Black August 21, 2016: Ruchell Cinque Magee and the August 7th Courthouse Slave Rebellion

Black August 21, 2016

I can hardly believe that 46 years have gone by since the August 7,1970, Marin Courthouse Slave Rebellion.  Ruchell is now 77 years old, same as myself.  It's a sin and a shame the fascist state has taken this brother's whole life, damn near.  And he has never seriously injured anyone.  Quite the opposite, Ruchell has been responsible (through his jailhouse lawyering) for the release of countless prisoners over the decades he's been incarcerated.  Here’s his story, written years ago, and updated to accommodate the 8-year difference:

Ruchell Cinque Magee and the August 7th Courthouse Slave Rebellion

By Kiilu Nyasha, 2008

“Slavery 400 years ago, slavery today, it’s the same but with a new name”.-- Ruchell Cinque Magee

I first met Ruchell Cinque Magee in the holding cell of the Marin County courthouse in the summer of 1971. I found him to be soft-spoken, warm and a gentleman in typically Southern tradition. We’ve been in correspondence pretty much ever since.  [I must say, regrettably, Ruchell is no longer writing me at this point, 2016.]

Black August: A Story of African Freedom Fighters by Kiilu Nyasha (August 17, 2016)

August 17, 2016

Greetings All:

This is the 37th anniversary of the origin of Black August, the 45^th commemoration of the assassination of Soledad Brother George L. Jackson on August 21, 1971, and the first anniversary of our Yogi Bear, Hugo Pinell’s assassination on August 12, 2015. 

This article was first written in 2000 and published in the S.F. Bay View newspaper. The main changes herein are updates and the transition of our comrade brother, Yogi, after 51 years in California gulags including 45+ in solitary confinement.  You can find more info at www.hugopinell.com.

Black August: A Story of African Freedom Fighters by Kiilu Nyasha (August 17, 2016)

Black August is a month of great significance for Africans throughout the diaspora, but particularly here in the U.S. where it originated. “August,” as Mumia Abu-Jamal noted, “is a month of meaning,,, of repression and radical resistance, of injustice and divine justice; of repression and righteous rebellion; of individual and collective efforts to free the slaves and break the chains that bind us.” 

On this 37th anniversary of Black August, first organized to honor our fallen freedom fighters, George and Jonathan Jackson, Khatari Gaulden, James McClain, William Christmas, and the sole survivor of the August 7, 1970 Courthouse Slave Rebellion, Ruchell Cinque Magee, it is still a time to embrace the principles of unity, self-sacrifice, political education, physical fitness and/or training in martial arts, resistance, and spiritual renewal.

The concept, Black August, grew out of the need to expose to the light of day the glorious and heroic deeds of those African women and men who recognized and struggled against the injustices heaped upon people of color on a daily basis in America. 

Freedom is a Constant Struggle: Jeffrey Blankfort on Black August 2016

August 4, 2016 episode of Freedom is a Constant Struggle with guest Jeffrey Blankfort, discussing Black August 2016.