The Soledad Brothers

On January 13, 1970,  three days before George Jackson, Fleeta Drumgo and John Cluchette were falsely accused of murdering white prison guard John Mills, white prison guard Opie G. Miller shot three outspoken Black men, including Jackson’s friend January W.L Nolen, a prison boxer and tutor, Cleavland Edwards, and Alvin Miller. In the aftermath of the killings, incarcerated African Americans demanded answers. As a race war raged on behind Soledad’s walls, someone threw guard John Mills off the third level of the prison. Jackson became the primary suspect  because of his well known revolutionary politics and affiliation with the Black Panther party. Inparticular, Jackson was known for organizing against the racial segregation of prison facilities. Chuchette, age 24, and Drumgo, age 23, were also targeted for their political opinions, as apparently evidenced by the posters Drumgo kept in his cell and both men’s Afro hairstyles. The three barely knew each other when they were accused, but they were thereafter to become known as the “Soledad Brothers”. ¹  From left to right, Drumgo, Jackson, and Chuchette are pictured. The first two photos are from 10/26/ 1970 in San Quentin State Prison.