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“Fascism is a political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition (Merriam-Webster).” This is the moment we find ourselves in. In this special edition of WARTIME, we honor the revolutionary spirit of those who came before us. Every year, our organization observes Black August, a time in which we show our solidarity with political prisoners and prisoners of war within the hold of the State. It is a practice of discipline and sacrifice and a time to remember all those who gave their lives behind the walls and across borders in the name of Black Liberation; it is not a time of celebration but a time of spiritual and political re-commitment. Although we are in the midst of war, at Black Men Build, we are growing. We are moving. We are making progress in this fight and staying committed to the struggle. In year three of Black Men Build, we’ve firmly established our Men’s Circles as the foundation of our organization. Our Men’s Circles keep us organized and provide a foundation of trust and brotherhood as we fight in this war. We know the road ahead is long and arduous, but we are ready to transform ourselves to meet this moment, and we invite brothers to join us. In this special edition of WARTIME, we break down why we must free all political prisoners. We reflect on the words of George Jackson, the founding force of Black August. We revisit our conversation with the late great Dr. Mutulu Shakur. And we highlight the hypocrisy of living in a fascist state disguised as what Amerikkka calls a democracy. We can’t overstate the urgency of this moment. There’s a war going on outside that no man is safe from. But we can’t fight if we aren’t organized. History isn’t made, it’s built.

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It’s hot as hell outside. DeSantis and them proud boys ramping up again. They “defunded the police” but then approved Cop City. Election season round the corner, and Biden and Harris doing their best to look busy for our vote, but what have they really done? Jobs are being cut in almost every industry, and the rent still due on the first. Look around; fascism is here. 2

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Black Liberation and its Deep Ties to the Month of August By Randolph Carr Too many of our people are forgotten in the belly of the beast, the jails and prisons that litter America.

Since 1979, Black August has been invoked as a time of memorial and resistance. Black August is a month-long commitment to a core set of tenets that honor the revolutionary spirit of our freedom fighters—political prisoners, prisoners of war, and exiles—who have given the ultimate sacrifice. It is not a month of celebration or a time for festivities. It is a month focused on educating ourselves and our communities about the oppressive conditions behind the walls and within the cages of the prison system. During this time, the Black August tradition is to study the resistance and righteous rebellion of Black people to slavery, colonization, and genocide throughout the diaspora. From its very beginnings, Black August has been a revolutionary concept—with its inception taking place on the prison grounds of California. It is a history we should hold on to and must preserve as we renew our own spiritual and political commitments. To understand Black August you have to recognize the struggle of Black prisoners in San Quentin to develop a revolutionary consciousness from within America’s chief repressive institution.

During the first Black August, Brothers wore black armbands around their left arm and studied revolutionary works, while they fasted from sunup to sundown. The fast was to symbolize and serve as a reminder for the sacrifice of those who came before. Brothers abstained from the consumption of alcohol, drugs, and television. Instead, the time was turned towards the development of mind, body and spirit, a collective and individual practice of the core tenets. The tenets of Black August can be summed up simply:

Indeed, without a proper understanding of figures like George and Jonathan Jackson, for example, the theory, strategy, and history of prison abolition loses its radical edge. George Jackson would write in his collection of letters, Soledad Brothers, that, “in a well-ordered society prisons would not exist as such”. With fleeting attention, we’ve made mention of the man, but hardly have we sat to weigh the significance of life and struggle that would shape the revolutionary consciousness of prisoners from coast to coast. It was George Jackson’s death that would be the catalyst for the Attica Uprisings, where more than 800 prisoners would take control of the prison in order to uplift their demands for more humane conditions and just treatment.

The month of August carries heavy significance in the protracted struggle for Black Liberation. The Haitian Revolution, the first successful slave revolt in the Western Hemisphere, began in the heat of August. In a moment similar to today, the Watts Rebellion was waged for several days in August, evoking the August memories of Gabriel Prosser and Nat Turner. Black August also stands as a memorial to the assassination of George Jackson, Jonathan Jackson, W.L Nolan, James McClain, William Christmas, and Khatari Gaulden – central figures in the revolutionary prisoners’ movement that carry through to today’s call for abolition.

