Black August is a 2007

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by Samm Styles and starring

Gary Dourdan Gary Dourdan (born Gary Robert Durdin: December 11, 1966) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Warrick Brown on the television series ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,'' Shazza Zulu on the television series ''A Different World'' and ...

, Darren Bridgett, Ezra Stanley, "Big" Leroy Mobley, and Don Williams. It was produced by Tcinque Sampson. The film centers on the story of George Jackson's life.

Plot

The movie covers the last 14 months of George Jackson's life as well as the conditions in California's prison industrial complex. George Jackson would spend 11 years incarcerated (7 of which were in solitary confinement) for a $70 gas station robbery crime in 1960. He was 18 years of age when the sentence of one year-to-life was handed down to him. ''Black August'' encompasses the infamous

Soledad Brothers The Soledad Brothers were three inmates charged with the murder of a prison guard, John Vincent Mills, at California's Soledad Prison on January 16, 1970. George Jackson, Fleeta Drumgo, and John Clutchette were alleged to have murdered Mills in ...

case in which George Jackson, Fleeta Drumgo, and John Clucheette are accused of murdering a Soledad prison guard, in retaliation for the killing of three Black inmates involved in a fight with White inmates on an exercise yard in Soledad State Prison, Soledad, California. The film reflects on the general prison movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and the role the

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Califo ...

would play in organizing both the outside communities as well as the Party's influence on prisoners across the country. As a prison organizer, George was recruited by Black Panther Party founder

Huey P. Newton Huey Percy Newton (February 17, 1942 – August 22, 1989) was an African-American revolutionary, notable as founder of the Black Panther Party. Newton crafted the Party's ten-point manifesto with Bobby Seale in 1966. Under Newton's leadershi ...

to head the People's Army, a euphemism which would become synonymous with the name Black Guerrilla Family. The film points out the conspiratorial nature of occurrences, which surrounded the events of August 7, 1970, where Jackson's 17-year-old younger brother, Jonathan Jackson, played by Ezra J. Stanley, would be killed at the

Marin County Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...

Courthouse, at

San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Raphael (archangel), St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), ...

, during a hostage takeover attempt to leverage against the release of the elder Jackson, and the other

. The younger Jackson and three others would be killed, including Superior Judge Harold Haley and August 21, 1971, where George Jackson himself, and five others would be killed at

San Quentin State Prison San Quentin State Prison (SQ) is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in Marin County. Opened in July 1852, San Quentin is the ...

, California, during what is described as a prison break attempt. After a nationwide manhunt, Angela Davis would be captured and stand trial in connection with the

Court House liberation attempt by Jonathan Jackson, accused of conspiracy in supplying 17-year-old Jonathan Jackson with the weapons used. George Jackson is accused of smuggling a 9mm pistol and extra clips concealed under an Afro-wig, into the prison cellblock following a visit by Attorney Stephen Bingham. Stephen Bingham would leave the country, not returning to face charges until 14 years later. Both Davis and Bingham would be acquitted. Others possibly involved in connection with the events of August 21, 1971 would never be questioned.

Cast

as George Jackson *Darren Bridgett as David Dryer *Ezra Stanley as Jonathan Jackson *"Big" Leroy Mobley as Lumumba *Don Williams as FBI Agent Walker

References

External links

Official Website
*
Warner Home Video
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black August (film) 2007 films 2007 biographical drama films 2000s prison drama films African-American biographical dramas American prison drama films American films based on actual events Films set in San Quentin State Prison 2007 drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films Films about the Black Panther Party