George Jackson (Black Panther)
Encyclopedia
George Lester Jackson was an American convict
who became a left-wing activist, Marxist, author, a member of the Black Panther Party
, and co-founder of the Black Guerrilla Family
prison gang. Jackson achieved fame as one of the Soledad Brothers
and was later shot to death by prison guards in San Quentin Prison during an escape attempt.
in prison.
During his first years at San Quentin State Prison
, Jackson became involved in gang
activity as well as assaults on guards and fellow inmates, extending his original sentence with each infraction. He was described by prison officials as egocentric and anti-social
. in 1966, Jackson met and befriended W.L. Nolen who introduced him to Marxist and Maoist ideology. The two founded the Black Guerrilla Family
in 1966 based on Marxist and Maoist political thought. As Jackson's disciplinary infractions grew he spent more and more time in solitary confinement where he studied political economy
and radical theory. He also wrote many letters to friends and supporters which would later be edited and compiled into the books Soledad Brother and Blood in My Eye, which became bestsellers and brought him a great deal of attention from the left wing community. Jackson's political transformation was seen as insincere by prison officials, with San Quentin associate warden commenting that Jackson "was a sociopath, a very personable hoodlum" who "didn’t give a shit about the revolution". He did, however, amass a following of inmates including whites and Hispanics although with less enthusiasm than his fellow black inmates.
According to David Horowitz
, Jackson joined the Black Panther Party after meeting Huey P. Newton
in jail.
In January 1969, Jackson and Nolen were transferred from San Quentin to Soledad prison. In January 1970 Nolen along with two other black inmates were shot to death by guard O.G. Miller during a yard riot with members of the Aryan Brotherhood
. Following the death of Nolen, Jackson became increasingly confrontational with corrections officials and spoke often about the need to protect fellow inmates and take revenge on guards for Nolen’s death in what Jackson referred to as “selective retaliatory violence”.
On January 16, 1970 Jackson was charged along with Fleeta Drumgo and John Clutchette for murdering guard John V. Mills, who was beaten and thrown from the third floor of Soeldad’s Y wing This was a capital offense and a successful conviction could put Jackson in the gas chamber
. Mills, an inexperienced rookie, was killed in retaliation for the shooting deaths of Nolen and the other two black inmates by officer Miller the year prior. Miller was not convicted of any crime, a grand jury
ruling his actions to be justifiable homicide
in response to a fistfight that had started.
, Deputy District Attorney Gary Thomas, and three jurors hostage to demand the release of the "Soledad Brothers." Haley, Jackson, Christmas and McClain were killed as they attempted to drive away from the courthouse. Eyewitness testimony suggests Haley was hit by fire discharged from a sawed-off shotgun
that had been fastened to his neck with adhesive tape by the abductors. Thomas, Magee and one of the jurors were wounded. The case made national headlines.
Angela Davis
, accused of buying the weapons, was later acquitted of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder. A possible explanation for the gun connection is that Jonathan Jackson was her bodyguard. Magee, the sole survivor among the attackers, eventually pleaded guilty to aggravated kidnapping and was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975. Magee is currently imprisoned in Corcoran State Prison and has lost numerous bids for parole.
on a civil lawsuit Jackson had filed against the California Department of Corrections. After the meeting, Jackson was escorted by officer Urbano Rubiaco back to his cell when Rubico noticed a metallic object in Jackson’s hair, later revealed to be a wig, and ordered him to remove it. Jackson then pulled a Spanish Astra 9mm pistol from beneath the wig and said “Gentlemen, the dragon has come”, a reference to Ho Chi Minh
Jackson then ordered Rubico to open all the cells and along with several other inmates they overpowered the remaining guards and took them, along with two inmates hostage. Six of the hostages were killed and found in Jackson’s cell, including guards Jere Graham, Frank DeLeon and Paul Krasnes and two white prisoners. Guards Kenneth McCray, Charles Breckenridge and Urbano Rubiaco had been shot and stabbed as well, but survived. After finding the keys for the Adjustment Center’s exit, Jackson along with fellow inmate and close friend Johnny Spain escaped to the yard where Jackson was shot dead and Spain surrendered. Jackson was killed just three days prior to the start of his murder trial for the 1970 slaying of guard John Mills.
Three inmates were acquitted and three were convicted for the murders: David Johnson, Johnny Spain and Hugo Pinell
. They became known as the San Quentin Six
.
Supporters of Jackson believe that his death was the result of a setup in which Jackson was provided with the gun by Rubico so prison officials would have an excuse to kill him. French intellectuals such as Michel Foucault
and Jean Genet
argued that Jackson's death was a "political assassination." In his autobiography Revolutionary Suicide
, Newton would later claim that Jackson was "attempting to save [fellow inmates] from being massacred by guards". James Baldwin
wrote: "No Black person will ever believe that George Jackson died the way they tell us he did."
