"The savage repression of blacks, which can be estimated by reading the obituary columns of the nation's dailies, Fred Hampton, etc., has not failed to register on the black inmates"

This quote by George Jackson speaks with the systemic bigotry and oppression of African Americans in the United States. Jackson is referring to the fact that the deaths of African Americans due to authorities cruelty and other types of violence are typically reported in the obituaries of newspapers. He is highlighting the fact that these deaths are not isolated incidents, however rather a pattern of violence and repression that is deeply entrenched in the nation's history. Jackson is likewise referring to the death of Fred Hampton, a popular Black Panther leader who was killed by authorities in 1969. Jackson's words are a reminder of the long-standing injustice and violence that African Americans have actually faced in the United States, and the need for change.