Honor the legacy of Black August — Support Workers World

Did you know the month of August holds special meaning for the Black Liberation struggle? This August marks the 403nd anniversary of the arrival of the first ship of Africans brought in chains to the shores of the British colony of Virginia in 1619. And this August marks 246 years of the enslavement underlying the establishment of the U.S. colonial state — with its countless injustices, brutality and institutionalized crimes against humanity. Those atrocities continue in this white-supremacist, capitalist society to this day.

But August is also a time to commemorate the Black Resistance Struggle, from the Haitian Revolution of 1791-1804 to the Nat Turner Rebellion in 1831, from the Fugitive Slave Law Convention of 1850 to the Underground Railroad that ran from the late 18th century to 1865, from the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1925 to the March on Washington in 1963, the Watts Uprising in 1965 and the National Prison Strike from Aug. 21-Sept. 9 in 2018.

A number of freedom fighters were born in August, including Marcus Garvey, Fred Hampton and Russell Maroon Shoatz, while a number died in that month: W.E.B. Du Bois, Huey P. Newton and Jonathan Jackson. Jackson was killed Aug. 7, 1970, while attempting to free the imprisoned Soledad Brothers, who included his brother, Black Panther leader George Jackson. One year and two weeks later on Aug. 21, 1971, George Jackson was executed by prison guards. His assassination was an important spark leading to the heroic Attica Prison Rebellion in September 1971.

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Workers World depends on your help. The WW Supporter Program was founded 45 years ago to help build this revolutionary socialist newspaper. Since the early 1990s, the fund has supported the website workers.org, where WW articles are posted daily and the PDF file of every weekly paper is displayed.

Staff health concerns during the pandemic caused us to reduce the number of printed issues to once a month. But the weekly online newspaper has never been skipped during this 2 ½ year health crisis. And while WW’s staff is voluntary, both the printed newspaper and the website require monthly expenses.

Workers.org contains news and analysis of global and U.S. events and struggles and is a resource for political activists. The website posts first-hand accounts by writer-activists in many countries, with translations by our staff. Timely articles by worker-organizers keep the newspaper up to date on what is happening in key U.S. union drives, led by young people of many nationalities and genders. Workers World cheers them on.

For a donation of $75 to $100 to $300 a year, members receive a year’s subscription and one, two or three free subscriptions, respectively, to give to friends. Supporters can receive the book, “What road to socialism?” (Notify us of your request.) Or read it for free at workers.org/books.

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We’re grateful for your help in building Workers World!