 | |
| Author | George Jackson |
|---|---|
| Genre | Political philosophy |
| Publisher | Random House |
Publication date | 1 January 1972 |
| ISBN | 0933121237 |
Blood in My Eye is a book of political philosophy written by George Jackson, a co-founder of the Black Guerrilla Family. Jackson finished writing the book only days before he was killed at San Quentin State Prison on 21 August 1971. The book was first published on 1 January 1972.
In 1961, George Jackson was sentenced to one year to life in San Quentin State Prison for armed robbery (citation required). During his time at San Quentin, Jackson was introduced to Marxist ideas by W.L. Nolen, a fellow inmate. The two founded the Black Guerrilla Family in 1966, based on Marxist–Leninist principles. [1] During his time in prison, Jackson educated himself on history and Marxist economics. [2]
Using a plastic typewriter, [3] Jackson wrote many letters and political essays, which were later compiled in the books Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George Jackson and Blood in My Eye.
Blood in My Eye begins with the statement:
We must accept the eventuality of bringing the U.S.A. to its knees; accept the closing off of critical sections of the city with barbed wire, armored pig carriers crisscrossing the streets, soldiers everywhere, tommy guns pointed at stomach level, smoke curling black against the daylight sky, the smell of cordite, house-to-house searches, doors being kicked in, the commonness of death. [2]
Jackson discusses various topics such as the use of guerrilla warfare against the United States government, class struggle and American fascism. [4] The content is presented as a series of essays and letters. In the book, Jackson describes himself as a "Marxist-Leninist-Maoist-Fanonist". [2]
Jackson devotes a large portion of the book to urban guerrilla warfare strategies to be used against the police and military. For example, he describes a makeshift armored vehicle which is equipped with flamethrowers, machine guns and rocket launchers. [5] He attributes this idea to this brother Jonathan Jackson. Furthermore, he advocates for the assassination of reactionary leaders. [6]
Jackson writes: "Our whole question is: just what level of consciousness will support the violent revolutionary activity necessary to achieve our ends? And how will we know when this level is reached? Recall: our Mao teaches that when revolution fails it isn't the fault of the people, it's the fault of the vanguard party. The people will never come to us and say, "Let's fight." There have never been any spontaneous revolutions. They were all staged, manufactured, by people who went to the head of the masses and directed them." [7]
Melvin Maddocks from Life described the book as "a remarkable portrait of a remarkable man". [8] Maitland Zane from the San Francisco Chronicle described the book as "muscular, eloquent and poetically defiant". [8] David Lewis of The New York Times criticised the book, claiming that it "lacks the visceral brilliance, the epistolary panache, and the sense of personal growth and complexity stamping the letters and essays in 'Soledad Brother'." [3]
Leroy Eldridge Cleaver was an American writer and political activist who became an early leader of the Black Panther Party.
George Lester Jackson was an American author, activist and convicted felon. While serving an indeterminate sentence for stealing $70 from a gas station in 1961, Jackson became involved in revolutionary activity and co-founded the prison gang Black Guerrilla Family.
The Black Guerrilla Family is an African American black power prison gang, street gang, and political organization founded in 1966 by George Jackson, George "Big Jake" Lewis, and W.L. Nolen while they were incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison in Marin County, California.
Jonathan Peter Jackson was an armed militant who died of gunshot wounds sustained during the armed invasion of a California courthouse.
Prison literature is a literary genre characterized by literature that is written while the author is confined in a location against his or her will, such as a prison, jail or house arrest. The writing can be about prison, informed by it, or simply coincidentally written while in prison. It could be a memoir, nonfiction, or fiction.
American prison literature is literature written by Americans who are incarcerated. It is a distinct literary phenomenon that is increasingly studied as such by academics.
The Soledad Brothers were three inmates charged with the murder of a prison guard, John Vincent Mills, at California's Soledad Prison on January 16, 1970. George Jackson, Fleeta Drumgo, and John Clutchette were alleged to have murdered Mills in retaliation for the shooting deaths of three black prisoners during a prison fight in the exercise yard three days prior by another guard, Opie G. Miller. Clutchette and Drumgo were acquitted by a jury while Jackson was killed in a prison riot prior to trial.
The George Jackson Brigade was a revolutionary group founded in the mid-1970s, based in Seattle, Washington, and named after George Jackson, a dissident prisoner and Black Panther member shot and killed during an alleged escape attempt at San Quentin Prison in 1971. The group combined veterans of the women's liberation movement, homosexuals and Black prisoners.
