5th Column IV: [Reign of Terror]

If you follow our blog regularly or our twitter you have probably gathered that 5th Column is one of our favorite brands, and Jason Calabretta one of our favorite people. We can’t really call this their summer season as the Five Columns doesn’t follow your typical release schedule, its just their latest drop entitled IV [Reign of Terror] that happened to come out near summer… No one can explain the shirts better than Mr. Calabretta himself so here it is after the jump…

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….Revolution in France; Summer 1792,

Instead of a democracy the Convention established a war dictatorship operating through the Committee of Public Safety, the Committee of General Security, and numerous agencies such as the Revolutionary Tribunal. Known to history as the Reign of Terror, this period represented the efforts of a few men to govern the country and wage war in a time of crisis. Georges Danton and Maximilien Robespierre dominated the new government, with Robespierre gradually gaining over Danton and others. Price and wage maximums were unevenly enforced, and acceptance of the inflated paper currency, the assignats, was made mandatory. A huge number of suspects were arrested; thousands were executed, including Marie Antoinette. A revolutionary calendar, with 10-day weeks, was adopted.

The fanatic Jacques Hébert, who had introduced the worship of a goddess of Reason, was arrested and executed in Mar., 1794, along with other so-called ultra-revolutionaries. The next month Danton and his followers, the “Indulgents,” who advocated relaxation of emergency measures, were executed. To counter Hébertist influence, Robespierre proclaimed (June, 1794) the cult of the Supreme Being. France’s military successes lessened the need for strong domestic measures, but Robespierre called for new purges. Fearing that the Terror would be turned against them, members of the Convention arrested Robespierre on July 27, 1794 (Thermidor), and had him guillotined; a majority of Commune members were also executed.

[DETH TO LIBERTY]

II.

[WORLD TRADE CENTER: REMEMBRANCE]

On September 20, 1962, the Port Authority announced the selection of Minoru Yamasaki as lead architect and Emery Roth & Sons as associate architects. Yamasaki devised the plan to incorporate twin towers; Yamasaki’s original plan called for the towers to be 80 stories tall. In order to meet the Port Authority’s requirement to build 10 million square feet (930,000 m²) of office space, the buildings would each need to be 110 stories tall.

III.

GEORGE JACKSON: [FASCISM]

BLOOD IN MY EYE SERIES pt. 4

On August 3, 1970 the Marin County Civic Center, which houses the Marin County Superior Court, was the scene of an assault by a group of African-American political activists led by Jonathan Jackson, the 17-year old brother of George Jackson, demanding the release of the “Soledad Brothers”. The group released several prisoners in the courtroom and took a number of hostages including the presiding judge, Harold Haley. A shotgun was taped to the judge’s neck. While they were attempting to escape, Haley and prisoners William Christmas, James McClain, and Jonathan Jackson were killed as they attempted to drive away from the courthouse…..

On August 21, 1971, three days before he was to go on trial, 29 year old George Jackson was shot and killed at San Quentin prison. According to the warden of San Quentin,lawyer-activist Stephen Bingham had smuggled a pistol concealed in a tape recorder into the prison to Jackson, who was housed in San Quentin’s Adjustment Center time awaiting trial for the murder of a prison guard. On August 21, 1971, Jackson, according to the state, used the pistol, an Astra 9-mm semi-automatic, to take over his tier in the Adjustment Center. Six people were killed, including prison guards Jere Graham, Frank DeLeon and Paul Krasnes, two white prisoners, and Jackson himself. Following the incident, Bingham fled the country, living in Europe for 13 years before surrendering in 1984 and returning to the United States to stand trial, where he was acquitted of all charges.