Free Ruchell Magee
Black Power
Ruchell Magee was born in 1939. In 1963, Magee was convicted of aggravated kidnapping over a dispute involving $10 of marijuana. While in prison, Magee learned about African American history, the black liberation struggle and became politicized, joining the Black Panther Party.
While imprisoned during the 1960s, Magee dedicated much of his time to studying law and petitioning the court to challenge his conviction, stating the the U.S. criminal justice system “used fraud to hide fraud” to convict African Americans and other political activists. He was able to overturn his initial conviction and earn a new trial based on a falsified transcript. In essence, Magee argued that his conviction was based on fraudulent grounds, denying him his constitutional rights and holding him involuntarily, making him a slave. As such, he claimed, he and others had a legal right to do everything in their power to escape enslavement. “My fight is to expose the entire system, judicial and prison system, a system of slavery,” he wrote. “This will cause benefit not just to myself but to all those who at this time are being criminally oppressed or enslaved by this system.” During this period, Magee took the middle name “Cinque,” in honor of a slave who escaped the slave ship, Amistad, and won his freedom in a Connecticut court. Magee also hoped his case might draw attention to the broader injustices within the American legal system.
On August 7, 1970, just a few months before Magee was eligible for parole, 17-year old Jonathan Jackson, the younger brother of black radical, George Jackson, burst into the Marin County courtroom of Superior Court Judge Harold Haley, where James McClain was on trial for assaulting a guard in the wake of Black prisoner Fred Billingsley’s murder by prison officials in San Quentin Prison in February of 1970. Carrying three guns registered to Angela Davis, Jackson, with the help of McClain and Ruchell Cinque Magee, who was set to testify as a witness in McClain's trial, seized Judge Haley and ordered attorneys, jurors and court officials to lie on the floor. Magee freed another testifying witness, Black Panther William A. Christmas, who also aided in the escape attempt. In addition to their own freedom, the group sought a trade -- the release of Judge Haley for the “Soledad Brothers,” George Jackson, Fleeta Drumgo, and John Clutchette, who were charged with killing a white prison guard at California’s Soledad Prison. During an effort to flee the courthouse in a van, a shoot-out with police took place, killing Jackson, McClain, Christmas and Judge Haley. Two other hostages, Prosecutor Gary Thomas and juror Maria Elena Graham, were also injured, but survived. Ruchell Magee was the only abductor to survive.
In the legal proceeding that followed the incident, prosecutors attempted to get Magee to testify against Angela Davis, but he refused. Ultimately, he pled guilty to aggravated kidnapping in exchange for the Attorney General requesting a charge of murder be dropped. Magee later tried to withdraw his guilty plea, but was unsuccessful. In 1975, he was sentenced to life in prison. Over the years, Magee has continued to petition the court for his release and to help other prisoners with legal challenges.
unknown
Roz Payne
Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
ca. early-1970s
poster
Her Fight is My Fight, Free Angela Davis
Black Power
Angela Davis grew up in the “Dynamite Hill” area of Birmingham, Alabama, in 1944. Later, she moved with her mother to New York City and studied at Brandeis University, the Sorbonne and the University of California-San Diego. In addition to the segregation and racial discrimination she experienced as a child, Davis was deeply influenced by the 1963 murder of four young girls at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, as well as the activism of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Black Panther Party. In 1968, she joined an all-black branch of the Community Party. The following year, UCLA hired Davis as an assistant professor of philosophy, a contentious appointment given her radical views, ultimately leading to her dismissal.
In the early-1970s, Davis became increasingly active in efforts to improve prison conditions for inmates, including the Soledad Brothers, two African American prisoners and Black Panther Party members, George Jackson and W. L. Nolen, who were incarcerated in the late 1960s. On August 7, 1970, 17-year old Jonathan Jackson, the younger brother of black radical, George Jackson, burst into the Marin County courtroom of Superior Court Judge Harold Haley, where James McClain was on trial for assaulting a guard in the wake of Black prisoner Fred Billingsley’s murder by prison officials in San Quentin Prison in February of 1970. Carrying three guns registered to Angela Davis, Jackson, with the help of McClain and Ruchell Cinque Magee, who was set to testify as a witness in McClain's trial, seized Judge Haley and ordered attorneys, jurors and court officials to lie on the floor. Magee freed another testifying witness, Black Panther William A. Christmas, who also aided in the escape attempt. In addition to their own freedom, the group sought a trade the release of Judge Haley for the “Soledad Brothers,” George Jackson, Fleeta Drumgo, and John Clutchette, who were charged with killing a white prison guard at California’s Soledad Prison. During an effort to flee the courthouse in a van, a shoot-out with police took place, killing Jackson, McClain, Christmas and Judge Haley. Two other hostages, Prosecutor Gary Thomas and juror Maria Elena Graham, were also injured, but survived. Ruchell Magee was the only abductor to survive. Although Davis did not participate in the actual break-out attempt, she became a suspect when it was discovered that the guns used by Jackson were registered in her name. Davis fled to avoid arrest and the FBI placed her on its “most wanted” list. Law enforcement captured her several months later in New York. During her high profile trial, black militants and New Left activists made ‘free Angela” a powerful slogan. In 1972, a jury acquitted Davis on all charges.