Black August is a 2007 drama film directed by Samm Styles and starring Gary Dourdan, Darren Bridgett, Ezra Stanley, "Big" Leroy Mobley, and Don Williams. It was produced by Tcinque Sampson. The film centers on the story of George Jackson's life.
"George Jackson" is a song by Bob Dylan, written in 1971, in tribute to the Black Panther leader George Jackson, who had been shot and killed by guards at San Quentin Prison during an attempted escape on August 21, 1971. The event indirectly provoked the Attica Prison riot.
The San Quentin Six were six inmates at San Quentin State Prison in the U.S. state of California who were charged with actions related to an August 21, 1971 escape attempt that resulted in six deaths and at least two people seriously wounded. The San Quentin Six were Fleeta Drumgo, David Johnson, Hugo Pinell, Johnny Larry Spain, Willie Tate, and Luis Talamantez. The dead included George Jackson, a co-founder of the Black Guerrilla Family; two other inmates, and three guards.
Guilty! is a 1971 album by Eric Burdon and Jimmy Witherspoon. It was the first release by Burdon after he left War.
The Marin County Civic Center attacks were two related attacks in 1970 at the Marin County Civic Center courtroom in San Rafael, California, United States, tied to escalating racial tensions in the state's criminal justice system.
Soul on Ice is a memoir and collection of essays by Eldridge Cleaver. Originally written in Folsom State Prison in 1965, and published three years later in 1968, it is Cleaver's best known writing and remains a seminal work in African-American literature. The treatises were first printed in the nationally-circulated monthly Ramparts and became widely read for their illustration and commentary on Black America. Throughout his narrative, Cleaver describes not only his transformation from a marijuana dealer and serial rapist into a convinced Malcolm X adherent and Marxist revolutionary, but also his analogous relationship to the politics of America.
Fay Abrahams Stender was an American lawyer from the San Francisco Bay Area, and a prisoner rights activist. Some of her better-known clients included Black Panther leader Huey Newton, and the Soledad Brothers, including Black Guerrilla Family founder George Jackson.
Fleeta Drumgo was an American convict who was one of the Soledad Brothers, who were three African-American inmates accused of killing prison guard John Vincent Mills in January 16, 1970. Following this, Drumgo participated in an escape attempt from San Quentin Prison on August 21, 1971, which resulted in the deaths of three prison guards and three inmates, including George Jackson, who led the escape attempt.
A prison gang is an inmate organization that operates within a prison system, that has a corporate entity, exists into perpetuity, and whose membership is restrictive, mutually exclusive, and often requires a lifetime commitment. Political scientist David Skarbekargues the emergence of prison gangs are due to the dramatic increase in the prison population and inmate's demand for safety. Skarbek observes that in a small, homogeneous environment, people can use social norms to interpret what behavior is acceptable, but a large, heterogeneous setting undermines social norms and acceptable behavior is more difficult to determine. Prison gangs are geographically and racially divided, and about 70% of prison gang members are in California and Texas. Skarbek suggests prison gangs function similar to a community responsibility system. Interactions between strangers are facilitated because you do not have to know an individual's reputation, only a gang's reputation. Some prison gangs are transplanted from the street. In some circumstances, prison gangs "outgrow" the internal world of life inside the penitentiary, and go on to engage in criminal activities on the outside. Gang umbrella organizations like the Folk Nation and People Nation have originated in prisons.
Brothers is a 1977 American drama film directed by Arthur Barron and produced by Edward Lewis and Mildred Lewis. It stars Bernie Casey, Vonetta McGee, Ron O'Neal, John Lehne, Stu Gilliam, Renny Roker, Owen Pace, Dwan Smith and Martin St. Judge in the lead roles.
If They Come in the Morning: Voices of Resistance is a collection of writings about U.S. legal trials and prisons, edited by Angela Davis and published in 1971. Contributors included Black Panther Party members and the Soledad Brothers. As Davis' first book, it contains description of her experiences in prison. The book was positively received by African-American and communist media of the time.
W.L. Nolen was an American convict who co-founded the Black Guerrilla Family, in San Quentin State Prison in 1966, along with George Jackson. Nolen is considered the mentor of Jackson and is often credited with introducing Jackson to radical left-wing politics.
give the brother an armored van from inside he could use said flamethrower, give him two comrades in arms, one equipped with an M60 machine gun, the other with an anti-tank rocket launcher
All reactionary movements depend principally on a handful of individuals - sometimes one individual. There are many ways to correct individuals. The best way is to send one armed expert.