The People's War Radio Show, Episode #71: Black August: Free our political prisoners!

Today’s episode is dedicated to the struggle for the release of African political prisoners, in honor of Black August. 

The roots of Black August are in the uprisings and rebellions of African freedom fighters who were imprisoned as a result of their political activity during the height of the Black Power Movement of the 1960s.

Black August was started by incarcerated Africans in California in observance of the death of George Jackson. It’s now honored as a month-long salute to the African liberation struggle, recognizing such historic milestones as the Haitian Revolution, the birth of Marcus Garvey, and the deaths of Jonathan Jackson and George Jackson.  

Black August is a month of Remembrance and Resistance, especially dedicated to our African warriors imprisoned for their heroic stance fighting for African liberation.

In this episode, we bring you excerpts from presenters at the 12th Annual Convention of the Black is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations, held August 7th and 8th 2021.

The theme of this year's Convention was “Deepening the Resistance to Police Terror: Honoring our Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War, Black Community Control of the Police”. 

In this program, we hear from:

• Omali Yeshitela, Chairman of the African People's Socialist Party and of the Black is Back Coalition.
• Sekou Odinga, former political prisoner, released in 2014 after spending 33 years in prison. Sekou a was a member of Malcolm X's Organization of Afro-American Unity, a founding member of the New York chapter of the Black Panther Party and a combatant in the Black Liberation Army. 
• Jaan Laaman, member of the Ohio 7 who was convicted of “seditious conspiracy,” along with other members of the United Freedom Front. He was released from McCreary federal prison in May 2021, after 37 years in captivity.

For more information on the Black Is Back Coalition, visit blackisbackcoalition.org. To request a free monthly subscription of The Burning Spear newspaper for a prisoner, visit theburningspear.com.