—political activist, author, fugitive, and step-aunt of the famed, slain hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur—was born JoAnne Deborah Bryon on July 16, 1947 in New York City, New York. 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. In 1971, she adopted a new name: Assata (“she who struggles”) Olugbala (“love for the people”) Shakur (“the thankful”).
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. In 1972, the Bureau issued a warrant for her arrest in connection with crimes allegedly committed by the BLA.
On the evening of May 2, 1973, Shakur and two BLA companions were stopped by two state troopers for a traffic infraction on the New Jersey Turnpike, an encounter that ended in the deaths of Assata’s friend Zayd Shakur and State Trooper Werner Foerster. Arraigned on charges that included first-degree murder, Shakur went to trial seven times and was eventually convicted of Trooper Foerster’s murder regardless of her contention that the gunshot wound she sustained during the confrontation partially paralyzed her arm and rendered her incapable of firing a weapon. Despite forensic evidence that supports her assertions, she was found guilty of murder in 1977 and sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years.
In 1979, Shakur escaped from the maximum security unit of the New Jersey Clinton Correctional Facility for Women. She traveled to Cuba in 1984 where she was granted political asylum and reunited with her daughter Kakuya Amala Olugbala, whom she delivered while imprisoned.
In 2013, on the 40th anniversary of Trooper Foerster’s death, the FBI placed Shakur on the Most Wanted Terrorists list, conferring upon her the dubious distinction of being the first woman and the second domestic terrorist to appear on the list. It also increased her bounty to two million dollars.
Shakur continues to live in exile in Cuba. Since her escape, Shakur’s life has been depicted in songs, documentaries and various literary works.
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Movers are booked. I’m officially moving out of Florida August 1st. I’ve been wanting to leave since I moved back here over 15 years ago, and it’s finally happening.
My dad has unironically been telling me to become a Youtuber. In fact, he seems disappointed that I have not yet become a Youtuber. My dad is 56 years old.
Sounds like your Dad is doing solid analysis
DNC reports they will kill 1 Biden supporter in PA so Trump is not at an unfair disadvantage in the election.
I know there’s humor but I’m just annoyed at how the chudsphere saw that the shooter was one of their own psycho white teenagers with a gun doing an adventurism, blinked once and then turned away.
I’ve had this discussion multiple times in my twenties with older boomers about young conservatives. Like yeah the older generations have nice homes, businesses, or better salaries and are generally gonna vote for the GOP. Young men on the other hand have none of that capital and really only vote GOP because they’re wretched little monsters who make lists of people they hate.
Downwardly mobile conservatives are definitely generally a scary prospect. I think there are always fashy undertones to the upper class and business owners, but downwardly mobile youth who believe their narratives are what’s needed for a mass movement which may actually lead to fascism.
Yeh. Cognitive dissonance? More like cognitive indifference.
i asked my friends what my clothing style was and i feel like i’m in highschool the way i’m being bullied
deathcore barista
skinny jeans dad who just discovered retinol
okay the second one wld kinda sting but wtf the first one is a vibe own it
i’m more impressed with their mastery of the english language, i never would have came up with that one in a million years and it’s honestly so perfect
some days i wonder if
ever clocked me as an egg
I remember when I was a kid this weird guy asking me and my friend if we wanted to play xbox in his basement. I asked to clarify if it was OG xbox or a 360 and it was and OG. Sir I am not getting molested for last gen hardware.
wow gotta give props to Assata for escaping max-security prison and fleeing to an AES country to have a peaceful life
also hello everyone
Three beautiful little pumpkins
Omg that is so cute
No one has brought up the trump think at work. I think everyone forgot lmao
Twitter: this has sealed the election results
Everyone’s coworkers: it was a good weekend I went for a walk :)
Same here, I predicted everyone would forget within three weeks, but it’s workday #1 after the event and I’ve heard nothing from anyone.
I was sure the libs i work with would be talking about it but nothing
My stepdad posted this on Facebook
I am officially moving to my own home this week!! Landlord can officially suck it!!! I’m not paying off your home loan anymore (I’ll be paying off my own instead)!!! Fuck yeah!!! I can drill holes in the wall whenever the god damn I want!!!
Today my partner, at long last, finished grad school and is a doctor! And so now begins my protracted campaign of adding Dr to the front of every silly pet name we have for each other until the joke is absolutely run into the ground, and then to keep going until it’s just a little bit funny again
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No current struggle session discussion here on the new general megathread, i will ban you from the comm and remove your comment, have a good day/night :meow-coffee:
ok i pull up
First
Hieeeee
Howdy
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