Assata Olugbala Shakur was born JoAnne Deborah Byron on July 16, 1947, in Flushings, Queens Jamaica, New York. a descendent of slaves..Following her parents’ divorce in 1950, she moved with her mother and maternal grandparents to Wilmington, North Carolina. Shakur spent much of her adolescence alternating residences between her mother, who remarried and returned to New York, and relatives in Wilmington.
Shakur enrolled in Borough of Manhattan Community College before transferring to City College of New York, where her exposure to Black Nationalist organizations profoundly impacted her activism. Shakur attended meetings held by the Golden Drums, where she met her husband, Louis Chesimard. Members of the organization familiarized her with black historical figures that resisted racial oppression and social violence.
She also began interacting with other activist groups and subsequently participated in student rights, anti-Vietnam war, and black liberation movements. During a trip to Oakland, California in 1970, Shakur became acquainted with the Black Panther Party (BPP). She returned to New York City and joined the Harlem branch. Shakur worked in the BPP breakfast program but grew increasingly critical of the BPP because of their reluctance to collaborate with other black organizations.
Shakur left the BPP in 1971 and joined the Black Liberation Army (BLA), which the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) branded an anarchist group.Adopting an African name, oin 1971she took on Assata, meaning 'she who struggles,' Olugbala, meaning 'love for the people,' and Shakur, meaning 'the thankful.
An inspiring individual she was the first woman to be placed on the FBI's most wanted Terrorist list, In the early 1970', several false criminal accusations for murder, robbery and kidnapping were bought against Shakur. All except one were later acquitted or dismissed. In 1973, Shakur and two other friends were cornered by state troopers on the New Jersey Turnpike, and became involved in a shootout where she was severely wounded, apprehended and charged for the murder of Werner Foerster, a New Jersey State Trooper. Although Shakur protested her innocence, and subsequent medical and forencic evidence indeed proved it was not possible for her to have shot the state trooper, she was however convicted of the murder.
She was incarcenated in several prisons throughout the 1970s until she managed a daring escape in 1979 from the Clinton Correctional Facility for Women in New Jersey with the help of three BLA members on Nov. 2, 1979., and has managed to live in exile in Cuba since 1984 where she still lives; .She is recognised by the Cuban Government as a revolutionary fugitive in exile, venerated by supporters, the Cuban Government continue to contribute to her living expenses, and she is regarded as a living link to a revolutionary era.
The FBI's animalistic hunting of her resumed after nearly 40 years when it labelled her a terrorist, offering $2 million for her capture, still reminding the world, and becomming a symbol of America;s gaping racial divide, reminding us that the oppression of Black women by America is far from over and to many the world over she continues to remain an inspiration to all lovers of freedom, as a courageous fighter, liberator and hero, and is defended by many who do not want to see her returning to a prison cell.
Assata learned that no one has ever gotten their freedom by appealing to their oppressor; she learned that our oppressors are never going to give us the education needed to overthrow them. She learned that socialism isn’t just a white man’s concoction, because she studied the works of African revolutionaries and the goals of African liberation movements, as well as those of other colonized places. She learned that socialism was not an evil ideal designed to strip us of our freedoms, as we are told; because Assata knew that under capitalism, we don’t have any freedoms but to starve, to be homeless, or to be thrown in jail for being poor. Assata teaches us all that socialism can and will be achieved when the oppressed peoples of the world join together in struggle for a future free of exploitation.
She has since continued to dedicate her life to challenging injustice, advocating on behalf of those persecuted using her skills as a writer, artist and poet. In 1987 she published a powerful memorable book 'Assata Shakur - An Autobiography' where she outlines her beliefs, and the book contains many of her poems, two of which I include here. In this book she also writes from a perspective whose life continues to be on trial.
From Assata’s story, we are able to learn what it means to be motivated by a deep love for the people and the struggle for freedom—and what it means to embody a determined and unbreakable spirit in the face of crackdowns and government repression designed to stifle and destroy the movement. Account after account from Assata’s comrades and fellow revolutionaries describe Assata as a light, a positive spirit who remained disciplined and committed to the struggle despite incredible hardships.
Long may Sister Assata Olubala Shaker retain her freedom and we carry on breaking down the chains.
" Nobody in the world, nobody in history has ever gotten their freedom by appealing to the moral sense of the people who were oppressing them."
- Assata Shakur
Affirmation - Assata Shakur
I believe in living
Ibelieve in the spectrum
of Beta days and Gamma people.
I believe in sunshine
windmills and waterfalls,
tricycles and rocking chairs.
And I believe that seeds grow into sprouts.
And sprouts grow into trees.
I believe in the magic of the hands.
And in the wisdom of the eyes.
I believe in rain and tears.
And in the blood of infinity.
I belive in life.
And I have seen the death parade
march through the torso of the earth,
sculpting mud bodies in its path.
I have seen the destruction of the daylight,
and seen bloodthirsty maggots
prayed to and saluted.
I have seen the kind become the blind
in one every lesson.
I have walked on cut glass.
I have eaten crow and blunder bread
and breathed the stench of indifference.
I have been locked by the lawless.
Handcuffed by the haters.
Gagged by the greedy.
And, If I know any thing at all,
it's that a wall is just a wall
and nothing more at all,
it can be broken down.
I believe in living
I believe in birth
I believe in the sweat of love
and in the fire of truth.
And I believe that a lost ship,
sneered by tired, seasick sailors,
can still be guided home
to port.
Love is Contraband in Hell - Assata Shaker
Love is contraband in Hell,
cause love is a acid
that eats away bars. But you, me, and tomorrow
holds hands and makes vows
that struggle will multiply.
The hacksaw has two blades.
The shotgun has two barrels.
We are pregnant with freedom.
We are a conspiracy.
It is our duty to fight for our freedom
It is our duty to win.
We must love each other and support each other.
We have nothing to lose but our chains.
Reprinted from :-
Assata An Autobiography (1987/2001)
Here is a link to a campaign that continues to support and defend her:-
http://www.assatashakur.com/
"Nobody in the world, nobody in history, has ever gotten their freedom by appealing to the moral sense of the people who were oppressing them." - Assata Shakur
