Assata Shakur is a former Black Liberation Army member and advocate for the issues of the black community. Also known as JoAnne Byron, she was born on July 16, 1947 in Flushing, Queens, New York. Assata was very involved in political work and activism at a young age. After graduating from college in 1971, she changed her name to Assata Shakur because she wanted to be more connected to her African roots. While growing up she participated in many protests and joined a few pro-black groups. Her radicalism is also what made her so dangerous to the American government. During her time in college in the mid-60s, she became involved with the Golden Drums society, a black activism organisation. In 1970 she also joined the Black Panther party, her education on the oppression of black people since during this time education in black people, women especially, was weaponized. She inspires me because she fought for what she believed in the way she wanted to and she also wasn’t afraid to learn and become better. I chose to honor her because her story has demonized in many ways and I believe that instead of seeing her in the light the media created we should see her for who she truly is. [Achy Obejas] After Assata Shakur graduated from college, she began to live life as a dangerous fugitive. According to The Guardian, between the years of 1971 and 1973 she had committed robberies, allegedly committed murder and kidnapping. She was either acquitted or the cases dismissed. Then came the events of May 2, 1973, in which two of her Black Liberation partners, Trooper Foerster and Zayd Malik Shakur, were killed by a police officer at a New Jersey turnpike exit. Assata Shakur and her partners were stopped and threatened by a police officer, which ended in the police officer, and Trooper Foerster and Zayd Malik Shakur being pronounced dead. [Bim Adewunmi] While being in Garden State Youth Correctional Facility in Yardville, Burlington County, New Jersey she endured cruel conditions. In her autobiography, Assata Shakur details the conditions in which she was kept during the days that followed – her food was spat in, she was kept in a men’s prison, she was not allowed to contact a lawyer, and Zayd Malik's dead body was left lying next to her. When she finally received medical attention, she came in contact with Lennox Hinds, the national director of the National Conference of Black Lawyers who is the lawyer that defended her in court. She describes her conditions as an unifying theme: the smell. "I don't care what jail I've been in, they all stink. They have a smell unlike any smell on earth. Like blood and sweat and feet and open sores and, if misery has a smell, like misery."[Christina Carrega] After 4 years of incarceration, in January 1977 her case was brought to trial. According to her lawyer Lennox Hinds, there was a lot of evidence that the trial wasn’t fair and was conducted in such a way as to make sure she stayed in jail. [Krissah Thompson] This includes transcripts of the jury selection that show at least two of the jurors expressed prejudice before the start of the trial. There was evidence that the lawyers of the defence team were being bugged, and materials relating to her case that went missing from the home of her late lawyer Stanley Cohen were later found with the New York City police. The jury reached a verdict after 24 hours and she was found guilty on all seven counts of kidnapping, attempted murder and robbery. Under New Jersey law, if a person's presence at the scene of a crime can be construed as “aiding and abetting” the crime, that person can be convicted of the substantive crime itself so Assata Shakur was handed a mandatory life sentence in prison. In 1979 she escaped from prison, she eventually fled to Cuba where she was granted political asylum in 1984 and she wrote a memoir in Cuba. [Bim Adewunmi] In her memoir Assata Shakur writes, “No one is going to give you the education you need to overthrow them. Nobody is going to teach you your true history, teach you your true heroes, if they know that that knowledge will help set you free.” [quotes] I think this is the reason why she’s treated as such a threat to our system: her knowledge is powerful and power in black people is considered dangerous by the government because they want us to continue to be complacent in our ignorance. I admire Assata Shakur’s strength and unwavering commitment to the revolution. Some may view her as someone who was wrongfully placed in the claws of the justice system, due to the fact she was unfairly convicted by a biased jury. She inspires me to fight in situations that will never be in my favor. She has traveled to different countries and has fought alongside many different people. For example, she met with members of the Red Guard – a radical Chinese-American youth organisation. She also worked as a doctor's assistant and volunteered at Alcatraz during the time it was taken over by Native Americans who were protesting about broken treaties and exploitation by the US government. She continues to help fight oppression even when the odds aren’t in her favor. I view her as a revolutionary who fought the system and won. [Bim Adewunmi] Works Cited Adewunmi, Bim. “Assata Shakur: from Civil Rights Activist to FBI's Most-Wanted.” The Guardian, The Guardian, 25 Nov. 2017, bit.ly/2W5ADAe. Carrega, Christina Carrega. “Assata Shakur, convicted of killing a police officer, still wanted by FBI 40 years after fleeing to Cuba” ABC News, 16, May, 2019 https://abcn.ws/3qNAQGD Obejas, Achy. “Why Cuba will never send Assata Shakur to the U.S.” Chicago Tribune, 29, December, 2019 https://bit.ly/37WiHxo Thompson, Krissah. “Assata Shakur was convicted of murder. Is she a terrorist?” Washington Post, 8, May, 2013 https://wapo.st/3gEvCIn Quotes: https://wapo.st/3gEvCIn