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Blood in My Eye
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Blood In My Eye was completed only days before its author was killed. George Jackson died on August 21, 1971, at the hands of San Quentin prison guards during an alleged escape attempt. At eighteen, George Jackson was convicted of stealing seventy dollars from a gas station and was sentenced from one year to life. He was to spent the rest of his life -- eleven years-- in t
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Paperback, 195 pages
Published
December 19th 1996
by Black Classic Press
(first published 1972)
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This is the voice and story of a different type of prisoner. George Jackson would have been a Pulitzer prize winner, a noted writer and political leader, a teacher, made thinkers of the ilk of Noam Chomsky pale literally in comparison, had he not been Black and poor in the U.S The 1960s were fertile times -- even behind prison walls -- for thinking outside the box, for acting and doing things to change the word and the world. Although this is another discussion, 1960s not only saw the rise of ci
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How about i give u a quote:"Stupidity is not unknown to our long-range political policy makers. Participation in electoral politics organized by the enemy state- after recognizing that the whole process must be discredited as a conditional step into revolution, and particularly participation that tends to authenticate this process-is the opposite of revolution. It's a tactic for the ultra-rightists." "They'll never count me among the broken men." - George Jackson
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What I find quite ironic, is that Madeleine Albright just released a book this year titled "Fascism: A Warning". Well I hate to be the one to bust her bubble but apparently her warning is over 40 years late. Now that the economic illusion is starting to fall for the dominant society, they are starting to see how both the Democratic and Republican parties are really in fact one in the same party. No matter who is in office, nothing changes. So-called "black radicals" had this figured out long bef
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Blood In My Eye was completed barely a week before the murder of George L. Jackson in San Quentin Prison on August 21, 1971. After being convicted at age eighteen for stealing seventy dollars from a gas station, Jackson was sentenced to one year to life. He spent the rest of his life, eleven years, in prison, with seven of those years in solitary confinement. While in prison he dedicated himself to revolutionary ideals and became a member of the Black Panther Party. In this, his last book, he p
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This was an interesting read for me and not one that I normally would have picked up. I recently read a book on the Patty Hearst kidnapping by the Symbionese Liberation Army and this was the book that they kept referring to throughout. From my understanding DeFreeze based his principals on this book and on Jackson’s ideals.
While I think that Jackson made some very valid points; I was not a fan of his desire for violence and almost misogynistic views.
I found myself having to reread paragraphs m ...more
While I think that Jackson made some very valid points; I was not a fan of his desire for violence and almost misogynistic views.
I found myself having to reread paragraphs m ...more
The ultimate aim of fascists is the total destruction of all revolutionary consciousness. And in America, “the ultimate expression of law is not order - it’s prison.” George spends four years in prison just studying economics and military ideas in an attempt to “transform the black criminal mentality into a black revolutionary mentality.” “The only friend I had was a book”. “You depend of books”. Reading Marx in depth had led him to a sense of membership in the human community by joining a revol
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"Blood in My Eye" is George L. Jackson's second book after "Soledad Brother's", published in 1972. The author was the Black Panthers' Party's (BPP) field-marshal for the prisons.
He was imprisoned for stealing 70 dollars when he was 18 years old. In 1971, he was assassinated by a guard. During his imprisonment, his younger brother Jonathan, also a member of the BPP, was killed in action while he was trying to free some black prisoners. He was just 17 years old.
It contains letters and texts about ...more
He was imprisoned for stealing 70 dollars when he was 18 years old. In 1971, he was assassinated by a guard. During his imprisonment, his younger brother Jonathan, also a member of the BPP, was killed in action while he was trying to free some black prisoners. He was just 17 years old.
It contains letters and texts about ...more
This book will change your life. If you've figured out that capitalism is evil, and that nothing short of a revolution by the people can sort things out, then this book will inspire you to do what needs to be done. After going into great detail of what it means to be a revolutionary, what a revolution looks like and how to make it come about, Jackson then explores the rise of fascism. No other source has explained the alt-right so succinctly, and how it comes into power not only to address crise
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extremely smart guy with a clear mastery of the double (!!) and triple (!!!) exclamation marks
This book is simply stunning. George Jackson writes with astounding clarity. He seamlessly weaves together revolutionary theory, analysis of the forces of reaction / fascism, and evaluation of political economic forces in order to pinpoint the urgent, life or death necessity of revolution. Jackson makes clear that revolution is not possible without the destruction of existing (capitalistic) property relations and economic institutions. He also repeatedly stresses that revolutionary challenge to
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This has to be in every revolutionary's library. I read this after reading Soledad Brother earlier this year (his prison letters that preceded Blood in My Eye), so it was really powerful to see the culmination of his political development and his radicalization through incarceration. The one section that struck me more than any other was the last one on fascism. His definition of fascism and its class composition completely changed my own perceptions of governments past and present. Hands down t
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“So what is to be done after a revolution has failed? After our enemies have created a conservative mass society based on meaningless electoral politics, spectator sports, and a 3 percent annual rise in purchasing power strictly regulated to negate itself with a corresponding rise in the cost of living. What is to be done about an expertly, scientifically calculated contra-positive mobilization of the entire society?” — p 174
“The major obstacle to a united left in this country is white racism.” ...more
“The major obstacle to a united left in this country is white racism.” ...more
I'm not sure how I feel about this. I do wonder how Jackson's thought would have progressed had he not been assassinated. Maybe it was because his thought was so revolutionary (as well as being a good organizer) that lead to his murder. When I started reading it, I was first struck by how much of his thinking was influenced by Fanon. Then there were other concepts that we see today making a come back like "the 1%." Much like the Red Army Faction which operated in a time and place in history, a l
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Jul 30, 2011
William West
added it
An extraordinary tactical thinker who was also a beautiful writer of english prose:
"Born to a premature death, a menial, subsistence-wage worker, odd-job man, the cleaner, the caught, the man under hatches, without bail- that's me, the colonial victim. Anyone who can pass the civil service examination today can kill me tomorrow. Anyone who passed the civil service examination yesterday can kill me today with complete immunity. I've lived with repression every moment of my life, a repression so ...more
"Born to a premature death, a menial, subsistence-wage worker, odd-job man, the cleaner, the caught, the man under hatches, without bail- that's me, the colonial victim. Anyone who can pass the civil service examination today can kill me tomorrow. Anyone who passed the civil service examination yesterday can kill me today with complete immunity. I've lived with repression every moment of my life, a repression so ...more
George Jackson is phenomenal, and was way ahead of his time. Must read in juxtaposition with Soledad Brother.
