For Jonathan Peter Jackson, a direct relative of two prominent members of , revolutionary thought and family history have always been intertwined, particularly in August.

ThatB次元官网网址檚 the month in 1971 when his uncle, the famed Panther George Jackson, was killed during in California. A revolutionary whose words resonated inside and out of the prison walls, he was a published author, activist and radical thought leader.

To many, February is the month dedicated to celebrating Black AmericansB次元官网网址� contributions to a country where they were once enslaved. But has an alternative: ItB次元官网网址檚 called .

First celebrated in 1979, Black August was created to commemorate JacksonB次元官网网址檚 fight for Black liberation. Fifty-one years since his death, Black August is now a month-long awareness campaign and celebration dedicated to Black freedom fighters, revolutionaries, radicals and political prisoners, both living and deceased.

The annual commemorations have been embraced by activists in the global Black Lives Matter movement, many of whom draw inspiration from freedom fighters like Jackson and his contemporaries.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 important to do this now because a lot of people who were on the radical scene during that time period, relatives and non-relatives, who are like blood relatives, are entering their golden years,B次元官网网址� said Jonathan Jackson, 51, of Fair Hill, Maryland.

George Jackson was 18 when he was arrested for robbing a gas station in Los Angeles in 1960. He was convicted and given an indeterminate sentence of one year to life and spent the next decade at CaliforniaB次元官网网址檚 Soledad and San Quentin prisons, much of it in solitary confinement.

While incarcerated, Jackson began studying the words of revolutionary theoreticians such as Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin, who advocated class awareness, challenging institutions and overturning capitalism through revolution. Founding leaders of the Panthers, including and Bobby Seale, were also inspired by Marx, Lenin and Chinese Communist leader Mao Tse-tung.

Jackson became a leader in the prisoner rights movement. His letters from prison to loved ones and supporters were compiled in the bestselling books B次元官网网址淪oledad BrotherB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淏lood in My Eye.B次元官网网址�

Inspired by his words and frustrated with his situation, GeorgeB次元官网网址檚 younger brother, Jonathan, initiated a takeover at the Marin County Superior Court in California in 1970. He freed three inmates and held several courthouse staff hostage, in an attempt to demand the release of his brother and two other inmates, known as the Soledad Brothers, who were accused of killing a correctional officer. Jonathan was killed as he tried to escape, although itB次元官网网址檚 disputed whether he was killed in a courtroom shootout or fatally shot while driving away with hostages.

George was killed on Aug. 21, 1971, during a prison uprising. Inmates at San Quentin prison began formally commemorating his death in 1979, and from there, Black August was born.

B次元官网网址淚 certainly wish that more people knew about GeorgeB次元官网网址檚 writings (and) knew about my fatherB次元官网网址檚 sacrifice on that fateful day in August,B次元官网网址� said Jonathan Jackson, who wrote the foreword to B次元官网网址淪oledad BrotherB次元官网网址� in the early B次元官网网址�90s, shortly after graduating from college.

Monifa Bandele, a leader in the Movement for Black Lives, a national coalition of BLM groups, says Black August is about learning the vast history of Black revolutionary leaders. That includes figures such as Nat Turner, who is famous for leading a slave rebellion on a southern Virginia plantation in August 1831, and Marcus Garvey, the leader of the Pan-Africanism movement and born in August 1887. It includes events such as the Haitian Revolution in 1791 and the March on Washington in 1963, both taking place in the month of August.

B次元官网网址淭his idea that there was this one narrow way that Black people resisted oppression is really a myth that is dispelled by Black August,B次元官网网址� said Bandele, who is also a member of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, a group that raises awareness of political prisoners.

B次元官网网址淎nd what we saw happen after the 1970s is that it grew outside of the (prison) walls because, as people who were incarcerated came home to their families and communities, they began to do community celebrations of Black August,B次元官网网址� she added.

The ways of honoring this month also come in various forms and have evolved over the years. Some take part in fasting, while others use this time to study the ways of their predecessors. Weekly event series are also common during Black August, from reading groups to open mic nights.

Sankofa, a Black-owned cultural center and coffee shop in Washington that has served the D.C. community for nearly 25 years, wraps up a weekly open mic night in honor of Black August on Friday. The event has drawn local residents of all ages, many who have shared stories, read poetry and performed songs with the theme of rebellion.

B次元官网网址淭his month is all about resistance and celebrating our political prisoners and using all of the faculties that we have to free people who are in prison, let me say, unjustly,B次元官网网址� emcee Ayinde Sekou said to the crowd during a recent event at Sankofa.

Jonathan Jackson, GeorgeB次元官网网址檚 nephew, also believes that there are largely systemic reasons as to why Black August, and his family history specifically, are not widely taught.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 difficult sometimes for radicals who were not assassinated, per se, to enter into the popular discourse,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淕eorge and Jonathan were never victims. They took action, and they were killed taking that action, and sometimes thatB次元官网网址檚 very difficult to understand for people who will accept a political assassination.B次元官网网址�

Jackson hopes to honor his fatherB次元官网网址檚 and uncleB次元官网网址檚 legacy through documenting the knowledge of elders from that era, as a means of continuing the fight.

B次元官网网址淲e need to get those testimonies. B次元官网网址� We need to understand what happened, so that we can improve on what they did. I think now is as good a time as any to get that done,B次元官网网址� he said.

___

Associated Press writers Aaron Morrison and Terry Tang contributed to this report.

___

Almaz Abedje, The Associated Press

Like us on and follow us on .