Since its inception, Black August has served as a time to honor Black freedom fighters, deepen our political education and recommit to the struggle for liberation. What began in 1979, inside California prisons, where incarcerated Black people organized to commemorate the deaths of George and Jonathan Jackson, has since grown into a monthlong event for all Black folks.
In 1960, George Jackson was imprisoned for allegedly stealing $70. Then, in 1970, George and two other imprisoned Black men were accused and charged with the murder of a white prison guard. Later that year, his younger brother Jonathan had been shot and killed while trying to free him. Jackson was killed on August 21, 1971, during an attempted prison escape. During his time incarcerated, Jackson became a well-known voice against racism in the prison system and the author of Soledad Brother, a searing collection of letters from behind bars. At his funeral, Huey P. Newton, founder of the Black Panther Party, referred to him as a “fallen comrade” who had “every right to do everything possible” to gain his freedom. His legacy lives on through his writing and our collective recognition of Black August.
Born out of sustained resistance to the criminalization and execution of Black radical thought, Black August is a time for deliberate reflection and a call to action. It’s a time to educate and rededicate ourselves to the ongoing fight for liberation. In a time where state violence, mass incarceration and global anti-Blackness continue to shape our realities, study becomes a form of resistance and healing.
To honor this time and legacy, Black people across the country are curating intentional reading spaces and educational communal gatherings that bring us together and empower us to reimagine freedom. From grassroots study circles to mobile libraries and digital book clubs, these initiatives center abolitionist literature, Black feminist theory and collective transformation.
Here are a few activations and events happening this Black August:
Noname Book Club & Radical Hood Library (Los Angeles)
Started by rapper and poet Noname in 2019, the Noname Book Club connects Black readers, including those incarcerated, with abolitionist books by Black authors. Their Radical Hood Library, which opened in 2021 in Jefferson Park, LA, serves as an event hub for teach-ins, readings, and a prison book program. From sending books to incarcerated people to opening dialogue about systemic violence and resisting capitalist book‐buying structures. Noname has referred to this book club as a middle finger to Amazon and to the FBI’s historical targeting of independent Black bookstores — this global community is rooted in its abolition work.
Throughout this month, the Radical Hood Library will be hosting a Women’s Healing Circle, teach-ins, a writing workshop, prison program support days and more.
Yes Please Books (Scottdale, GA)
Tucked in the heart of Scottdale, Georgia, right outside of Atlanta, Yes Please Books is more than a bookstore — it’s a vibrant community hub, founded by a Black woman, for radical imagination and Black literary joy. This year, they’re honoring Black August with a weekly Black August Reading Group, held every Thursday at 7 pm in person. The series invites readers to come together for collective study, discussing texts such as Reading Assata: An Autobiography, Soledad Brother, We Want Freedom, Death Blossoms and The War Before. Whether you’re donating books, stepping up to help facilitate, or simply showing up with an open heart, Yes Please Books welcomes all who believe in the power of reading as a revolution.
The Free Black Women’s Library (National)
Founded in 2015 on a brownstone stoop in Brooklyn by Ola Ronke Akinmowo, The Free Black Women’s Library (TFBWL) is a social art project and mobile library centered on books by Black women and non-binary writers. With over 5,000 titles, the library hosts free programming, book swaps, workshops and more. During Black August, local chapters of TFBWL invite readers to book swaps, Black Power yoga, writing workshops, and a reading club conversation on “Rock My Soul” by Audre Lorde. These gatherings center care, collective healing and creative reclamation through literature.
The Analog Dope Store (Las Vegas, NV)
The Analog Dope Store, A Black-owned bookstore and vinyl shop in Las Vegas, is hosting a Black August Book Fair on August 2. It’s set to be an evening of literature, art,and collective remembrance, through books, poetry, music and visual storytelling. Attendees will join local activists, authors, poets, artists and community organizations as they honor the legacy of Black freedom fighters, abolitionists and political prisoners.
Oakland Museum of California: Black August Pop-Up Talk
In honor of Black August, the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) is hosting a special pop-up conversation as part of its Black Power exhibition, spotlighting the enduring legacy of Black resistance and self-determination in the Bay Area. Filmmaker Cheo Tyehimba Taylor and Black Cultural Zone CEO Carolyn Johnson will lead a discussion centered on Taylor’s acclaimed films Legacy of Love and East Oakland Rising.
These documentaries explore the collective strength of East Oakland’s Black communities, chronicling the launch of the first Black-led health center, efforts to combat environmental racism, and a decade-long fight against unjust housing policies and gentrification. Johnson, who appears in the films, will share personal reflections on her lifelong work preserving and advancing Black arts and culture in Oakland. This curation is a tribute to the revolutionary spirit of local organizing and Black resilience.
BOSS Black August Block Party 2025: Honoring Resistance, Celebrating Joy (Oakland, CA)
Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS) is creating space for remembrance, resilience and celebration with its 5th annual Black August Block Party. On August 30, 2025, people are invited to gather in Oakland for a powerful day grounded in the spirit of Black resistance and collective joy.
With the theme “Black Resistance, Liberation & Joy Have Always Coexisted,” this year’s celebration centers political education, economic empowerment, wellness and honoring incarcerated community members. There will be workshops, inspirational speakers, community resources, voter education, wellness services, live performances, artist installations, local Black-owned food vendors and “The Black Market,” a curated shopping experience showcasing Black entrepreneurs, artists, and creatives. It’s a reminder that Black August is not just about looking back. It’s about mobilizing a movement rooted in freedom, unity, and self-determination.
Black August in the Park (Durham, NC)
Held annually in Durham, North Carolina, Black August in the Park is a celebration of Black joy as an act of resistance. This community gathering combines art, music and movement-building to spark social and cultural transformation. Their mission is to creatively inspire and connect people of African descent to assert their value and engage in social and cultural change. The event will take place on Sunday, August 24.
Each of these organizations and activities is creating space for collective study, resistance, love and self‑care. They center Black voices and histories while affirming that healing and resistance are intertwined through reading, storytelling, and shared study. This is how we remember. This is how we resist. This is how we build.