George Jackson (activist)
George Jackson | |
|---|---|
| Born | George Lester Jackson September 23, 1941 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | August 21, 1971 (aged 29) San Quentin, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Gunshot wounds |
| Resting place | Bethel Cemetery, Mount Vernon, Illinois |
| Known for | Radical prison activism |
| Notable work | Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George Jackson Blood in My Eye |
| Parent(s) | Robert Lester Jackson Georgia Bea Jackson |
| Relatives | Jonathan P. Jackson (brother) |
George Lester Jackson (September 23, 1941 – August 21, 1971) was an American author, prisoner, and revolutionary. While serving an indeterminate sentence for stealing $71 at gunpoint from a gas station in 1960, Jackson became involved in the Black power movement and inspired the creation of an ultra-leftist prison gang, the Black Guerrilla Family.
In 1970, he was one of three prisoners dubbed the Soledad Brothers. They were charged with the murder at Soledad Prison of corrections officer John V. Mills, allegedly in retaliation for the shooting deaths of three black inmates by a white prison guard several days prior. Also in 1970, Jackson published Soledad Brother, a collection of his letters that comprised a combination autobiography and manifesto addressed primarily to an African-American audience, but which was embraced by radicals around the world. The book was a bestseller and earned Jackson international fame.
In August 1971, Jackson was killed by prison guards during an escape attempt at San Quentin State Prison, in which three guards and two inmates were killed. Jackson never went to trial for the Mills murder.