Black August took shape during the prison uprisings of the 1970s, rooted in the resistance of Black political prisoners. With its origins written in the throes of San Quentin State Prison in California, where the likes of George Jackson and Ruchell Magee were once housed and became names that widely represent heritages of Black revolutionary struggle.

The legacy of George Jackson, a formidable prison organizer and seminal theorist, remains instrumental in understanding the history of Black August. His unjust incarceration, where he was sentenced to one year to life for stealing $71 from a gas station in 1960, led to a revolutionary transformation of the self as he documents in his iconic books, Blood in My Eye (1972) and Soledad Brother (1970). While inside the prison walls, he agitated and built community with other incarcerated men, pushing each other to advocate for better conditions in the prison and world, more broadly.

The first Black August celebration paid tribute to both the ten years of prison militancy and the entire history of Black resistance which included maroon communities and abolitionist thought and prison uprisings.

Black August serves as an annual observance to honor deceased freedom fighters while fighting for political prisoner freedom and opposing the ongoing carceral system. During this time people reflect on their cultural and political commitments while strengthening their practices through disciplined actions. People who participate in Black August observe fasting and physical exercise while studying politics and performing acts of unity. These practices function as real resistance methods because they combine personal discipline with external activism based on the belief that change needs both inner dedication and external combat. Black August provides its participants with a set of principles including study, fast, train, fight—to help them live in accordance with the honored legacy of Black revolutionary traditions.

Altar To Our Ancestors

Honoring those who came before us

“It is not a liberty of circumstance, conceded to us alone, that we wish; it is the adoption absolute of the principle that no man, born red, black or white, can be the property of his fellow man.”

― Toussaint L’Ouverture

Toussaint L’Ouverture was born enslaved and lived a life fighting for freedom. His story is one of bondage, freedom, bravery, and abandonment. In August of 1791 he led an uprising of enslaved Africans in St. Domingue [Haiti], a significant event in the fight to end the transatlantic slave trade. The lone example of a slave rebellion that led to the successful overthrow of the plantation system. Toussaint fought to end French rule in St. Domingue and brought about the abolition of slavery on the island by 1801. His Journey from an enslaved man to a leader of the only successful slave revolt in modern history highlights Toussaint as one of the most important figures in history. 

🔎 Explore Toussaint in the Kinfolk App. Download the Kinfolk App on your mobile device to bring a part of his world into your home.

Rooted In Resistance

For centuries, the month of August has been particularly significant to Black history and the struggle for liberation throughout the western hemisphere. From slave uprisings and rebellions, to the March on Washington, to protests against police brutality, those who have fought for freedom and against anti-blackness have always seemed to do so in the heat of the late summer. A time when tensions run high, but the determination to demand equity, justice, and liberty persists. We are inspired and energized by those who fought before us, and those who we stand alongside today creating intentional space for healing, for learning, for organizing, and taking action whenever necessary, but especially during this month.

Join us in resistance through community building, joy, and imagination at any or all of these current and upcoming Kinfolk events and exhibitions.

Dreaming with the Archives at Brooklyn Bridge Park

Dreaming with the Archives is a public art exhibition that transforms Brooklyn Bridge Park into a canvas for radical imagination through augmented reality (AR). As you move through the Park, your mobile device becomes a portal through which to encounter immersive AR monuments created by visionary artists Ari Melenciano, Olalekan Jeyifous, Kiyan Williams, Wangechi Mutu, Jeremiah Ojo, and Hank Willis Thomas. Each of the artists created site-specific artworks to honor the abundant flora, fauna, agriculture, skilled laborers, — enslaved and free — and the sounds that make up the rich cultural history and ecology of Brooklyn and the African diaspora.

Dreaming with the Archives is a free exhibition and open to the public. Free guided walking tours of the exhibition will take place every Tuesday and Sunday through the remainder of the exhibition. Advanced registration is required. Download the Kinfolk app and visit Brooklyn Bridge Park to experience the full exhibition, on view until Saturday August 30, 2025.

Dreaming with the Archives at Brooklyn Bridge Park Closing Celebration

Join us on Saturday, August 23, to celebrate the final week of our exhibition Dreaming with the Archives at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Enjoy the sounds of the diaspora and joy through movement!

Saturday, August 23, 6pm–8:30pm
Pier 3 Greenway Terrace, Brooklyn Bridge Park

Dreaming Out Loud

Pathways to new worlds

Stay Connected

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Until next time,

josh, dele, idris and the Kinfolk team