Angela Davis Defense Committee
Roz Payne
Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
ca. early-1970s
Button
Physical Object
"Power to the People - George"
Black Panther Party
George Jackson was imprisoned for armed robbery in 1961 and placed in San Quentin Prison before being transferred to Soledad Prison. While incarcerated, Jackson became radicalized and formed a Maoist-Marxist group, the Black Guerrilla Family. He was also a member of the Black Panther Party. In 1970, he and two other inmates were charged with the murder of prison guard, John Vincent Mills, following a fight. They became known as the Soledad Brothers and were seen by many radicals as political prisoners. Jackson was also an author and published the influential, "Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George L. Jackson." Jackson was killed by guards at San Quentin during an escape attempt in 1971. Many activists believed he was murdered as retaliation for his activism. “To the slave," Jackson wrote, "revolution is an imperative, a love-inspired, conscious act of desperation. It’s aggressive. It isn’t 'cool’ or cautious. It’s bold, audacious, violent, an expression of icy, disdainful hatred!”
This 1971 poster from Cuba's OSPAAAL (Organization of Solidarity of the People of Asia, Africa & Latin America) marks Jackson's murder and shows his body laying contorted on the ground with star-spangled blood pooling around him. OSPAAA was the main publisher of international solidarity posters in Cuba. Notably, these colorful propaganda posters were not designed to be posted on walls within Cuba, as others were. Instead, they were folded and stapled inside the magazine, Tri-Continental, where they were then distributed internationally.
Rafael Morante
Roz Payne
Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
ca. 1971
print
poster
Hello Richmond Household
George Jackson Funeral
This letter to the commune Roz Payne lived at in Vermont describes the funeral for George Jackson in Mount Vernon, Illinois. Jackson was imprisoned for armed robbery in 1961 and placed in San Quentin Prison before being transferred to Soledad Prison. While incarcerated, Jackson became radicalized and formed a Maoist-Marxist group, the Black Guerrilla Family. He was also a member of the Black Panther Party. In 1970, he and two other inmates were charged with the murder of prison guard, John Vincent Mills, following a fight. They became known as the Soledad Brothers and were seen by many radicals as political prisoners. Jackson was also an author and published the influential, "Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George L. Jackson." Jackson was killed by guards at San Quentin during an escape attempt in 1971. Many activists believed he was murdered as retaliation for his activism.
unknown - "Jonny"
Roz Payne
Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
ca. 1971
type-written letter
letter
"A Letter from Soledad Prison," by George Jackson
Prisoner's Rights Movement
George Jackson was imprisoned for armed robbery in 1961 and placed in San Quentin Prison before being transferred to Soledad Prison. While incarcerated, Jackson became radicalized and formed a Maoist-Marxist group, the Black Guerrilla Family. He was also a member of the Black Panther Party. In 1970, he and two other inmates were charged with the murder of prison guard, John Vincent Mills, following a fight. They became known as the Soledad Brothers and were seen by many radicals as political prisoners. Jackson was also an author and published the influential, "Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George L. Jackson." Jackson was killed by guards at San Quentin during an escape attempt in 1971. Many activists believed he was murdered as retaliation for his activism.
In this letter, George Jackson details conditions inside Soledad Prison, as well as the connection of prisoner's to the wider revolution for justice.
