Overview: Reflecting on the conclusion of August 2026, the article explores the historical significance of “Black August,” a month dedicated to honoring Black freedom fighters and the struggle for liberation. It highlights key figures like George Jackson and details pivotal moments ranging from the 1970 Marin County courthouse incident to modern incarceration statistics. Ultimately, the piece calls for continued community organizing and remembrance of civil rights milestones achieved throughout the month.
S.E. Williams
As August 2026, comes to a sizzling close, I did not want it to let it slip totally away without reflecting on the significance of “Black August.”
For those who may be unfamiliar with this call to consciousness, the idea of Black August originated in the California prison system in the 1970s as a means to reflect on the many advances and sacrifices of Black freedom fighters in the ongoing quest for justice.
Black August is intended to be a month of reflection, resistance, love and remembrance rooted in the struggle for Black liberation, according to Sabrina Pearce of the Prison Project. “[It is also] a way to honor political prisoners, like George Jackson, who fought against racial injustice and systemic oppression – particularly within the prison system, often at great personal cost,” she noted in an August 2025, Sentencing Project article.
George Jackson, was shot dead by guards at the age of 30 during a prison riot on August 21, 1971. An author and revolutionary, George Jackson had spent ten years in Soledad Prison for stealing $71 at gunpoint from a gas station in 1960. Seven and a half years of his time in prison was served in solitary confinement. George Jackson’s autobiography, Soledad Brother, was embraced by revolutionaries and freedom fighters around the world and his book became an international best seller.
During his time at Soledad Prison, Jackson joined the Black Panthers, became involved in the Black Power movement and founded the prisoner organization, Black Guerrilla Family. Jackson advocated for the freedom of political prisoners and prisoners of war.
In January 1970, George Jackson became infamous when he and two other inmates were charged with the murder of a Soledad corrections officer. According to reports, the murder was allegedly in retaliation for the shooting deaths of three Black inmates by a white prison guard, days earlier. The three men were subsequently labeled the “Soledad Brothers”.
The month of August gained importance in the Black Liberation Movement when a youth named Jonathan Peter Jackson, George Jackson’s 17 year-old brother, sought to free the “Soledad Brothers” from prison. Here is the back story as recorded by Freedom Archives.
“Black August is a month of reflection, resistance, love, and remembrance rooted in the struggle for Black liberation.”
Sabrina C. Pearce
On August 7, 1970, Jonathan Peter Jackson, the 17-year old brother of George Jackson, brought three guns into the Marin County Hall of Justice, where Judge Haley was presiding over the trial of San Quentin prisoner James McClain. He [Peter Jackson] drew weapons from his satchel, and with the assistance of McClain and two prisoners who were witnesses for McClain, Ruchell Magee and William A. Christmas, took Judge Haley, Deputy District Attorney Gary Thomas and 3 female jurors hostage.
Upon exiting the courthouse, Jackson and the other kidnappers attempted to flee with the hostages in tow. Police and prison guards opened fire on the van Jackson was driving. At the end of the shootout, Jackson, Haley, McClain and Christmas were dead and McGee and Thomas were seriously injured. The kidnapping was meant as a tool to negotiate the freedom of the Soledad Brothers, three Black prisoners [including P. Jackson’s Brother] George Jackson, Fleeta Drumgo, and John Clutchette who were charged with the murder of a prison guard at Soledad Prison in California.
As we navigate through our daily lives, unless we personally have someone in our network who has experienced the criminal justice system, it is easy to forget that Black people are over incarcerated in this country. According to the report Incarceration Rates by Race in America 2026, “Black Americans face imprisonment rates approximately five times higher than their white counterparts. At year end 2023, 33% of sentenced state or federal prisoners were Black; and yet, in 2023, Blacks were only about 13.8% of the U.S. population.”
This month, as we in the Black community reflect on our journey to free ourselves from oppression; as we honor our heroes and sheroes who left markers in the month of August; let us remember where we’ve been, the price we’ve paid, and the determination we have as a people to press “ever forward.” regardless of the obstacles we face.
It is recommended that we spend some time this month studying, fasting, organizing, building community, and caring for ourselves and one another.
In the spirit of Sankofa let us deepen our understanding of where we’ve been, strengthen our current resistance and activism, and as importantly continue to uplift those who are incarcerated in a nation here the criminal justice system is rooted in racism and designed to perpetuate Black confinement and failure.
Here is a partial list of important events in Black history that occurred during the month of August:
August 1, 1834: The Slavery Abolition Act was enacted in the British Empire, ending slavery in most colonies.
August 22, 1876: Fisk University, the first Black Historically Black College founded in Tennessee.
August 3, 1936: Jesse Owens wins four gold medals in the Berlin Olympics.
August 7, 1948: Alice Coachman, becomes the first African American woman to win an Olympic gold medal.
August 28, 1955: Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American boy, was murdered in Mississippi, sparking national outrage and the Civil Rights Movement.
August 4, 1961: Barack Obama, the first African American president of the United States, was born in Honolulu, Hawaii.
August 18, 1963: James Meredith was awarded a bachelor’s degree by the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), becoming the first black man to graduate from the school.
August 28, 1963: The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
August 4, 1964: The bodies of civil rights workers Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and James Chaney were found in Mississippi, highlighting the dangers faced by activists.
August 12, 1965: The Watts riots began in Los Angeles, highlighting racial tensions and injustices in urban America.
August 30, 1967: Thurgood Marshall was confirmed as the first African American Supreme Court Justice.
August 7, 1970: Jonathan Peter Jackson, the 17-year old brother of Soledad inmate George Jackson, was killed by police officers while attempting to kidnap hostages at gunpoint from a Marin County courthouse.
August 10, 1970: Shirley Chisholm becomes the first Black woman elected to Congress.
August 30, 1983: Lt. Col. Guiom S. Bluford Jr. becomes the first Black US astronaut to enter space.
August 9, 2014: The death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, led to widespread protests and discussions about police violence and racial injustice.
This month, like every month, let us also continue our centuries long, collective quest for equity, equality and justice.
Of course, this is just my opinion. I’m keeping it real.