hostages to a waiting van, planning to go 
to a radio station and broadcast the atrocities being committed 
behind the walls against Blacks and demand release of the Soledad 
Brothers (Jackson, Fleeta Drumgo and John Clutchette).  What Jonathan 
failed to anticipate was the State's willingness to sacrifice one of 
its judges and the lives of everyone else to stop that escape.  As 
Jonathan tried to leave the parking lot, the San Quentin guards 
arrived and opened fire, leaving Jonathan, Christmas, McClain, and 
Judge Harold Haley dead, State prosecutor Gary Thomas and Ruchell 
Magee seriously wounded.

Just one year later, on August 21, 1971, in what has been well 
established as a setup, Soledad Brother George Jackson was murdered 
on the yard of San Quentin by prison guards.  During this 
orchestrated attempted escape, however, three guards were also 
killed, along with two inmate "trustees." This set the prison 
officials on fire and they've been exacting revenge upon the sole 
survivor of the Marin rebellion, Ruchell Magee, now enduring his 43rd 
year in Corcoran's maximum security prison -- and Hugo Pinell (Yogi), 
one of the "San Quentin Six," charged in the aftermath.  Now in his 
42nd year of incarceration, most in solitary confinement, 24 years 
clean time, Yogi is still being tortured in Pelican Bay's windowless 
SHU (Security Housing Unit) or lockdown at least 23 hours a day, no 
contact visits, no phone calls, no company.  For more on Yogi's 
upcoming board hearing, etc., go to 
<http://www.hugopinell.org>www.hugopinell.org.

As we face the reality of an expanding global war, let us heed these 
words of wisdom, written by Comrade George in "Blood in My Eye" (1972):

"...[I]t is the 'role of the living,' of all the innocent, to 
discover unitary practice and conduct and move against the 
institutions that close on the oppressed."

"Those who have more regard for their own egos or self-interest than 
they have for building a united progressive left, and those who 
abandon community altogether in favor of petty interests, are in 
direct opposition to our real interests.  They are attempting a new 
form of escapism. They're fleeing the objective conditions of their 
real life and will eventually reach the ultimate contradiction of 
facing their father or brother, or old classmate, comrade, or wife, 
over the barrel of a gun.  Or they will find themselves in no man's 
land, cast out by the people..."

 From Franz Fanon, "The time for talking has ended, the time for 
acting has begun."

Long live the guerrilla!

###

The Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 863-9977
www.freedomarchives.org 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/ppnews_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20060802/0f6fa27c/attachment.htm>