Committee to Defend the Panthers
Roz Payne
Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
ca. 1970
mimeograph
letter
The Black Panther, January 9, 1971
Black Power
In this January 9, 1971 issue of The Black Panther, articles include: a statement of support for the National Liberation Front in Vietnam in the name of international solidarity; a map of the U.S. showing incidents of "Guerilla Acts of Sabotage and Terrorism”; an open letter to "revolutionary children" highlighting the activism and history of the Black Panther Party; coverage of the trial of Ericka Huggins and Bobby Seale, including articles of support from allies of the Black Panthers and a letter from Huggins herself on "How to Love During a Revolution”; black draft resistance; the New York 21 case; the Jonathan Jackson Commune; the case of Monk Teba; the Juan Farina Defense Committee; Chicago Free Busing Program; G.I. Rights; police brutality in Baltimore, Toledo and Las Vegas; a U.N. Report on racism in the U.S.; a Solidarity Activities Calendar; international news shorts; the Ten Point Program; a statement of party rules; advertisements for The Lumpen, sponsored by the Chicano Revolutionary Party; and, artwork by Emory Douglas.
The Black Panther Intercommunal News Service
Roz Payne
Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
January 9, 1971
underground press
The Black Panther, October 10, 1970
Black Power
Printed on October 10, 1970, this issue of The Black Panther is filled with various articles from other Black Panther Party chapters across the U.S., one particular article from the Philadelphia chapter compares police brutality in Philadelphia to the 1968 My Lai Massacre that took place during the Vietnam War. Another article from the Baltimore chapter highlights terrible conditions in the South Baltimore community due to episodes of police brutality and poor housing conditions. In Boston, the Panthers write about the right to free public school but are denied the right to walk freely to and from Curley School. The Bay Area National Lawyers Guild includes a "Guide to Know Your Rights" that outlines an individuals rights when stopped by law enforcement officials. Also included in this issue are articles about police repression in several cities; the case of Willie Turner, Jr; the Winston-Salem N.C.C.F.; General Motors; capitalism and dope; welfare system; Neo-colonialism and genocide; the trials of Bobby Seale and Ericka Huggins; a youth conference; a Boston bank robbery; a letter from the "Soledad 7" thanking the Black Panther Party for their support; international news shorts; and, art by Emory Douglas.
The Black Panther Intercommunal News Service
Roz Payne
Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
October 10, 1970
underground press
The Black Panther, August 15, 1970
Black Power
Inside this issue of The Black Panther are multiple articles that speak to the harassment by law enforcement against party members selling the Newspaper in Winston Salem, North Carolina, and Cambridge, Massachusetts. This issue also highlights how the Federal Bureau of Investigation infiltrated the Black Panthers with trained informants and created a fake newspaper called the "Bay State Banner." Other items include an article on “revolutionary suicide”; short pieces on the Soledad Brother; Alabama Liberation Front; Chicago Liberation School; National Chicano Moratorium Committee; police brutality in Hartford; Joan Kelley; Bobby Seale’s appeal; a call for justice for the "Los Siete de la Raza”; a two page spread of letters written to Huey Newton from children at the Black Panther Party Liberation School in San Francisco thanking him and the Panthers for the school; a critique of the American Constitution explaining institutional racism, particularly in the prison system; a message from Huey Newton to the People’s Revolutionary Constitutional Convention; a critique off integration; the N.C.C.F.; and, artwork by Emory Douglas.
The Black Panther Intercommunal News Service
Roz Payne
Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
August, 15, 1970
underground press
Berkeley Tribe, November 20, 1970
New Left
The Berkeley Tribe was a countercultural newspaper published from 1969 to 1972 that was created following a split in the staff of The Berkeley Barb. This issue, published on November 20, 1970, includes articles on the trial of Ericka Huggins and Bobby Seale; People’s Park; Playwright John Lion; the Soledad Brothers; Quebec nationalism; government repression in St. Louis; reduction of garbage; the “Battle of Algiers” and the Panther 21; Folsom Prison strike; police brutality; an interview with Tony Martinez, a member of the "Los Siete de la Raza”; a report on the occupation of Alcatraz; and multiple calls for individuals to attend workshops for the sexual determination of men and women, as well as gay workshops in the area.
Red Mountain Tribe
Roz Payne
Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
November 20, 1970
underground press
RAT Subterranean News, issue 15, October 29-November 18, 1970
New Left
RAT Subterranean News was published in New York, starting in March of 1968 and was edited by Jeff Shero, Alice Embree and Gary Thiher, who had come North from Austin, Texas, where they worked on The Rag, another important underground paper. Whereas the East Village Other represented the counterculture point of view, RAT had a left political orientation. This issue covers a wide range of topics, including baking bread; a critique of the Weather Underground; Angela Davis; George Jackson; Quebec independence; working-class white women; American "concentration camps"; abortion; welfare rights; the Young Lords; the West Side Women's Center; a report from Asia; Black Power poetry.
RAT Subterranean News
Roz Payne
Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
October 29-November 18, 1970
underground press