There is evidence however that Jackson and his supporters on the outside had planned the escape several weeks in advance. Three days before the escape attempt, Jackson rewrote his will leaving all royalties as well as control of his legal defense fund, which had become very well-funded, with the donations of wealthy leftists to the Black Panther Party. Also, many Black Guerilla Family members became bitter and upset with Newton believing Newton used his contacts within Soledad to hamper Jackson’s release as he did not want a potential rival for power to be freed.
Jackson's funeral was held at St. Augustine's Episcopal Church in Oakland on August 28, 1971.
titled "George Jackson
" about the life and death of Jackson. The song made the American charts peaking at #33 in January 1972. Ja Rule
named his 2003 album after Jackson's book, Blood In My Eye.
Stanley Williams
dedicated his 1998 book Life in Prison, in part, to George Jackson. In Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
's response to Williams' appeal for clemency, the governor claimed that this dedication was "a significant indicator that Williams is not reformed and that he still sees violence and lawlessness as a legitimate means to address societal problems."
The 2007 film Black August
is a retelling of the last fourteen months of Jackson's life.
Convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
who became a left-wing activist, Marxist, author, a member of the Black Panther Party
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
, and co-founder of the Black Guerrilla Family
Black Guerrilla Family
The Black Guerrilla Family is a prison and street gang founded in 1966 by George Jackson and W.L...
prison gang. Jackson achieved fame as one of the Soledad Brothers
Soledad Brothers
The Soledad Brothers were an American garage rock trio from Maumee, Ohio. Taking strong influence from blues rock, the band consisted of Ben Swank on drums, Johnny Walker on guitar and vocals, and Oliver Henry on sax and guitar...
and was later shot to death by prison guards in San Quentin Prison during an escape attempt.
Biography
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Jackson was the second of Lester and Georgia Bea Jackson's five children. He spent time in the California Youth Authority Corrections facility in Paso Robles because of several juvenile convictions including armed robbery, assault, and burglary. In 1961 he was convicted of armed robbery, for robbing a gas station at gunpoint and at age 18 was sentenced to serve one year to lifeIndefinite imprisonment
Indefinite imprisonment or indeterminate imprisonment is the imposition of a sentence by imprisonment with no definite period of time set during sentencing. Its length, rather, is determined during imprisonment based on the inmate's conduct...
in prison.
During his first years at San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men in unincorporated San Quentin, Marin County, California, United States. Opened in July 1852, it is the oldest prison in the state. California's only death row for male inmates, the largest...
, Jackson became involved in gang
Prison gang
Prison gang is a term used to denote any type of gang activity in prisons and correctional facilities. Prison officials and others in law enforcement use the term security threat group or STG...
activity as well as assaults on guards and fellow inmates, extending his original sentence with each infraction. He was described by prison officials as egocentric and anti-social
Anti-social behaviour
Anti-social behaviour is behaviour that lacks consideration for others and that may cause damage to society, whether intentionally or through negligence, as opposed to pro-social behaviour, behaviour that helps or benefits society...
. in 1966, Jackson met and befriended W.L. Nolen who introduced him to Marxist and Maoist ideology. The two founded the Black Guerrilla Family
Black Guerrilla Family
The Black Guerrilla Family is a prison and street gang founded in 1966 by George Jackson and W.L...
in 1966 based on Marxist and Maoist political thought. As Jackson's disciplinary infractions grew he spent more and more time in solitary confinement where he studied political economy
Political economy
Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
and radical theory. He also wrote many letters to friends and supporters which would later be edited and compiled into the books Soledad Brother and Blood in My Eye, which became bestsellers and brought him a great deal of attention from the left wing community. Jackson's political transformation was seen as insincere by prison officials, with San Quentin associate warden commenting that Jackson "was a sociopath, a very personable hoodlum" who "didn’t give a shit about the revolution". He did, however, amass a following of inmates including whites and Hispanics although with less enthusiasm than his fellow black inmates.
According to David Horowitz
David Horowitz
David Joel Horowitz is an American conservative writer and policy advocate. Horowitz was raised by parents who were both members of the American Communist Party. Between 1956 and 1975, Horowitz was an outspoken adherent of the New Left before rejecting Marxism completely...
, Jackson joined the Black Panther Party after meeting Huey P. Newton
Huey P. Newton
Huey Percy Newton was an American political and urban activist who, along with Bobby Seale, co-founded the Black Panther Party for Self Defense.-Early life:...
in jail.