required reading
George L. Jackson, member of the Black Panther Party, founder of the Black Guerilla Family , writer, theoretician, revolutionary and political prisoner. Though before becoming a revolutionary , he had been a political prisoner , held in a state prison on unjust grounds. We cannot separate Jackson's political writings from his early life, since like most revolutionary thinkers , he was bred by the conditions he survived under. Having a long rap sheet due to a history of petty crimes ranging from
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“People are already dying who could be saved, generations more will die or live poor butchered half- lives if you fail to act. Discover your humanity and your love in revolution. Pass the torch. Join us, give up your life for the people”
George Jackson was a revolutionary of his time. And how fortunate are we to read and learn from his words. Thankful for his intellectual legacy of guerrilla warfare, the ways in which we can identify and dismantle facism, and how to efficiently and productively b ...more
George Jackson was a revolutionary of his time. And how fortunate are we to read and learn from his words. Thankful for his intellectual legacy of guerrilla warfare, the ways in which we can identify and dismantle facism, and how to efficiently and productively b ...more
"Most people realize that crime is simply the result of a grossly disproportionate distribution of wealth and privilege, a reflection of the present state of property relations. There are no wealthy men on death row and so few in the general population that we can discount them all together. Imprisonment is an aspect of class struggle from the outset."
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Interesting read
Extremely interesting read from Jackson's viewpoint both passionate and bitter in equal measure but also thought provoking would a better read in a modern day format as is printed in old magazine style. Short book easy quick informative read ...more
Extremely interesting read from Jackson's viewpoint both passionate and bitter in equal measure but also thought provoking would a better read in a modern day format as is printed in old magazine style. Short book easy quick informative read ...more
do you live in the United States? If so I would argue that you have an ethical obligation to read this book and learn from Jackson. you don't have to agree with everything he says, but you need to listen.
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fantastic. theorizes & clarifies many topics, but his discussion of fascism and urban guerrilla warfare stood out to me.
George Jackson's last work is a near-perfect call to arms; it is a quick and easily digestible read that revisits the history of communism and lays out a plan for action now -- even after all these years, it has not lost its urgency, but possibly even gained some. It is also a devastating read when considering the US government's active, clandestine role in decimating both the left and the black community at large. This book is necessity for anyone interested in prison abolition (or even in just
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I've really never read a text on struggle that gives such a structured analysis and detail on guerilla warfare (a key component to Black liberation). George Jackson was so damn well read, resourceful and brilliant. Smart read. necessary
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Saddening and true, the plight of George Jackson and his thwarted and bloody attempt to freedom.
George lost me with this one.
Everyone must read this if we are to have a true and complete view of what the USA is, and what needs to be done for its (absolutely imperative) overthrow. George Jackson is a legend, and the fact that this book was written by him while in prison, while he had fully accepted his death at the hands of the state, gives his writing a unique, focused, and powerful character.
The anger and rage and love that he expresses against the fascist USA and for all oppressed people is inspiring, and is really ...more
The anger and rage and love that he expresses against the fascist USA and for all oppressed people is inspiring, and is really ...more
great book !! analysis of fascism is incredible and important to understand,, and its understanding that i think could only come from someone incarcerated. george jackson's writing and argumentative style is like pretty casual but also deeply researched, thoughtful, and aggressive. also the way he talks about using violence to expose realities of capitalism and the state is interesting,, raising people's consciousness must be done through more than logical arguments in pamphlets! wouldnt necessa
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It feels fitting to be finishing this book on the anniversary of George Jackson's murder at the hands of prison guards. This is an incredible collection of writings from an extraordinarily brilliant man. Incarcerated as a teen and sentenced to "one year to life" George Jackson committed himself to the work of revolution. Though this book was written and released decades ago, his analysis is still salient, often chillingly prescient, especially in terms of what has happened to the American politi
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Challenging and bluntly direct, this impassioned work of political revolution is written with knife-like precision. I am, however, at times put off by its militancy, and its propensity toward eliminating nuance. I understand thats not what this text is for, and I understand identifying the challenges and naming the systems rallied against us. But I guess such vitriol, even when justified, seems to tread dangerously close to repeating the patterns of evil I wish we’d liberate ourselves from.
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“The only effective challenge to power is one that is broad enough to make isolation impossible, and intensive enough to cause repression to affect the normal life style of as many members of society as possible. By compromising and playing at class war, we lose.”
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“I repeat: realistic, day-to-day needs should be the basis of organizing people and making them conscious of revolution-- that the world, the universe, must revolve-- that it will stop, stagnate, and die for no man's privilege.”
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