Still, we struggle. Still, we have political and politicized prisoners who embody a commitment to struggle that we must honor. With careful attention, the elders of the Black August Organizing Committee and other dedicated comrades have preserved the meaning and intention of Black August. We must continue to build upon the work that has come before us. We must take ourselves more seriously, understanding we aren’t alone and remembering there are those who we cannot forget.

Fast, study, train and fight.

To observe and commemorate Black August each individual is encouraged to: Fast for a suggested prolonged period or if really disciplined drink only water from sunrise until after sunset from the 1st until the 31st (Alternative suggested hours are 6am-6pm or 8am-8pm)

Eat only one meal a day after 6pm or after sunset.

On days called flea days, (1st, 7th, 13th and 21st), fast 24 hours until next sunset. (Knowing that refraining from liquids is unhealthy, Mama Ayanna suggests making this a liquid fast or to drink only water if you are especially disciplined)

Do not watch TV or listen to radio from sunrise to sunset

Do not watch corporate television or movies at all unless for educational purposes (for example ‘Malcolm X or Biko’)

Eat healthy, natural, and nutritious foods, beverages, and meals to nourish your body and practice discipline. Do not use any drugs, smoke, or ingest mind-altering herbs or alcoholic beverages during the entire month.

Work out an exercise routine for each day either individually or in groups.

Observe Black August through educational study groups, educational events, entertainment, and commemorations.

Do not go to any corporate store for anything other than essentials or medical/health-related items.

Educate your family, community, and loved ones about what is happening to our people in prisons.

Contribute funds and monies made from Black August events to men, women, and youth in prison or prisoner legal funds

Visit and/or write someone in prison or jail. It is suggested to also write and support our political prisoners and prisoners of consciousness (this practice should be continued all year)

To invoke the spirit of Black August year-round, we observe a day of fasting, study, and service on the 9th Day of every month. Day of the Nines is our monthly call to action and national day of solidarity.

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Who is George Jackson? George Jackson, affectionately known as “The Dragon,” became a revolutionary figure while serving an indeterminate sentence for stealing $70 from a gas station in 1961. During his time behind bars, he wrote Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George Jackson and Blood in My Eye. These works are a pivotal part of our

education at Black Men Build. Below is an excerpt from Blood in My Eye, written in 1972. George Jackson finished writing this novel days before he was killed during an escape attempt from San Quentin State Prison on August 21, 1971.

Toward the United Front

An Excerpt from “Blood in My Eye” by George Jackson

“A new Unitarian and progressive current has sprung up in the movement centering on political prisoners. How can this Unitarian conduct be developed further in the face of determined resistance from the establishment? How can it be used to isolate reactionary elements? Unitary conduct implies a “search” for those elements in our present situation, which can become the basis for joint action. It involves a conscious reaching for the relevant, the entente, and especially, in our case, the reconcilable. Throughout the centralizing authoritarian process of Ameri-kan history, the ruling classes have found it necessary to discourage and punish any genuine opposition to hierarchy. But there have always been individuals and groups who rejected the ideal of two unequal societies, existing one on top of the other. The men who placed themselves above the rest of society through guile, fortuitous outcome of circumstance, and sheer brutality have developed two principal institutions to deal with any and all serious disobedience—the prison and institutionalized racism. There are more prisons of all categories in the United States than in all other countries of the world combined. At all times, there are two-thirds of a million* people or more confined to these prisons. Hundreds are destined to be legally executed, thousands more quasi-legally. Other thousands will never again have any freedom of movement, barring a revolutionary change in all the institutions that combine to make up the order of things. One-third of a million people may not seem like a great number compared with the total population of two hundred million.* However, compared with the one million who are responsible for all the affairs of men within the extended state, it constitutes a striking contrast. What I want to explore now are a few of the subtle elements that I have observed to be standing in the path of a much needed united front (nonsectarian) to effectively reverse this legitimatized rip-off.”

Written by Jihad Abdulmumit, Chairperson, National Jericho Movement Every POW is a political prisoner, but every political prisoner may not be a POW.

The Jericho Movement to free all political prisoners was started in 1998 by, then political prisoner, Jalil Muntaqim, the late Safiya Bukhari, and Herman Ferguson. Today Jericho remains a vibrant and strong vanguard organization that continues to work nonstop in educating the public about the reality of political prisoners and campaigning to free them.

