Black August Movie is a Lie!-gctid29346

[nattyreb]

I'm adding a review (pasted below) of the movie "Black August" written by comrade brothers Shaka and Kumasi copied from the Panther website: It's About Time - Black Panther Party Legacy & Alumni.  I haven't seen the film in its entirety yet, but I'm in full agreement with the brothers' comments, recognizing the truth of their words.  Sundi, who was in prison with George, one of the SQ6 who knew and loved him, was upset by this falsified portrayal of Comrade (George's nickname) as was I from what I saw.  One thing I do know is that the producer refused to meet with any of the surviving brothers who were in the AC of San Quentin on August 21, or any of the comrades who knew what happened from experience.  In fact, why wouldn't the sole survivor of the August 7 rebellion, Ruchell Cinque Magee, have been contacted or interviewed?  Nor was Hugo "Yogi Bear" Pinell contacted, the only one of the SQ6 still locked up (44 years!!), one of George's closest comrades.  Moreover,Tcinque Sampson and/or Samm Styles reportedly refused to talk to one of the SQ6 when he was readily available on one of the sets when he was still filming.  Bottom line is the real story of our courageous, martyred freedom fighters will not be televised nor made into a movie for the mass market.  If you really want to know about George and Jonathan Jackson, read the books:  Soledad Brother:  The Prison Letters of George Jackson and Blood In My Eye.-- Sis. Kiilu Nyasha

Statement on Black August the movie:

To say the movie was a sham would be too much like lending it credibility through
negation. The production of this movie is a direct attack on the true origins of the original
concepts of Black August as put forth by those sincere and steadfast revolutionary
individuals who died standing firm within California's concentration camps. The many
brothers left in isolation behind the walls who still live half lives due to their commitment
to collective revolutionary ideals have no connection to or input in any aspect of this
concoction. They have suffered these decades in obscurity for faithfully commemorating
all of the principles embodied in why the original Black August was conceived. This
movie is an insult to the memory of comrade George Jackson, W.L. Nolan, Cleveland
Edwards, Alvin Jugs Miller, Fred Billingly, the man-child comrade Jonathan Jackson,
James McClain, William Christmas and those not named who gave their last breaths so
that the indomitable will and spirit of revolutionaries to come would know the path.
The people who put together this collection of indictments against true revolutionaries
both gone and surviving have no knowledge or understanding of the times or characters
of the individuals portrayed. The movie cosigns the inaccurate and fictional account of
people, places, and most especially events the state invented and encouraged the mass
media to spread far and wide. Law enforcement has a new tool that is remarkably well
suited to discrediting the accomplishments and continued efforts of actual Black August
members. Most people have no idea one way or the other what went on during those of
our darkest days and any romanticized notion can and will be accepted as fact without
benefit of reason if no reason exists to believe otherwise. This statement is to refute,
contradict and vehemently declare that the basis of this movie is falsehood fabricated to
entertain while disillusioning any and all who watch it without knowing the truth. It is set
before you in the fashion of any other Hollywood farce and should be taken as such.
Let us correct a few of the misconceptions many will believe simply because they are put
forth as truth by the filmmakers and their advisors. The brothers this movie speaks about
in very degrading terms stood out from those around them because of their revolutionary
character and leadership. They were not seen in the light of the drug dealers and street
corner gangland thugs who portrayed themselves as ghetto fabulous and superstars
amongst the prison populace. There was a rigid discipline and commitment these brothers
held to that raised them from the immature actions of their ignorant beginnings as
individuals and set them working towards the collective good of all.

The character of comrade George set him above even these because his knowledge,
intricate understanding and practice put him on par with leaders and movements from
around the world. This movie does him no justice! George Jackson never had emotional
outbursts of immaturity or temper tantrums. While he walked within those walls he never
raised his voice in undisciplined anger. There were no one sided ass whippings given to
comrade George the entire time he was in prison. Whenever he was shackled with thirty
pounds of chains being escorted from one place to the other, he always walked in an
upright and dignified manner so that all who saw him knew the chains were meaningless
and weighed nothing to him. He did not walk with a swagger or strut because he
considered it demeaning and undignified and beneath the character of any who
considered themselves conscious. There was never anyone imposing discipline or beliefs
on him. W. L. Nolan and George were comrades who shared a commitment to fight the
oppression of all oppressed people most especially Kmtyws. One was not the inspiration
of the other. They had a common cause, as did several other soldiers who have been left
out of the history books for various reasons but were very important to our growth and
determined impact on others. The bond shared between George and Angela Davis was
not romantic but ideological and galvanized many both inside America's gulags and
within struggles the world over. The fantasy imaginings in the movie of the two of them
dealing only with their sexual nature is strictly Hollywood. These things simply did not
happen by any stretch of the imagination of rational beings.

