Blood in My Eye (book)

Blood in My Eye is a book of political philosophy written by George Jackson, a co-founder of the Black Guerrilla Family. Jackson finished writing the book only days before he was killed at San Quentin State Prison on 21 August 1971. The book was first published on 1 January 1972.

Blood in My Eye

Author	George Jackson
Genre	Political philosophy
Publisher	Random House
Publication date	1 January 1972
ISBN	0933121237

Background

In 1961, George Jackson was sentenced to one year to life in San Quentin State Prison for armed robbery.^[1] During his time at San Quentin, Jackson was introduced to Marxist ideas by W.L. Nolen, a fellow inmate. The two founded the Black Guerrilla Family in 1966, based on Marxist–Leninist principles.^[2] During his time in prison, Jackson educated himself on history and Marxist economics.^[3]

Using a plastic typewriter,^[4] Jackson wrote many letters and political essays, which were later compiled in the books Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George Jackson and Blood in My Eye.

Content

Overview

Blood in My Eye begins with the statement:

We must accept the eventuality of bringing the U.S.A. to its knees; accept the closing off of critical sections of the city with barbed wire, armored pig carriers crisscrossing the streets, soldiers everywhere, tommy guns pointed at stomach level, smoke curling black against the daylight sky, the smell of cordite, house-to-house searches, doors being kicked in, the commonness of death.^[3]

Jackson discusses various topics such as the use of guerrilla warfare against the United States government, class struggle and American fascism.^[5] The content is presented as a series of essays and letters. In the book, Jackson describes himself as a "Marxist-Leninist-Maoist-Fanonist".^[3]

Guerrilla warfare

Jackson devotes a large portion of the book to urban guerrilla warfare strategies to be used against the police and military. For example, he describes a makeshift armored vehicle which is equipped with flamethrowers, machine guns and rocket launchers.^[6] He attributes this idea to this brother Jonathan Jackson. Furthermore, he advocates for the assassination of reactionary leaders.^[7]

Jackson writes: "Our whole question is: just what level of consciousness will support the violent revolutionary activity necessary to achieve our ends? And how will we know when this level is reached? Recall: our Mao teaches that when revolution fails it isn't the fault of the people, it's the fault of the vanguard party. The people will never come to us and say, "Let's fight." There have never been any spontaneous revolutions. They were all staged, manufactured, by people who went to the head of the masses and directed them."^[8]

Reception

Melvin Maddocks from Life described the book as "a remarkable portrait of a remarkable man".^[9] Maitland Zane from the San Francisco Chronicle described the book as "muscular, eloquent and poetically defiant".^[9] David Lewis of The New York Times criticised the book, claiming that it "lacks the visceral brilliance, the epistolary panache, and the sense of personal growth and complexity stamping the letters and essays in 'Soledad Brother'."^[4]

References

1. Mitford, Jessica (June 13, 1971). "A Talk With George Jackson". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
2. Cummins, Eric (1994). The rise and fall of California's radical prison movement. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-2231-5. OCLC 28112851.
3. Jackson, George (1990). Blood in my eye. Baltimore, MD: Black Classic Press. ISBN 978-0-933121-23-2. OCLC 21961314.
4. Lewis, David (1972-04-16). "Last will and testament of a 'Soledad Brother'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
5. Hawkins, Eljeer (2021-08-30). "50 Years Since the Release of George Jackson's Blood in My Eye". Socialist Alternative. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
6. Jackson, George (1972). Blood in My Eye. Random House. p. 18. ISBN 0933121237. give the brother an armored van from inside he could use said flamethrower, give him two comrades in arms, one equipped with an M60 machine gun, the other with an anti-tank rocket launcher
7. Jackson, George (1972). Blood in My Eye. Random House. p. 32. ISBN 0933121237. All reactionary movements depend principally on a handful of individuals - sometimes one individual. There are many ways to correct individuals. The best way is to send one armed expert.
8. Jackson, George (1972). Blood in My Eye. Random House. p. 14. ISBN 0933121237.
9. Jackson, George (1990). Blood in my eye. Baltimore, MD: Black Classic Press. pp. Back matter of book. ISBN 978-0-933121-23-2. OCLC 21961314.