Interestingly, the Geneva Convention definition of POW is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The laws apply from the moment a prisoner is captured until he is released or repatriated. One of the main provisions of the convention makes it illegal to torture prisoners and states that a prisoner can only be required to give his name, date of birth, rank, and service number (if applicable). Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention protects captured military personnel, some guerrilla fighters, and certain civilians.

The Jericho membership consists of Muslims, activists, and revolutionary sisters and brothers from various walks of life. Our leadership consists of former political prisoners, members of the Black Panther Party, and the Black Liberation Army. There are Chapters and members throughout the United States, with larger chapters in New York, Boston, and Oakland. True to its original mission, Jericho supports political prisoners in the United States, as well as around the world. Jericho defines political prisoners as

The United States has never afforded these international rights to our freedom fighters (POWs) who have picked up arms to fight against racism and the brutal attacks on our people and communities.

“anyone captured/arrested because of their conscious involvement in the various aspects of the liberation struggles of this country, including protests, actions against capitalist structures, educating, organizing, and defending communities against police violence, water and planet protectors, and movement builders.” There are also many instances where sisters and brothers become politicized in prison, as with the noble example of Comrade George Jackson. Nevertheless, Jericho supports all legitimate political prisoners and POWs, nationally foremost, but internationally as well. Jericho defines Prisoners of War (POWs) as

“combatants who have been captured while engaging in armed struggle in support of national liberation or against American imperialism, white supremacy, and all forms of colonialism and neocolonialism.” Oftentimes, the term political prisoner is used for POW because the designation POW is not commonly understood in the United States. So, for educational and organizing purposes, and to make it more easily accepted and understood by the people at this stage of struggle, Jericho uses the designation political prisoner for POW as well.

The government’s narrative of our political prisoners and POWs as being no more than common criminals is very influential and pervasive. Thus, Jericho takes pains to make sure we understand that we have political prisoners in this country, just like around the world, who have fought and who are fighting for our freedom. Jericho renders support to political prisoners in a multitude of ways: •

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Please understand that any and all liberation movements (nationally and internationally) that struggle to abolish systems of oppression, colonialism/neo-colonialism, racism, and exploitation, and fight for self-determination and reparations, must center the struggle to support and free its activists and freedom fighters.

Connecting with a local Jericho chapter to either join or volunteer

Working within your own circles and spheres of influence to support a political prisoner

Holding a political prisoner writing event in your home or community

Making your own family, loved ones, and friends aware of the reality and existence of political prisoners in the United States

providing direct assistance to political prisoners by visiting them, financially supporting family visits, giving food packages and commissary funds

Donate generously

organizing written support and phone calls to parole boards and governors’ offices requesting that parole or commutation of sentence be granted

Being a conscious and kind person to others doing the work

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conducting educational forums about political prisoners, who they are, how to support them, and offering explanations and analyses of the oppressive conditions that political prisoners fought against

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collaborating and building sustainable networks with other organizations and formations doing the work to support and free political prisoners

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working to inspire and mobilize young people to carry the torch to free all political prisoners.

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By Tara Tee

It’s all political when you in prison sentenced to 8 years cause they wanted to see another quiktrip go up you know, for the sensation convicted of arson and burglary, but you ain’t set no fire unless we talking about the one in me every time I pulled up and saw you with the cape Ah, we on our superhero shit today It’s all political when you in prison and for a chance at expungement and $2.90 they enlist you to risk it all extinguishing burning trees while folks still inside for burning trees But that’s legal now, in all but 6 states It’s all political when you in prison in a pandemic and hefty pretrial cash bails don’t come with ppe in a drafty ass complex called the Justice Center that ain’t never actually seen justice with no way to be social or distant, now how they supposed to fight the virus and the CO? Jimmie called them violent individuals and I’m calling him the pot and the kettle Cause the work of white supremacy ain’t peace It’s all political when you imprisoned on the shittiest island for 3 years of innocent until proven guilty around the same time you should be getting your drivers’ permit forced solitude and finally sentenced to suicide for poverty A crime wholly created and committed by the system It’s all political when you tryna check but the balance don’t ever add up Cause Baba Mutulu has been denied parole 9 times since 1986. It’s all political when attacks at sunrise start with shouts like attention MOVE...this is america. It’s all political when a cornerstone of the carceral state is a mass movement aimed and implemented at stunting entire generations of your people. But, we do not consent to mass incarceration. We are vehemently opposed to the imprisonment of our elders, leaders, teachers, mothers, fathers and babies. We are forever indebted to those who have given their life and freedom to the struggle for Black liberation.

