Long before the Black Lives Matter movement began, Black August was initiated by the Black Guerilla Family in San Quentin State Prison in 1979, when a group of incarcerated men came together to commemorate the deaths of brothers Jonathan P. Jackson (d. Aug. 7, 1970) and George Jackson (d. Aug. 21, 1971) at San Quentin State Prison.
Black August is an annual reminder of the oppression faced by Black men and women in America and the remembrance of members of the Black Liberation Movement who lost their lives while incarcerated as “political prisoners.”
The 2020 decennial Census revealed a white American population of 75.8%. The percentage of whites incarcerated was 57.7%. During the same time period, Black Americans composed 13.6% of the population, and the percentage of Black men and women in prison was 38.4%. Throughout America’s history, Black Americans have been a disproportionately large percentage of the prison population.
Although Black Americans comprise just over 13% of the population, they account for nearly one-quarter of all Americans living in poverty.
Right-wing politicians continue to lie, claiming that poverty has nothing to do with crime in America. However, the average income of all men and women in our nation’s prisons prior to their incarceration was $19,185 per year, far below the poverty line.
Keeping all of this in mind, it is easier to understand that little has changed for Black men and women in America over the last 246 years. At the forefront of this disparity is a fact those in authority would like to hide from the American people. Racism/white supremacy is far more pervasive in law enforcement and our military than what is reported by the media.
A large number of those in our prisons are the result of antiquated laws and a decision by the courts to punish poor Americans to the full extent of the law while allowing the rich and powerful to escape with a “slap on the wrists.”
Our drug laws demand punishment, not rehabilitation, and the poor are unable to acquire the best attorneys available. Of all those incarcerated, the largest number belongs to those who committed drug offenses, most for drug possession: approximately 65,800, nearly 45% of all prisoners.
Let’s go back to the fact denied by primarily white Americans, who claim that poverty has no relationship to crime. What do you think now, knowing these statistics?
Black August began in America’s prisons and continues to be focused primarily on the mistreatment of Black men and women who live much or all of their lives in our nation’s institutions designed to punish, not rehabilitate. Without any realistic plan by those who operate our prisons and no system in place by the Justice Department to place rehabilitation as priority number one, the recidivism rate in America is about 50%.
The lowest reported recidivism rates over the last several decades were in Iceland and Italy, with about 28%. America consistently remains in the highest group.
Finally, the most damning statistic affecting all problems within the prison system is extremely upsetting. The United States of America has just over 4% of the world’s population and over 25% of those forced to spend much or all of their lives in our prisons.
Black August is a reminder that Black men and women are more likely to become nothing more than numbers in our prison system. Their human rights are ignored by a society in which racism remains rampant.
Racism exists in every aspect of human life in America, and not excluded is our penal system. The application of stereotypes and simple prejudice based on nothing more than assumptions passed down from generations of white men contribute to every form of abuse possible. Every year the “Innocence Project” succeeds in freeing Black men and women who were wrongly convicted. This single fact demonstrates the incompetence of our justice system if the accused is poor and/or a minority.
Racists complain about organizations like Black Lives Matter and Black August. If there was no racism, they wouldn’t exist.
Op-ed by James Turnage, Novelist
Sources:
Democrat & Chronicle: What is Black August? A look at what planted the seeds and how it is commemorated; by Adria R. Walker
Center for Constitutional Rights: Black August – A Celebration of Freedom Fighters Past and Present
Featured and Top Image by Unseen Histories by Unsplash – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of telmo32’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
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