Black August grew out of the California prison system to honor fallen Freedom Fighters Jonathan Jackson, George Jackson, William Christmas, James McClain, and Khatari Gaulden.

Black August is a time to study history and to set intentions towards activism for freedom and social change. Mumia Abu Jamal, political prisoner and tireless author, journalist, and activist said, “August is a month of meaning, of repression and radical resistance, of injustice and divine justice; of repression and righteous rebellion; of individual and collective efforts to free the slaves and break the chains that bind us.”

On the 45 anniversary of Black August, this piece was created to remember the black revolutionaries who have challenged the prison industrial complex and anti-black racism in North America and beyond. Through large-scale portraiture and audio soundscapes, local activists, ancestral memories, and family legacies of mobilizing for social change are monumentalized and remembered.

Black August was on exhibit from August 23—31, 2015 at Chester Avenue Station artist-run newsstand in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This project was made possible with the support of the Toronto Arts Council and the Ontario Arts Council.

EXHIBITION HISTORY

2015

Black August was on exhibit from August 23—31, 2015 at Chester Avenue Station artist-run newsstand in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This project was made possible with the support of the Toronto Arts Council and the Ontario Arts Council.