We Love You. 9

L O N G

L I V E

DR. MUTULU SHAKUR Born August 8, 1950 Transitioned July 6, 2023 Dr. Mutulu Shakur embodied a lifelong commitment to the struggle and Black Liberation. A veteran of the Republic of New Afrika and the Black Liberation Army, his contributions to the liberation of our people are immeasurable. Dr. Shakur’s revolutionary life reached its height during the eras of the sixties and the seventies: a time of war between oppressed and oppressors. A time of anti-colonial struggles throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean on one end and the counter-insurgency attacks of the United States government on the other. Dr. Shakur was born, raised, and did his work within this context. A period of calculated assaults on our people that saw the assassinations of our leaders, the murders of activists, and a continuation of the degradation and violence on Black families that we have experienced since the time of the Maafa, “the great tragedy” of the Atlantic slave trade. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, and raised in Queens, New York, “Doc,” as he was affectionately referred to, was a conscious member of the New Afrikan Independence Movement and the Black Liberation struggle since the age of 15. First organizing locally around community control of schools in Brooklyn, and later nationally as a founding member of the provisional government of the Republic of New Afrika(PG-RNA), he was a committed

organizer and defender of our people who understood there would be no salvation for our people under the capitalist, white supremacist system of the united states government.

(MXGM), the “Shakur Squad,” comrades, activists, and most importantly, his family, Dr. Shakur was released on December 16, 2022.

Defending our people took many forms for Doc, from throwing his body on top of others during the infamous attack on a gathering of Black nationalists at the New Bethel Church by the Detroit Police in 1969 to working to save and transform the lives of those struggling with addiction in New York City almost a decade later through the Black Acupuncture Advisory Association of North America. As a healer, he took on drug detoxification through acupuncture, where his work was revered across the globe. His innovative techniques counseled individuals through withdrawal symptoms, focusing heavily on elderly and poor patients in our community.

Shortly after his release, Dr. Shakur joined us for a special Mass Call. We are eternally grateful to have had the extraordinary opportunity to speak with Dr. Shakur in his final months. His wisdom has been and will continue to be a guiding example for our organization. Dr. Shakur was a soldier of the people, has lived a life of revolutionary discipline and revolutionary struggle. A life of sacrifice and service to the New Afrikan nation and all oppressed people around the world. We thank you, Dr. Shakur, and will continue to fight, Straight Ahead and with Stiff Resistance until all political prisoners are free. Because “no struggle in the history of the world has ever been successful leaving their people behind.”

On February 12, 1986, he was arrested and later charged for a string of events, the most notable being the liberation of Black Liberation Army member Assata Shakur from prison. He was also the stepfather to Tupac “2PAC” Amaru Shakur and had a tremendous impact on his upbringing. He spent 36 years behind bars as a political prisoner. Through the tireless work of so many, including The New Afrikan People’s Organization (NAPO), the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement

FREE THE LAND FREE ‘EM ALL Watch our Mass Call

“The General Is Home”

featuring Dr. Mutulu Shakur

WORTH OUR WEIGHT IN GUNS AN EXCERPT FROM WARTIME ISSUE 3

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SECOND AMENDMENT AND BLACK GUN OWNERSHIP

