Black August is not only a month to honor the work and dedication of fallen soldiers in the Black freedom struggle and political prisoners still languishing in American cells; it’s an annual ritual for working and oppressed people to sharpen our understanding of and deepen our commitment to the struggle for Black liberation for the year ahead. The month commemorates martyrs of the struggle and spotlights past and present leaders of Black liberation, from George Jackson and Walter Rodney to Assata Shakur and Claudia Jones. This year, every member-organization at the Liberation Center organized their work around the slogan of Black August: “Study, fast, train, fight.”
As you’ll see from the snapshot of our Black August programming, your donations and sustainer pledges enable us to do an increasing number of events that are of higher and higher quality and political importance to our people.
Advancing the struggle of prisoners inside and out
This year, Black August began nationwide with communities exploding in rage in response to the police murder of Sonya Massey, who was killed by police on July 6. Police in the U.S. had already shot and killed 588 people across the country between January 1, 2024 when they killed Sonya.
Precisely because of the relentless War on Black America/New Afrika, this Black August the Indianapolis Liberation Center organized an entire month of programming dedicated to the Black struggle and its centrality to all struggles against oppression and exploitation.
One of our first events was a call-out meeting for our latest member-organization, IDOC Watch. IDOCW is an abolitionist movement that has, for years, been building an inside-outside mass-based movement to tear down the racist, capitalist mass incarceration system in the U.S. The number and diversity of people who packed the Center indicates the need our community has for such a movement.
One of IDOC Watch’s founders, New Afrikan Political Prisoner Shaka Shakur, is from Indiana, although in 2019 he was moved to Virginia where he remains in domestic exile. He has now spent over 22 years incarcerated. Shakur has given his life to the liberation of the worlds oppressed, exploited and downtrodden.
As the Liberator Press (an imprint of the Indianapolis Liberation Center) was finalizing the PSL Indianapolis’ new Black August Reader, we suddenly lost touch with our dear comrade. When Shaka re-established contact with the Center, he recounted that he was ambushed by prison authorities, ripped from his cell, and transferred to Buckingham Correctional Facility. He was in solitary confinement, trapped in a cell with no running water for nine consecutive days. The only water he could access came from the rain that flooded his cell.
Supporters of the Liberation Center will be heartened to hear that, throughout the entire ordeal, he remained absolutely certain that we were still struggling not just for him, but for all political prisoners, prisoners of war, and oppressed people. Even though he couldn’t speak to his wife for over a week, he told us his awareness of our real, material, and personal solidarity provided comfort.
We later launched a phone zap campaign to recover the materials his previous prison, Beaumont Correctional Facility, refused to transfer. We were successful in obtaining the most important pieces, two thumb-drives of irreplaceable legal information, although they still refuse to send along other medical and other legal materials to him.
Within a few weeks, Shaka was back with us advancing the struggle through a collaboration between Free Shaka Shakur and Hope Packages during their August assembly (two days before his birthday). Their conversation centered around the concept of “dual power.”
Dual power, Shaka insisted, is not merely helping one another out or engaging in mutual aid as an end in itself; it is a tactic used in revolutionary struggle. He clarified the significance of Hope Packages’ 10-Point Program and its role as a direct political-aid program:
“A lot of people talk about socialism, revolution, and so forth. Sometimes its rhetoric, sometimes its in the abstract, right? But what do we really mean when we out here organizing, struggling, planning, and so forth: What is the vision? Do we have a vision for how these actual things come into play, and what kinds of infrastructure and institutions we want to create.”
Throughout the month, we continued our campaign to free Vernon T. Bateman, who was wrongfully imprisoned for 26 years. Bateman learned how to read, write, and paint while imprisoned, and we continue to support him as he seeks full exoneration, and showcased his art at his two art openings in August—Vernon Bateman’s First Friday exhibit opening and Bateman’s artist talk at the District Theater. Vernon’s works are gifts, drawing out history, hope, and the stories of the struggle of being locked up, and to receive them means we—in our unique individual and collective ways—can better understand and fight for a better future. Freeing our brilliant, generous, and talented artist is going to take all of us coming together and demanding his justice and the justice of the others still locked up behind bars.
Abolition and disability justice
We fight on all fronts connecting the different struggles, from racism to ableism. Linking the powers that push disability towards imprisonment, and imprisonment towards disability is a vital factor in building unity for the struggle. The prison system unjustly targets all those who do not fit into a group of “desirable laborers.” The spirit of studying carried into a people’s panel on disability justice and prison abolition. The panel was joined by Katie Tastrom, covering the release of her new book, and a variety of other speakers and perspectives on the prison system. Instead of a standard author lecture followed by panelist responses, our people’s panel brought together a diverse group of organizers, artists, and educators who, in various ways, work to liberate our people from incarceration and ableism. Together, the panelists and audience were united in the efforts to create a new world, one free of cages and disabling structures.
Later, Dream Palace Books & Coffee hosted our Black August book discussion, which brought Black August to the people. The program educated more people about the revolutionary power of studying and discussing abolition. The Liberation Center understands the important task of relationship building with our community partners and bringing the revolutionary spirit directly to the people where they are.
The PSL’s Liberation Forum covered the history of Black August with special guest speaker Orlando Gilyard. In 2015, Gilyard helped organize a gang truce between the Bloods, Crips, and Black Guerrilla Family to support the uprisings for Freddie Gray who was killed by Baltimore cops. Together, the gangs built relationships with the Nation of Islam, Christian leaders, and people from all backgrounds to protect their communities from the police during the uprising. You can watch part of Gilyard’s speech on your YouTube site.
We cannot restrict our study and mutual development to just the adult population. In recognition of this fact, partner organization Indiana Black Librarians Network (IBLN) held its very first liberated readers children’s storytime at the center. The book read was Abolition is Love, by Syrus Marcus Ware. This event was a huge success and proved that the Center is a place for both parents and children. Look forward to our next event on September 14.
Expanding the movement beyond August
The Center has accomplished a lot, especially when considering our extremely small and precarious budget. We aim to reach new heights and have an even greater impact in the struggle for Black liberation. The events and actions held this month, which we must carry forward into our future action, aren’t possible without contributions from our volunteers, and donations from supporters like you. Please consider becoming a sustainer and raising the ceiling on what we can do for our community at the Indianapolis Liberation Center.
Featured photo: Jok Huerta of FOCUS Initiatives LTD and Leon Benson at the Liberation Center during Benson’s recent visit to the city. Credit: Indianapolis Liberation Center.