In January 1969, Jackson and Nolen were transferred from San Quentin to Soledad prison. In January 1970 Nolen along with two other black inmates were shot to death by guard O.G. Miller during a yard riot with members of the Aryan Brotherhood
Aryan Brotherhood
The Aryan Brotherhood, also known as The Brand, the AB, or the One-Two, is a white supremacist prison gang and organized crime syndicate in the United States with about 20,000 members in and out of prison...
. Following the death of Nolen, Jackson became increasingly confrontational with corrections officials and spoke often about the need to protect fellow inmates and take revenge on guards for Nolen’s death in what Jackson referred to as “selective retaliatory violence”.
On January 16, 1970 Jackson was charged along with Fleeta Drumgo and John Clutchette for murdering guard John V. Mills, who was beaten and thrown from the third floor of Soeldad’s Y wing This was a capital offense and a successful conviction could put Jackson in the gas chamber
Gas chamber
A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. The most commonly used poisonous agent is hydrogen cyanide; carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide have also been used...
. Mills, an inexperienced rookie, was killed in retaliation for the shooting deaths of Nolen and the other two black inmates by officer Miller the year prior. Miller was not convicted of any crime, a grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
ruling his actions to be justifiable homicide
Justifiable homicide
The United States' concept of justifiable homicide in criminal law stands on the dividing line between an excuse, justification and an exculpation. It is different from other forms of homicide in that due to certain circumstances the homicide is justified as preventing greater harm to innocents...
in response to a fistfight that had started.
Marin County courthouse incident
On August 7, 1970, George Jackson's 17-year-old brother Jonathan Jackson burst into a Marin County courtroom with an automatic weapon, freed prisoners James McClain, William A. Christmas and Ruchell Magee, and took Judge Harold HaleyHarold Haley
Harold Joseph Haley was a Superior Court judge in Marin County, California. He was taken hostage in his courtroom, along with several others, during the course of a trial, and killed during the attempted escape of his captors with their hostages.-Background:Harold Haley, the only son of Mr. and...
, Deputy District Attorney Gary Thomas, and three jurors hostage to demand the release of the "Soledad Brothers." Haley, Jackson, Christmas and McClain were killed as they attempted to drive away from the courthouse. Eyewitness testimony suggests Haley was hit by fire discharged from a sawed-off shotgun
Sawed-off shotgun
A sawed-off shotgun also called a sawn-off shotgun and a short-barreled shotgun , is a type of shotgun with a shorter gun barrel and often a shorter or absent stock....
that had been fastened to his neck with adhesive tape by the abductors. Thomas, Magee and one of the jurors were wounded. The case made national headlines.
Angela Davis
Angela Davis
Angela Davis is an American political activist, scholar, and author. Davis was most politically active during the late 1960s through the 1970s and was associated with the Communist Party USA, the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Panther Party...
, accused of buying the weapons, was later acquitted of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder. A possible explanation for the gun connection is that Jonathan Jackson was her bodyguard. Magee, the sole survivor among the attackers, eventually pleaded guilty to aggravated kidnapping and was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975. Magee is currently imprisoned in Corcoran State Prison and has lost numerous bids for parole.
Death
On August 21, 1971, Jackson met with attorney Stephen BinghamStephen Bingham
Stephen Mitchell Bingham, a legal services and civil rights attorney, was tried and acquitted in 1986 for his alleged role in Black Panther George Jackson's attempted escape fifteen years earlier from San Quentin State Prison in Marin County, California, in 1971.-Early life and education:Stephen...
on a civil lawsuit Jackson had filed against the California Department of Corrections. After the meeting, Jackson was escorted by officer Urbano Rubiaco back to his cell when Rubico noticed a metallic object in Jackson’s hair, later revealed to be a wig, and ordered him to remove it. Jackson then pulled a Spanish Astra 9mm pistol from beneath the wig and said “Gentlemen, the dragon has come”, a reference to Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh
Hồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...
Jackson then ordered Rubico to open all the cells and along with several other inmates they overpowered the remaining guards and took them, along with two inmates hostage. Six of the hostages were killed and found in Jackson’s cell, including guards Jere Graham, Frank DeLeon and Paul Krasnes and two white prisoners. Guards Kenneth McCray, Charles Breckenridge and Urbano Rubiaco had been shot and stabbed as well, but survived. After finding the keys for the Adjustment Center’s exit, Jackson along with fellow inmate and close friend Johnny Spain escaped to the yard where Jackson was shot dead and Spain surrendered. Jackson was killed just three days prior to the start of his murder trial for the 1970 slaying of guard John Mills.
Three inmates were acquitted and three were convicted for the murders: David Johnson, Johnny Spain and Hugo Pinell
Hugo Pinell
Hugo "Yogi Bear" Pinell is a Nicaraguan prisoner currently incarcerated at Pelican Bay State Prison in California.Despite maintaining then and now that he is innocent, Pinell, after being repeatedly told he would face the death penalty if he did not confess, eventually pled guilty in 1965, at the...
