In gratitude of being Black
By Sessie Agbley
My familiarity with Black August blossomed a year ago in Cuba. I was a part of a delegation to Cuba to learn about the country’s socialist project, her resilience in spite of the 60+ year blockade imposed by the US imperialist war machine, and strategies to end the blockade. I met some very dope people, some of whom I will forever be in the struggle for liberation of all Black, poor, and oppressed people in the United States and across the globe. The folks I met are very learned in their history, approaches, and strategies against their opposition. They are also very different in the sense that they are not paternalistic nor sectarian in their efforts and thought processes. They are curious, inviting, encouraging, selfless, approachable, and humble in their knowledge. They go against the grain of popular organizers who unfortunately–sometimes at the apotheosis of their organizing–become self-absorbed. I admire them dearly because they are principled in their politics in ways I was learning to be principled. I’m in constant practice of this albeit the occasional shortcoming.
It is important to mention that all these people are Black. We talked about the political issue areas they were organizing around in their various states. We cracked jokes and occasionally boasted about why the locales we resided in were better than each other. Chicago nor LA had nothing on Milwaukee. For one, we are straight gangsta, and our bloody marys slap hard. And secondly, don’t get me started on traffic. We talked about theory and praxis and the importance of transmutation of words into action. In the process, someone asked what we would be doing for Black August. I asked: what is Black August? This was in May 2023.
Black August is a practice rooted in reverence and reflection. Abolitionist organizations across the globe observe Black August in commemoration of the struggles of the Black political freedom fighters who laid the groundwork in exposing the fragility of U.S. hegemony and western imperialism. Throughout the month of August, organizing groups embrace abolitionist frameworks and encourage their communities to fast, train, and fight. These three specific tenets, I came to learn, lend themselves from the experiences from Black revolutionaries in the California prison systems in late 1960s and 1970s. This was an era marked by growing critical political consciousness with the likes of George Jackson, the Black Liberation Army, Andrew Jackson, the Black Panther Party, and many other Black and African-led groups as its vanguards.
Further learning helped me to discover that since 1619, the month of August has long served as the backdrop to the actions of Black people who at all costs said: nah, fuck that. While the origins of this account are debated, in August of 1856, slaveholders in North Carolina were bent on recapturing Africans who took their freedom into their own hands. The only recorded casualties were among slaveholders. Almost 20 years prior, in August, Nat Turner took an uncompromising stance against southern capitalist pigs. By the end of August in 1900, Yaa Asantewaa, badass queen mother of the Ashanti Kingdom in Ghana, made history with 5,000 Ashanti warriors, opposing British imperialism in Ghana. These capitalists, fascists, and imperialists fucked around and found out. The art of Black resistance is intricately woven into the fabric of August. This month is a reminder that the spirit of resistance and courage is alive and will not buckle to the institutions of capitalism, racial, and political repression.
This year, I have been observing Black August with intention. I have been fasting on a daily basis, with one meal to break my fast. I have also cultivated the habit of incorporating physical exercise as part of my daily routine and committed to reading Assata Shakur’s autobiography. This process has not been easy. While I love food, I have grown a deeper understanding and appreciation for nourishment and sustenance. I grew a garden, and much of my vegetable intake this summer has been grown and cultivated by my own hands.
Initially, I assumed that withholding from the body was making me more principled. The deeper I root myself into Black August, I’m finding out that that is never the case. The reality is that no true transformation happens without the body. Fasting has been a guide to devoting myself to moving with intention and militantly training my mind by reading.
Theory without practice ain’t sh*t, just as practice without theory ain’t either. The time has always been right now for us to take action - personally and collectively - to analyze our current situations and conditions with commitment toward future actions rooted in radical love, care, mutual aid, and justice for all. For my Black community, let us be reminded by Assata's call to action: “In a country that is trying to completely negate the image of Black people, that constantly tells us we are nothing, our culture is nothing, I felt and still feel that we have got to constantly make positive statements about ourselves. Our desire to be free has got to manifest itself in everything we are and do.” Stay Black, stay ready, chant down Babylon, and love each other - this is our duty. To the friends and comrades I met in Cuba, I will forever be grateful and humbled by the connection and guidance. And to the Cuban people, I am forever indebted for continuing to be the beacon of hope for what is possible - hasta siempre.
To bring our learnings from Black August together, Milwaukee Freedom Fund, African American Roundtable, and BYP100 invite you to join us on Sunday September 8 for our Black August Book Club. We will meet from 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Please note that you do not have to have finished the book before attending. We will still love to be in learning with you. As always, we encourage you to bring a friend or more. Kindly répondez s'il vous plaît (RSVP) via this LINK. We are planning on providing childcare, in addition to light snacks and refreshments.
Sessie works for the Milwaukee Freedom Fund and Wisconsin Civic Power Table. He is also a member of BYP100’s Milwaukee Chapter. Sessie is a decent pickleball player and enjoys traveling. You can catch him on the weekends as a mixologist at Goodkind restaurant.
