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First time I got the drive to look her up was after listening to a verse by Nassir (NAS) in 'Patience'(off the album Distant Relatives) where he says how the youth don’t know of Assata but are following Paris Hilton on Twitter. At least the Paris Hilton of today...these mainstream 'celebrities' who are not only setting unrealistic standards for the youth but also corrupt our minds.
*Sidebar- We all need to download this album, Distant Relatives. It is one of the few albums dedicated to Africans both at home and abroad. You can also read my review on this album as well.
I watched a video where she was interviewed in Cuba and this was so interesting. I knew she deserved at least one post on her and all the great work she did helping black people get their human rights (which we have somehow forgotten we should fight for if we are going to survive as black people)
Born in Queens, she grew up in a religious background and went to a Catholic school and in one of her interviews, she says that it was not until she joined college that she would get access to wealth of information on Africa. This is when she changed her name from Joanne Debora Byron to Assata Shakur. Her name means ‘one who struggles and fights for her people’. This is exactly what she was about. She participated in demonstrations and strikes helping construction workers fight against racism. She was also greatly involved in housing and welfare movements. She later joined the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army. This is when she began to receive serious threats to her life.
In 1973, she was shot twice by the police, once in the back and left for dead. The driver in her car was shot dead. She was later treated in hospital where she narrates that those questioning her in hospital would press into her bullet wounds and ask if she felt any pain. Assata was thereafter arrested and imprisoned after being convicted of the murder of a state trooper during that very shoot out, which she denies doing. She was convicted of this regardless. Her conviction was upheld by an all-white jury and under the laws in New Jersey, the prosecution did not need to prove that Assata Shakur fired the shots that killed the officer. (Sounds about WHITE!)
In fear of her life, she escaped prison in 1979. Her escape was because she feared for her life and she knew the system would not accord her any justice. Â She escaped the US and sought political asylum in Cuba where she still resides despite numerous attempts by the United States to take her back to the US for obvious reasons.Â
She greatly credits the importance of hip-hop back then to spread consciousness among the people..which we are slowly losing because of how they have corrupted the hip hop culture.
I enjoyed how humble Assata is and what she stands for.
She is truly a legend!