. They became known as the San Quentin Six
San Quentin Six
The San Quentin Six were a group of six inmates at San Quentin State Prison in California who were accused of participating in an August 21, 1971 escape attempt that left six people dead, including George Jackson, founder of the Black Guerrilla Family prison gang...
.
Supporters of Jackson believe that his death was the result of a setup in which Jackson was provided with the gun by Rubico so prison officials would have an excuse to kill him. French intellectuals such as Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault , born Paul-Michel Foucault , was a French philosopher, social theorist and historian of ideas...
and Jean Genet
Jean Genet
Jean Genet was a prominent and controversial French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. Early in his life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but later took to writing...
argued that Jackson's death was a "political assassination." In his autobiography Revolutionary Suicide
Revolutionary Suicide
Revolutionary Suicide is an autobiography written by Huey P. Newton, co-founder and leader of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense.-References:* http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780143105329,00.html...
, Newton would later claim that Jackson was "attempting to save [fellow inmates] from being massacred by guards". James Baldwin
James Baldwin
James Baldwin was an American novelist, essayist and civil rights activist.James Baldwin may also refer to:-Writers:*James Baldwin , American educator, writer and administrator...
wrote: "No Black person will ever believe that George Jackson died the way they tell us he did."
There is evidence however that Jackson and his supporters on the outside had planned the escape several weeks in advance. Three days before the escape attempt, Jackson rewrote his will leaving all royalties as well as control of his legal defense fund, which had become very well-funded, with the donations of wealthy leftists to the Black Panther Party. Also, many Black Guerilla Family members became bitter and upset with Newton believing Newton used his contacts within Soledad to hamper Jackson’s release as he did not want a potential rival for power to be freed.
Jackson's funeral was held at St. Augustine's Episcopal Church in Oakland on August 28, 1971.
In popular culture
Many notable artists and entertainers have dedicated their work to Jackson's memory or created works based on his life. A non-album single was released by Bob DylanBob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
titled "George Jackson
George Jackson (song)
"George Jackson" is a song by Bob Dylan, written in 1971, in tribute to the Black Panther leader, George Jackson, who had been recently shot and killed by guards at San Quentin Prison on August 21, 1971, an event that indirectly provoked the Attica Prison riot...
" about the life and death of Jackson. The song made the American charts peaking at #33 in January 1972. Ja Rule
Ja Rule
Jeffrey Atkins , better known by his stage name Ja Rule, is an American rapper, singer, and actor.Born in Hollis, Queens, he began his career in the group Cash Money Click and debuted in 1999 with Venni Vetti Vecci and its single "Holla Holla"...
named his 2003 album after Jackson's book, Blood In My Eye.
Blood in My Eye
- Chart positions :...
Stanley Williams
Stanley Williams
Stanley Tookie Williams III was the co-founder of the Crips, a notorious American street gang which had its roots in South Central Los Angeles in 1969. In 1979 he was convicted of four murders committed in the course of robberies, sentenced to death, and eventually executed...
dedicated his 1998 book Life in Prison, in part, to George Jackson. In Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
's response to Williams' appeal for clemency, the governor claimed that this dedication was "a significant indicator that Williams is not reformed and that he still sees violence and lawlessness as a legitimate means to address societal problems."
The 2007 film Black August
Black August (film)
Black August is a 2007 drama film produced by Tcinque Sampson and directed by Samm Styles. The film centers around the story of George Jackson's life.-Plot:...
is a retelling of the last fourteen months of Jackson's life.
See also
- MaoismMaoismMaoism, also known as the Mao Zedong Thought , is claimed by Maoists as an anti-Revisionist form of Marxist communist theory, derived from the teachings of the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong . Developed during the 1950s and 1960s, it was widely applied as the political and military guiding...
- Frantz FanonFrantz FanonFrantz Fanon was a Martiniquo-Algerian psychiatrist, philosopher, revolutionary and writer whose work is influential in the fields of post-colonial studies, critical theory and Marxism...
- Radical chicRadical chicRadical chic is a term coined by journalist Tom Wolfe in his 1970 essay "Radical Chic: That Party at Lenny's," to describe the adoption and promotion of radical political causes by celebrities, socialites, and high society...
- Fay StenderFay StenderFay Abrahams Stender was an American lawyer from the San Francisco Bay Area, and a prisoner rights activist. Some of her more well known clients included Black Panther leader Huey Newton, the so called Soledad Brothers and Black Guerrilla Family founder George Jackson.-Soledad Brothers and George...
- Attica Prison riot