The Murder of George Jackson
Last December, in okaying the execution of Stan Tookie Williams, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger went out of his way to smear a whole history of Black struggle against racism. Schwarzenegger’s statement denying clemency claimed that Stan’s record of turning his life around must be a lie–because Stan identified with Black revolutionaries of the past and present, dedicating his autobiography to a number.
The most abuse of all was heaped on George Jackson–whose inclusion in Stan’s dedication “is a significant indicator that Williams is not reformed,” read Schwarzenegger’s statement.
Jackson, author of the widely read prison memoir Soledad Brother, had been thrown in jail for a petty robbery, and became a revolutionary behind bars. He was murdered in August 1971 by guards at San Quentin prison in an alleged “escape attempt.”
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