Jonathan P. Jackson | |
|---|---|
 Jackson during a protest in support of the Soledad Brothers | |
| Born | Jonathan Peter Jackson (1953-06-23)June 23, 1953 United States |
| Died | August 7, 1970(1970-08-07) (aged 17) Marin County, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Gunshot wounds |
| Known for | Marin County courthouse incident |
Jonathan Peter Jackson (June 23, 1953 – August 7, 1970)[1] was an American militant activist who died of gunshot wounds sustained during an armed invasion of theMarin County Civic Center. The action was initiated to demand the freedom of the jailedSoledad Brothers, including Jackson's brotherGeorge.
At age 17, Jackson overpowered a Marin County courtroom at gunpoint, taking Superior Court JudgeHarold Haley, prosecutorGary W. Thomas, and three jurors hostage. In the ensuing shootout, Jackson and Judge Haley were killed, along with two inmates already in the courtroom, who had readily joined the attack; prosecutor Thomas was paralyzed and one juror was seriously injured.[2] The guns that Jackson used were registered to political activistAngela Davis, who at the time was leading the Soledad Brothers Defense Committee. Davis stood trial for alleged involvement in the courtroom raid and kidnapping, and was acquitted of all charges in June 1972.
Jackson was the youngest of five children born to Lester Jackson and Georgia Bea Jackson. Raised inPasadena, California, he attended St. Andrew's School from 1965 to 1967 for grades seven and eight, La Salle High School for ninth grade (1967–68), and thenBlair High School for his junior school level study.[3] Jackson worked closely with Angela Davis in the Soledad Brothers Committee and Davis eventually considered Jackson to be like a blood brother.[4]
George Jackson's posthumously published 1972 bookBlood in My Eye includes passages that he attributed to his younger brother Jonathan. These passages figure prominently in the development of the elder Jackson's theory of revolutionary praxis.[5]
Jonathan worked tirelessly to free the Soledad Brothers. Angela Davis said about him in her autobiography: "Jonathan only wanted to talk about George. All of his interests, all of his activities were bound up in some way with his brother in Soledad."[6] George had recommended to Davis that Jonathan do work for the Soledad Brothers Defense Committee (SBDC). Jonathan was considered a talented writer and the committee was in need of good writers. Many of the materials produced by the SBDC were the result of Jonathan's efforts.[4]
On August 7, 1970, Jackson brought a satchel containing three firearms, registered to Davis,[7] into theMarin County Hall of Justice, where Judge Haley was presiding over the trial ofSan Quentin inmateJames McClain.[8]
Once inside Judge Haley's courtroom, Jackson drew a revolver and, aided by McClain and Black Panther inmatesRuchell Cinque Magee andWilliam Arthur Christmas, took Judge Haley as well as Deputy District AttorneyGary Thomas and three female jurors hostage.[9]
They encouraged responding journalists to document their actions as they loaded the hostages into a rented van. Responding San Quentin prison guards fired on the van that Jackson was driving as they attempted to escape.[10][8] During the shootout, Jonathan Jackson, Christmas, McClain, and Judge Haley were killed, while Magee and Deputy District Attorney Thomas were seriously injured.[11]
Jackson's son, Jonathan Jackson Jr., was born eight and a half months after his father's death.[12] A monument on the premises to Judge Haley was the target of a follow-up attack perpetrated by theWeather Underground terrorist network in October of the same year.[13]
When George Jackson's bookSoledad Brother was published in October 1970, it included a dedication to Jonathan:
To the Man-Child, Tall, evil, graceful, brighteyed, black man-child — Jonathan Peter Jackson — who died on August 7, 1970, courage in one hand, assault rifle in the other; my brother, comrade, friend — the true revolutionary, the black communist guerrilla in the highest state of development, he died on the trigger, scourge of the unrighteous, soldier of the people.[14]
Jonathan Jackson Jr. wrote the foreword to the 1994 reissue ofSoledad Brother.[12]
In October 1975, the Marxist militant groupSam Melville-Jonathan Jackson Unit (later renamed the United Freedom Front) was founded.
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