Happy Birthday Assata Shakur

“People get used to anything. The less you think about your oppression, the more your tolerance for it grows. After a while, people just think oppression is the normal state of things. But to become free, you have to be acutely aware of being a slave” - Assata Shakur

(Assata Shakur)

Assata Shakur was born as Joanne Byron on July 16th, 1947 in New York City, New York, USA. In 1950 she moved to Wilmington, NC with her grandmother. As a teenager she moved to Queens, NY. Byron dropped out of high school, but later earned a GED. In the 1960’s Byron attended Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) and then the City College of New York (CCNY). In 1967 she and 100 other BMCC students were arrested. The students had chained and locked the entrance to a college building to protest a curriculum deficient in black studies and a lack of black faculty. In 1970 Byron joined the Black Panther Party’s Harlem division. One of Shakur's main activities with the BPP was coordinating a school breakfast program. She then left the panthers. She also changed her name the same year to “Assata Shakur”. She then joined the Black Liberation Army (BLA). In 1971 she joined the Republic of New Afrika. Also in 1971 Shakur was shot in the stomach during a struggle with a guest at the Statler Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan and was arrested. She was booked on charges of attempted robbery, felonious assault, reckless endangerment, and possession of a deadly weapon. In 1972 the New York Police Dept. tried to pin many crimes on Shakur by having witnesses say it was Shakur. Also in 1972 Shakur was the subject of a nationwide manhunt after the FBI alleged she was behind a series of murders of New York police officers. After being arrested Shakur was not charged. In 1973 Assata Shakur, Zayd Malik Shakur and Sundiata Acoli were stopped on the New Jersey Turnpike in East Brunswick by State Trooper James Harper for an alleged broken tail light and allegedly going over the speed limit. Zayd Shakur (the driver) was asked to step out of the car and then the trooper pulled his gun on Zayd Shakur. Zayd Shakur then in self defence disarmed the officer and shot him twice. Another trooper who was on the scene shot and killed Zayd Shakur. Assata Shakur then pulled her own firearm and she was shot and wounded as she fired at the officer whom she wounded. Acoli then drove the car with Assata and Zayd Shakur in the car for 5 miles before being arrested.

(Shakur in 1973)

Assata Shakur was interrogated and arraigned from her hospital bed. She also had substandard treatment while in the hospital. In 1974 while in prison she gave birth to her daughter. From 1973 to 1977 Shakur was indicted 10 times, resulting in seven different criminal trials. Of these trials 3 resulted in acquittals, 1 in a hung jury, 1 in a change of venue, 1 in a mistrial due to pregnancy, 1 in a conviction and 3 indictments were dismissed without trial. In 1979 Shakur escaped prison when 3 members of the Black Liberation Army visiting her drew concealed .45 caliber pistols, seized two guards as hostages and commandeered a prison van.

(Shakur in 1979)

No one was injured during the prison break. Mutulu Shakur, Silvia Baraldini, Sekou Odinga, and Marilyn Buck were charged with assisting in her escape. The FBI circulated wanted posters throughout the New York and the New Jersey area. Her supporters hung "Assata Shakur is Welcome Here" posters in response to the wanted posters.

(An “Assata Shakur is welcome here” poster)

In New York 3 days after her escape, more than 5,000 demonstrators organized by the National Black Human Rights Coalition carried signs with the same slogan. Her family and friends were monitored by the FBI. In 1980 an early morning raid on 92 Morningside Avenue, during which FBI agents armed with shotguns and machine guns broke down doors, and searched through the building for several hours, while preventing residents from leaving. Many illegal raids like this happened in New York for the search of Shakur. In 1984 Shakur moved to Cuba. She was granted political asylum in that country.

(Shakur in 1984)

The Cuban government paid approximately $13 a day toward her living expenses. In 1985 she was reunited with her daughter. In 1987 she published her autobiography.

(Shakur in 1987)

In 1993 she published a 2nd book. In 1998 Shakur agreed to an interview with NBC journalist Ralph Penza.

(Shakur in 1998)

In 2005 the FBI classified Shakur as a domestic terrorist and a $1 million bounty was put on her head. New York City Councilman Charles Barron, a former Black Panther, has called for the bounty to be rescinded.

(Shakur in 2005)

Fidel Castro had called Shakur a victim of racial persecution. In 2013 the FBI announced it had made Shakur the 1st woman on its list of most wanted terrorists. The bounty was then raised to $2 million.

(Shakur in 2013)

Today she turns 70 years old and we would all like to say happy birthday Assata Shakur.

Books by Assata Shakur

• Assata: An Autobiography (1987)
• Still Black, Still Strong (1993)

Videos of Assata Shakur

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7unIuy0ET8  “Assata Shakur Speaks On Being Shot”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlqoAgicmwk  “ASSATA aka Joanne Chesimard”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssQ5qqCeWNg  “Assata Shakur in Cuba, Part 1, Interview Kenny S.”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsPze2uMYtI  “Assata Shakur in Cuba, #2 Interview Kenny Snodgrass”