8 Reasons Why Most Black People View Assata Shakur as a Hero

On May 2, 2013, the Federal Bureau of Investigation suddenly announced that it had placed Assata Shakur on its “Most Wanted Terrorists” list, making her the first woman to be so designated. The state of New Jersey also raised the bounty on her head to $2 million. These government actions came on the 40th anniversary of the shoot-out in which police allege that Shakur killed an officer. When President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. was normalizing relations with Cuba, law enforcement officials in New Jersey clamored for Shakur to be extradited from Cuba, where she has been living in asylum for the last 30 years after a daring escape from prison. But the Cuban government has indicated that it has no interest in returning her to the U.S., where she would be sent back to jail. Assata Shakur with daughter Kakuya She Staged a Daring Prison Break Six years and six months to the day that she was arrested, aided by her revolutionary friends, Shakur escaped from Clinton Women’s Prison in New Jersey. In Black communities like Brooklyn, posters were plastered with the message: “Assata Shakur is Welcome Here.” In 1984, she surfaced in Cuba and was granted political asylum by Fidel Castro. According to Essence, Cuba helped Shakur with her living expenses and provided her shelter. She stayed in Cuba with her daughter, Kakuya, and published an autobiography in 1987 detailing her life. Even Her Name is Revolutionary Assata Shakur was born JoAnne Chesimard, and her change in name was reflective of her desire to fully identify with the revolutionary struggles of her African heritage. Assata means “she who struggles,” her middle name Olugbala means “love for the people,“ and her last name Shakur was taken in honor of her comrade Zayd Shakur. Her Dedication to Her People As a college student, Shakur did not use her degree as an “escape valve” to distance herself from the mass of poor, oppressed and exploited people. Instead, she joined in the fight for their collective liberation. A group grew out of the mass movement in the United States that advocated for various forms of armed struggle as a way to bring about the freedom of Black people around the world. Shakur was part of this group, and as a result she and her comrades were targeted for prosecution by law enforcement, often framed and incarcerated under false pretenses. She Was Falsely Convicted Shakur was falsely convicted of having killed New Jersey state trooper Werner Foerster on May 2, 1973. While driving on the New Jersey Turnpike, Assata, Zayd Shakur and Sundiata Acoli were stopped by state troopers, allegedly for having a “faulty tail light.” A shootout ensued where one state trooper killed Zayd Shakur, and another trooper, Foerster, ended up dead. Shakur was charged with both murders, despite the fact that the other trooper, James Harper, admitted he killed Zayd Shakur. Assata had been, following police instructions, standing with her hands in the air, when she was shot by Harper more than once, including a bullet to the back. Harper lied and said he had seen Shakur reach for a gun, a claim he later recanted. He also claimed she had been in a firing position, something a surgeon who examined her said was “anatomically impossible.” The same surgeon said it was “anatomically necessary” for her arms to have been raised for her to receive the bullet wounds she did, according to published reports. Tests done by the police found that Shakur had not fired a gun, and no physical or medical evidence was presented by the prosecution to back up their claim that she had fired a gun at Harper. She Was a Victim of Racial Bias Shakur was put on trial in a county where because of pre-trial publicity 70 percent of people thought she was guilty, and she was judged by an all-white jury. Without any physical evidence to present, the prosecution had to rely on false statements and innuendo aimed at playing on the prejudices of the jury pool against Black people, political radicals and Black revolutionaries in particular. Though the forensic evidence backed up her account, the state was able to convict her, and in 1977 she was sentenced to life plus 33 years. She's Related to Tupac Assata was a step-aunt and godmother to the late hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur, the stepson of her brother Mutulu Shakur. Tupac’s parents, Afeni and Billy, were active members of the Black Panther Party. She's Not a Terrorist What part of her actions qualifies Shakur as a terrorist? Even if you believe she is responsible for Foerster’s death, that would make her responsible for one death in the early morning hours on a New Jersey highway 40 years ago. If that is terrorism, as writer Mychal Denzel Smith asked in The Nation, "if the definition is such that this purported crime fits, then in the process of labeling Assata Shakur a terrorist, the FBI has rendered the word all but meaningless." In the words of activist Angela Davis, “the attack on reflects the logic of terrorism, because it precisely is designed to frighten young people, especially today, who would be involved in the kind of radical activism that might lead to change.” She Dared to Fight Back In an open letter, Shakur pointed out that “I am only one woman.” But in the eyes of the FBI she deserved to be placed on its Most Wanted Terrorists list. Shakur is a symbol of what it means to be a Black woman who dares to fight back.

Independent journalism doesn't fund itself.

Related Stories

JetBlue Poster Honoring Assata Shakur Sparks Outrage, But Supporters Rush to Her Defense

North Carolina Court Writes Assata Shakur $15,000 Check as Part of Land Deal

N.J. Trooper Allegedly Fired Over ‘Black Excellence’ Post Featuring Assata Shakur