On this day in 1977: The George Jackson Brigade planted a bomb at a power station in Olympia, Washington, in solidarity with a prison strike at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary. They were a revolutionary group founded in the mid-1970s, based in Seattle, named after George Jackson, a prisoner and Black Panther who was shot and killed during an alleged escape attempt at San Quentin Prison in 1971. The Brigade was composed of both communist and anarchist veterans of the women's liberation, LGBTQ and Black Nationalist movements. The organization split up in the late 1970s, after the death and/or imprisonment of many of its members. They intended for their actions to occur at times and places where no one would get hurt. Their first attack failed at this, injuring many people.
Cofounder Ed Mead was imprisoned in Wall Walla from 1976 until 1993. While in prison, he created Men Against Sexism, which organized LGBTQ men and men of color within the prison to dismantle rape culture there. Cofounder Bruce Seidel was killed during the Tukwila bank robbery. Mark Cook, the only African-American Brigade member, helped liberate Brigade member John Sherman from prison, but was later arrested a few days after later. He served 24 years in prison, where he started a chapter of the Black Panthers. He later launched the PIVOT program, which helped former prisoners find work. Rita "Bo" Brown, a working-class lesbian, also known as the "Gentleman Bank Robber" because she wore suits and spoke politely to bank staff during robberies. After her release from prison in 1987, she continued her work in prison advocacy with Critical Resistance. She died in 2021 from complications related to dementia. Therese Coupez was released from prison in 1999. She later produced a documentary about the Brigade called “Creating a Movement With Teeth.”
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