Black August 2025 Recap
Each year, we observe Black August as a political and spiritual practice as it reminds us that Black liberation and Pro-Blackness are front and center to our work. As we wrap up Black August, we want to take a moment to reflect upon the Black revolutionaries who fought before us and continue to inspire us to fight for a world that is liberated and free from white supremacy and oppression.
What is Black August?
Black August is a month-long observance that honors Black freedom fighters, political prisoners, and the long tradition of Black resistance and rebellion—especially those connected to the prison abolition and Black liberation movements.
Black August is not just a memorial—it’s a political and spiritual practice. It emphasizes:
Study – Reading radical theory, Black history, and political literature.
Fasting – Honoring discipline and sacrifice; often practiced on specific days (like August 21 and 7).
Reflection – On incarceration, revolution, and community struggle.
Solidarity – With political prisoners and those fighting state violence.
Black August is not about celebration—it’s about remembrance, resistance, and recommitment to the struggle for Black liberation. It stands in contrast to the more mainstream and often depoliticized Black History Month, focusing instead on revolutionary action and the ongoing fight against colonial, capitalist, and carceral systems.
This year, we decided to highlight liberation and freedom movements led by Black revolutionaries around the world. Here are some highlights from our 2025 Black August series:
Black Power Movement in the U.S.
The Black Power Movement was a political and cultural movement in the United States that emerged in the mid-1960s and reached its height in the 1970s. It was rooted in the fight for civil rights and racial justice, but it emphasized Black autonomy, pride, self-determination, and resistance to systemic oppression.
The Black Power movement had a lasting impact on American society, influencing the development of Black studies programs in universities, the rise of Black cultural movements, and the growth of Black political power.
Important Figures:
Stokely Carmichael
Helped shift the civil rights struggle into a broader Black liberation movement.
Inspired future generations of activists through his global, revolutionary outlook.
Advocated a clear critique of capitalism, imperialism, and racism—linking struggles in the U.S. to those across Africa and the Caribbean.
Angela Davis:
Angela Davis remains a symbol of radical resistance, Black feminism, and political courage.
She helped define the idea that liberation must be intersectional, addressing race, gender, class, and incarceration simultaneously.
Her calls to abolish prisons—once considered extreme—are now central in modern justice movements like Black Lives Matter.
Malcolm X
Malcolm X’s emphasis on self-defense, systemic change, and empowerment inspired groups like the Black Panther Party and influenced revolutionary and liberation movements worldwide.
His ideas continue to shape activist thought in movements such as Black Lives Matter and other grassroots efforts challenging systemic racism.
After his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1964, Malcolm X began framing the African American struggle as a human rights issue, not just a civil rights one. He connected the fight against racism in the U.S. to anti-colonial struggles in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Anti-Apartheid Movement in South Africa
The movement against apartheid in South Africa was a long struggle to end racial segregation and white minority rule. Led by the African National Congress (ANC) and figures like Nelson Mandela, it involved protests, strikes, armed resistance, and international pressure.
What were some of the organizing strategies?
1. Marches and Demonstrations
Organized large gatherings to defy apartheid laws, like the Defiance Campaign (1952), where activists deliberately broke pass laws and curfew regulations.
Student-led protests, especially during the Soweto Uprising (1976), used marches to draw national and global attention.
2. Civil Disobedience
Refusal to carry passbooks, sit-ins at whites-only facilities, and occupation of restricted areas challenged the legal foundations of apartheid.
Many protesters accepted arrest to overwhelm the system and showcase the unjust institutions to sever ties with apartheid South Africa, amplifying the internal struggle.
3. Boycotts
Consumer boycotts in townships targeted white-owned businesses to force concessions.
Education boycotts by students withdrew participation from schools, seen as reinforcing apartheid ideology.
Cultural and sports boycotts abroad pressured institutions to sever ties with apartheid South Africa, amplifying the internal struggle.
4. Strikes and Labor Action
Trade unions like those in COSATU organized mass industrial strikes to weaken the economy.
“Stay-aways” (general strikes where workers stayed home) were common in the 1980s, crippling productivity.
Haitian Revolution
The Haitian Revolution (1791–1804) was the first and only successful slave revolt in history that led to the founding of an independent state. It transformed Haiti into the first Black-led republic and the second independent nation in the Americas after the United States.
What were the organizing strategies?
1.Economic Disruption
Burnings of sugar plantations and fields were deliberate: this destroyed the economic backbone of the colony and forced France (and other powers) to take the uprising seriously.
Rebels denied resources to the enemy while controlling supply routes in mountainous terrain.
2. Communication Across Plantations
Enslaved people used messenger networks, coded songs, and nighttime gatherings to spread information and coordinate actions.
They drew on pre-existing systems of solidarity among enslaved Africans from the same regions, as well as maroon communities (runaway slave settlements in the mountains), which acted as hubs of resistance.
3. Military Organization
Rebels quickly transformed into disciplined fighting forces.
Many enslaved people had military experience from Africa (especially from regions with long histories of warfare).
4. Cultural and religious networks
Vodou ceremonies played a crucial role in unifying enslaved people across ethnic and linguistic divides.
The famous Bois Caïman ceremony (August 1791), led by Dutty Boukman and Cécile Fatiman, is often seen as the symbolic launching point of the uprising.
Religious gatherings allowed for covert planning under the guise of worship, since plantation owners often underestimated their political power.
From the United States to South Africa and Haiti, we look to these radical Black revolutionaries who fought against white supremacy, imperialism, and colonialism for a spark of inspiration and hope as we are backsliding into a state of fascism in our current political state. Black August is a reminder to continue to fuel ourselves to fight for the abolition of oppressive, racist systems and liberation for all. May we continue the good fight for a better world for all of us.
