Below is a sampling of this month of “righteous rebellions” and “racist repressions”
- The first Afrikans were brought to Jamestown as slaves in August of 1619
- Haitian Revolution August 21, 1791-January 1, 1804
- Gabriel Prosser’s 1800 slave rebellion occurred on August 30th, 1800.
- The “Prophet” Nat Turner planned and executed a slave rebellion that commenced on August 21, 1831.
- In 1843, Henry Highland Garnett called a general slave strike on August 22.
- The Underground Railroad was started on August 2, 1850.
- The March on Washington occurred in August of 1963
- The Watts rebellions were in August of 1965.
- On August 18, 1971 the Provisional Government of the Republic of New Afrika (RNA) was raided by Mississippi police and FBI agents.
- The MOVE family was bombed by Philadelphia police on August 8, 1978
Further, August is a time of birth. Dr. Mutulu Shakur (New Afrikan prisoner of war), Pan-Africanist Leader Marcus Garvey, Maroon Russell Shoatz (political prisoner) and Chicago Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton were born in August. August is also a time of transition and rebirth. The great scholar and educator W.E.B. Dubois died in Ghana on August 27, 1963. So, August is a month during which African Americans can reflect on their current situation and struggle for self-determination and freedom.