Community

SAN QUENTIN: A Message to the Young & Old “Gs'”

Published

10 years ago

February 4, 2017

By Richard Wembe Johnson, San Quentin State Prison

It’s quite apparent that most of you have come to the conclusion that you have all the answers and have chosen a course that will either end with you in prison or in a cemetery.

Neither should ever be primary options, given that life can hold more for you than those two choices. The fact that I have spent the majority of life inside one institution or another, from Youth Authority to state and federal prison, I have a very clear perspective about what is truly important, rather than what was presumed to be meaningful at one time.

Now that I am older and called an O.G. (which has different meanings such as Old Gangster or Old Guard, Old Game, and, in some instances Old Geezer, and so forth), I know that no G tag will make me be.

The point is at one time I was considered to be a Young G, but the passage of time has transformed that reality. These labels tend to define us, both in and out of custody. We usually try to live up to these stereotypes or depictions, be what they are, with all their unproductive negativities.

For me it took life imprisonment to truly grasp how these acronyms curtail and hold back one’s full development. The essence of being that G is very costly, and more often than not it involves a very expensive price that most can’t comprehend until it is too late.

In prison, as in society, labels carry a stigma that places a spotlight on you that demands a role for you as an individual. Regardless of how connected you are to greater commitments, this labeling stigma doesn’t allow much flexibility for free thinking.

But rather one is reduced to a state of perfunctory acting and reacting like puppets, controlled by the dictates of labels.

You may think this is a new day. It is not – because there’s nothing new about violence, ignorance and irresponsibility. The only thing that has changed is the intense magnitude of it all.

At some point it is of vital importance for us all to outgrow the depiction and fiction of the G’s labeling and replace it with the personification of a wholesome manhood with no restriction: a manhood that defines you as a person with conviction, a human being, a man of substance, purpose and direction, not saddled with distractions.

My experiences have taught me that change is a product that can be freely obtained when it is desired. The hard part is seeing the need for it and then working to achieve it.

You’ve got to want it.

As for me, I remain a work in progress, in perpetual motion. And, as I write these thoughts on a daily basis, I am absorbed in constant introspection and reflections about what is right and pure.

For those who have read my columns, since I have been writing for the Post, you can observe how this experience has made me more aware and in touch with myself.

You also know that I am not a perfect person by any means. However, I’ve come to the distinct realization that it only takes an honest desire in order to make a change for the better.

So, whether you are an Old G or a Young G, the ultimate choice to be what you should be is yours, not someone else’s. No label should make you try to be what you shouldn’t be It will be you who will be paying the cost for that G tag now, or in the future, if there is to be one.

Take it from someone who knows. May you have a happy new year as we prepare to celebrate Black History Month.

Oakland Post

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Four Candidates, Including Incumbent Barbara Lee, Qualify for Oakland Mayor’s Race

POST NEWS GROUP — Four candidates, including incumbent Mayor Barbara Lee, filed their papers to run for office by last Friday’s deadline, and the City Clerk issued a list this week of those who are qualified to run.

Published

3 days ago

August 15, 2026

bpusa-syndication

View of downtown Oakland, California and City Hall. iStock photo.

By Post Staff

The four mayoral candidates who will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot are:

Brenda Grisham. A business owner in East Oakland and public safety advocate, Grisham led the successful recall campaign against Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. As part of her platform, she pledges to work with local, state, and federal partners to secure stricter gun control measures and investments in community violence intervention programs.

Barbara Lee. A former congressional representative and state Assembly member, Lee was elected by voters in a special election last year for a two-year term. Now running for a four-year term, she points out that her administration achieved major successes in addressing some of the city’s major challenges, including balancing the city budget, dramatically reducing crime, and making significant inroads into homelessness and illegal dumping.

Mindy Pechenuk. An educator and activist, Pechenuk is a registered Republican and supporter of Lyndon LaRouche, who has been described by observers as a conspiracy theorist and cult leader. She ran unsuccessfully for mayor in last year’s special election and for the at-large council seat in 2024. She seeks to end Oakland’s police commission and MACRO and invest in more police while launching a new local war on drugs.

Julius Robinson. While little information is available so far about Robinson, he was quoted in a KTVU story about Thao’s recall, stating that people in Oakland want to come together as a community but lack infrastructure and leadership.

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Black History

Oakland Observes Black August with Block Parties, Film Showings, Workshops

POST NEWS GROUP — Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

Published

3 days ago

August 15, 2026

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George Jackson wrote two books: “Soledad Brother,” and “Blood in My Eye” before her was killed in an attempt to escape prison on Aug. 21, 1971.

By Jana Lang, Propel Youth Reporter

Study. Train. Fast. Fight.

These are the four tenets of Black August, a month dedicated to commemorating the sacrifices of political prisoners and Black revolutionaries in the struggle for Black liberation.

Observers are urged to study the history of the Black struggle for freedom, train their bodies for health and self-defense, fast to cleanse the mind, body, and spirit, and fight ongoing oppression alongside their communities and local political organizations.

Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

While in prison, George befriended fellow prisoner W.L. Nolen, who introduced him to the works of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, and Frantz Fanon. This radicalization coupled with his experiences of violence while imprisoned led to him writing and publishing two books, “Soledad Brother” (1970), and “Blood in my Eye” (1972). In January of 1970, George and two other prisoners were charged with murdering a corrections officer at Soledad State Prison in Monterey County.

On Aug. 7, 1970, Jonathan Jackson burst into a Marin County courtroom armed with a shotgun to demand the freedom of the Soledad Brothers. He, along with the inmates he freed, was shot and killed while driving away. This involved one of the Black Panther Party’s most notable associates, Angela Davis, because the shotgun was registered in her name. She was later acquitted of charges of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder in 1972.

On Aug. 21, 1971, George Jackson was assassinated by a corrections officer after attempting to escape and free other inmates. As a result, there were uprisings and protests within prisons all over the country that year, calling forth resistance against racial oppression and mass incarceration.

Since its outset, Black August has evolved across the country, taking many forms to honor this history and embody the four tenets.

In Oakland, the upcoming Black August Experience, hosted by Youth Alive! and the East Oakland Boxing Association (EOBA), is a free, family-friendly event celebrating the legacy of Black August. Activities include free food and drinks, a kids’ activity zone, interactive workshops, live cooking and boxing demonstrations, and more.

Happening on Aug. 21 from 4-8 p.m. at the EOBA Patio, Carolyn Flynn, director of administration at EOBA, said the event, in its second year, will be an opportunity to engage with people in person through food, shared space, and education.

“We do regular classes in education, and those are ongoing programs that we offer, but we wanted to have [an opportunity] for our neighbors to utilize this space.” Combined with Youth Alive’s work in community violence prevention and youth leadership, this event surely aims to bring the Oakland community together to capture what Black August means today.

Here are additional Black August events happening in Oakland:

Forum and Community Discussion hosted by the Oakland Liberation Center, 1499 Fruitvale Ave., Aug. 14, 7 p.m.

“George Jackson/San Quentin” Screening hosted by Nostalgic for Nothing Cinema at Moments Co-Op, 410 13th St., Aug. 16, doors at 6 p.m., show at 6:30 p.m. (Masks required and scent-free)

Commemorating the Struggle, Building the Altar for Liberation: Black August at Bandung Books, 2269 International Blvd., Aug. 23rd, 1-5 p.m.

Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), will host “Black August: The Arc of Liberation” at Oakland City Hall on Sat. Aug. 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.