black august

the funeral for george jackson took place right down the street from here in late august 1971, at st. augustine's episcopal church (corner of 27th & west) in oakland. a black panther party field marshall, george jackson had discovered marx, mao, & fanon in san quentin, and had taught them to other prisoners. he had organized on the inside and his letters to the outside became best-selling books. he was shot in the back by guards on august 21st. when his mother georgia jackson arrived at the prison, she was told by a guard at the gate, "last year we killed one of your sons, today we killed another. if you aren't careful you'll have no sons left." she replied, "i have sons throughout the world, wherever people are fighting for freedom."

thousands of people filled the streets around st. augustine's on the day of the funeral to pay their respects.





these fotos & bpp member bill jennings' account of that day are posted at it's about time:

Because the church only held about 200 people, there were speakers placed outside for the thousands of people to hear the service. There wasn't a dry eye in the church, yet everyone also felt empowered by the spirit and strength of George. We rose to pick up George's body and everyone raised their fist in the air as we filed passed them. When the doors opened, and we stepped outside with the body, I saw that the crowd had grown tremendously. There were people on rooftops, hanging from telephone poles and filling the streets. Everyone raised their fists in the air and chanted "Long Live George Jackson."

It was a sight that could set a fire in your heart.

**

he wouldn't take shit from no one
he wouldn't bow down or kneel...

bob dylan wrote a song for george jackson, released as a single the following year. it's difficult to imagine something like this happening now, but it actually hit #33 on the u.s. pop charts.

george jackson : bob dylan






george jackson
23 september 1941 – 21 august 1971

¡presente!