PRACTICING GUN SAFETY

COMMUNITY FIREARMS TRAINING, BETTER JOBS, BETTER SCHOOLS, BETTER HEALTHCARE, MORE MENTORS FOR OUR YOUTH

BLACK PEOPLE’S RELATIONSHIP TO GUNS HAS ALWAYS BEEN COMPLICATED

| By Asa Shaw |

| Photographed by Nicholas Green |

DAWG, IT’S COMPLICATED BEING BLACK. Ever since there’s been a visible upsurge in school shootings in suburban America and a visible resurgence of muddle-headed white supremacists, people have started to talk more and more about Black gun ownership. Black + Guns = terror, for most of America. So when you talking firearms and our people, you gotta be clear. Malcolm X always used to say, “of all studies, history is the best positioned to reward our research.” So lets start there. Back when Europeans were committing white-on-white crime en masse all over Europe, they were also advancing technology that would allow them to create more reliable gunpowder and firearms for war. These more reliable firearms would make their way to Africa and be used to terrorize African people and be used as one of the most important commodities in the slave trade. African leaders understood that with guns they could dominate other tribes in battle and expand their kingdom’s territories (the Dahomey and Asante were two major players in this regard). Thus, guns became the currency used to purchase the first enslaved Africans whose labor would be used to build the modern world. Guns and the oppression of people of African descent is and has always been, inextricably linked. Which brings us to the title of this article. Black people were literally… (see title). Our ability to carry and own firearms has been systematically suppressed since before the United States was even a country. The year that enslaved Africans first touched down in Jamestown in 1619, there were laws on the books being written “That all such free Mulattoes, Negroes and Indians... shall appear without arms.” In 1857, our ability to bear arms would be further eroded in the Dred Scott decision, which said Black people were not citizens, we were property, so no rights afforded to citizens under the constitution could apply to us, which included the Second Amendment. James K. Vardaman, a racist Mississippi senator, warned that the return of Black veterans to the South would “inevitably lead to disaster.” He said that letting Black men fight in the military and defend the flag was a short step toward them concluding that “his political rights must be respected.” He knew that giving Black people combat training with firearms could be dangerous to the status quo. I get it though. Look at what enslaved Africans did in history without combat training. During Stono’s rebellion, in 1739, enslaved Africans raided a gun store, decapitated the owners and displayed their heads on the store steps. From 1791 to 1804 the Haitian Revolution would beat back the British, the Spanish, and the French to shock the world and create the first Black republic. In 1831, Nat Turner would lead a rebellion that would kill over 60 whites and once again give our oppressors a taste of what happens when enslaved Africans were able to get their hands on firearms.

Black people’s relationship to guns, like our relationship to this country has always been complicated. Even now, It is clear that Black people should have the right to own firearms to protect themselves and defend against attacks, but we must also ensure that these firearms are not being used within our community to harm or destroy families. The idea of “Black-onBlack’’ crime is a political tool for the right, not an actual statistic that says anything abnormal. Research shows that most murder is intraracial, meaning both people involved are usually of the same race. Crime is more about proximity rather than what you look like. Black folks aren’t more or less murderous than any other race. What we are though: is financially poor, and suffering from a historical malfeasance that breeds scarcity and desperation. The answer to reducing gun violence in our communities is not taking guns out of the community, because we need those to protect our communities. The answer lies in reducing scarcity and practicing gun safety, which means community firearms training, better jobs, better schools, better healthcare, and more mentors and programs for the youth. We shouldn’t shoot ourselves in the foot, cut off our nose to spite our face, or throw the proverbial baby out with the bath water. We need firearms. Not only to protect ourselves and our families. But, to protect our communities from a rising tide of white supremacists and from the state infringing even further on our abilities to live and pursue an abundant life. Everybody should be strapped, respectively. Our ability to do that though, has been curtailed through the suppression of our Second Amendment rights. Even the NRA for all its posturing about Second Amendment rights, in the 1960’s sided with the California government to pass a gun law that banned open carry in response to the Black Panther’s demonstration at the Capitol and when Philando Castile got shot by the police all they said was that his death was, “troubling.” They say one thing and do another. If it’s one thing I’ve learned from being a student of Black history it’s that “rights’’ are not these universal things that everyone has. You only have access to the “rights” that you can enforce. If you can’t enforce your rights, then someone will take them from you. One way to at least protect your right to life, is through gun ownership. I believe every Black person in America should own a firearm. If you don’t own one (or can’t legally own one), then you should at least be connected to a network of gun owners in your neighborhood who have agreed to protect your family when the time calls for it. Black people. In order to protect our lives and our communities, we once again need to be worth our weight in guns. Until the government, military, police, and white supremacists give up their guns. My nigga, keep yours! This is not to be alarmist, this is to be realistic.

BE SAFE, AND STAY STRAPPED

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