It should be clearly understood that Black August is a reflection and commemoration of history; of those heroic partisans and leaders that realistically made it possible for us to survive and advance to our present level of liberation struggle. People such as: Nat Turner, Harriet Tubman, Gabriel Prosser, Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. DuBois, Marcus Garvey, Paul Robertson, Rosa Parks, M.L. King, Malcolm X, and numerous others in our more contemporary period.
Black August contends that from the very inception of slavery, New Afrikans huddled illegally to commemorate and draw strength from New Afrikan slaves who met their death resisting. Black August asserts that it is only natural for each generation of New Afrikans, faced with the task to liberate the nation, to draw strength and encouragement from each generation of New Afrikan warriors that preceded them. It is from such a rich heritage of resistance that Black August developed; committed to continuing the legacy of resistance, vowing to respond to the destruction of colonial oppression with our George Jacksons, Malcolm Xs, Fred Hamptons, etc., etc.
New Afrikan resistance moved decisively into the 1920s and 1930s. Evidence of this were movements like: The African Blood Brotherhood, The Sharecroppers, The Black Bolsheviks, etc. Unduly there is an incorrect tendency to confine the discussion of African Nationalism to the well-known Garvey movement as the sole manifestation of national consciousness. The Garvey movement was the point of the emerging politics of New African resistance.
Black August is the antithesis to “celebration” and empty “homage”. Black August attempts to place struggle and sacrifice on center stage. In this respect, Black August summons all progressive people who identify with the legacy of resistance to colonial oppression by actively participating in it. Thus, during the entire month of August, we commemorate those Africans who have made the supreme sacrifice for the cause of African Liberation, and reflect upon the significance of those contributions, as well as draw closer to the continuing necessity for resistance.
We embrace the following as tenets to be practiced during Black August.
We fast, to abstain from consuming any type of intoxicants for the entire month. We do this from sun up to sun down. We exercise every day, at least twice a day, and on the 1st, 7th, 14th, and 21st we exercise four times a day (every six hours). We study African history and have group discussions about the material, as well as teach others about our Afrikan history and cultural practices, in order to build and develop consciousness that will help to strengthen our victory.
In solidarity struggle.
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