George never told anyone that he threw a prison guard off a tier to his death. Likewise he
never told anyone that he ordered his younger brother Jonathan to go and carry out the
actions at the Marin county courthouse that led to his death. There was never a group of
so-called revolutionary individuals who confronted George in any setting to demand that
he get himself together and come to them for guidance. The scene in the movie where
George is being directed in pushups and call-and-answer while W.L. Nolan supervises is
total fantasy to lend credibility to individual egos and aspirations. It never happened!

Probably the biggest piece of fiction put out by the state and glamorized by the movie is
the gun under the Afro wig. With the type of security and scrutiny George was subjected
to on a regular basis, he could not have sneaked an extra pencil back to his cell. Each
time a high power security individual is escorted from one place to another in prison
there is a series of routines that are always observed. George would have been strip-
searched several times going to and coming from any visit no matter who the visitor was.
Strip searches involve a lot of bending over and spreading your butt cheeks while naked.
Bending over and running your fingers through your hair vigorously in front of guards is
all part of making sure not even small amounts of drugs are smuggled in by concealing
them in your hair. It is virtually impossible to balance something shaped like a gun and
weighing several pounds underneath a wig while bending over or walking handcuffed
under the watchful eye of sadistic guards looking for any excuse to kill you. We must
question the rationale of anyone putting this theory before the public as fact or
entertainment. In either event it is only to the detriment of the memory of this bold and
courageous brother who stood up for us at a time when standing meant death for so many
that this movie preys on the lack of knowledge that generally exists within the Diaspora
of our continued efforts at enlightenment. In the movie George is shown ordering people
following him as he makes a mad dash towards the cellblock exit, to leave no witnesses
behind. This is supposed to account for the two dead guards and three inmates left on the
tier. Once again the movie is in true Hollywood style telling you to believe the lies spread
by comrade George's assassins and those who knowingly and unknowingly assist them in
their war on the revolutionary minded.

In another part of the movie w.l. Nolan is shown ordering other Kmtyws to choose a man
from among the white and Mexican inmates on the prison exercise yard and attack. This
is not the way it happened. Kmtyw inmates were intentionally hand picked and placed on
that yard with the most violent and racist elements of both white and Mexican gangs.
These particular individuals had a long history of hatred for and violence against
Kmtyws. The guards made sure that brothers were grossly outnumbered and waited for
the inevitable. The racists attacked and the brothers were shot down and killed by the
expert rifleman working the tower for that special occasion. A ricochet bullet shot off the
testicle of one of the white racists. That was their only casualty. The Kmtyws on the yard
were murdered while fighting for their lives. It should also be noted that if he had not
been out to court on another case on that day, Hugo Yogi Pinell would have been on the
yard and probably killed along with the other soldiers.

In the movie Jonathan is portrayed as paranoid and juvenile both emotionally and
intellectually. This could not be further from the truth. At this time in his life this young
brother was more mature than most of those around him which caused him to have very
few people he could truly relate to.  He could out shoot most of those who called
themselves his comrades and was a quite skilled martial artist in his own right. He would
not have been intimidated by anyone or anything. As far as the boob tube depiction of
those events and conversations that so directly coincide with the oppressor's version of
history, it is total fabrication and meant only to confuse and confound. Do not be taken in
by this nonsense. It is not even a good fairytale.

We would encourage all those involved in the making of this movie who know in and of
themselves that it is untrue, to speak out and let others know from you. If left as it is it
will become another urban myth believed to be based in fact. In closing please know that
no member of Black August had anything to do with the making of the movie or
condoned its making. We do in fact condemn it as falsehood and an insult to all that we
stand for. Please recognize it for what it is propaganda of the adversary. A true
accounting of our history is forthcoming.

Shaka At-Thinnin
Kumasi
Black August Organizing Committee