George Lester Jackson was an American author, activist, and convicted criminal. While serving a sentence for armed robbery in 1961, Jackson became involved in revolutionary activity and co-founded the Marxist–Leninist Black Guerrilla Family.
In 1970, he was charged, along with two other Soledad Brothers, with the murder of Correctional Officer John Vincent Mills in the aftermath of a prison fight. The same year, he published Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George Jackson, a combination of autobiography and manifesto addressed to an African American audience. The book became a bestseller and earned Jackson personal fame.
Jackson was killed during an attempted prison escape in 1971. Jackson and other prisoners took hostages during the attempt and five hostages were found dead in Jackson's cell after the incident.