.png){kind=tracking}
- Love of the culture
- Feb 28, 2021
- 9 min read
Assata Shakur (slave name JoAnne Deborah Byron) is a resilient, black revolutionary, but also the first woman to be added to the FBI’s most wanted list. Many of us have heard of Assata, but don’t know much about the woman herself; in her autobiography she reveals herself to be a witty, determined, observant, humble but assertive woman, amongst other things. In her autobiography, Assata concurrently shares the story of the events that lead to her arrest and her time moving through the prison and legal system; and the story of her growth- from living with her grandparents to how she came to join the Black Liberation Party.
Growing Up
Assata was born in New York, but moved with and was raised by her grandparents for some years in Wilmington, North Carolina. She explains how, from a young age she was taught dignity, respect and hard work by her family, and was encouraged to read, especially by her grandfather and Aunt Evelyn; and talks about some of her earlier encounters with segregation and racism whilst in North Carolina (from segregated beaches and movie theatres, to run-ins with white men she believed to be members of the klan).
Having moved back in with her mother and stepfather and attending junior high in Queens, New York, Assata recalls the tension surrounding the intensifying attack on black people in the news, particularly Little Rock and the pressures the raising tensions had on black love- how partners became punching bags to take out frustrations on each. Assata speaks of growing and living for new experiences at the time, and so she took to exploring and staying out late. She goes into detail about running away to Greenwich Village after an argument with her mother, following her separation from her stepfather, at the age of 13. Whilst in the village she describes the encounters she had with some questionable people, as well as being looked out for by Miss Shirley, who looked out for her and helped her secure a job as a barmaid. She also recalls very nearly being assaulted by a group of guys in Spanish Harlem and how common girls being assaulted by a guy or group of guys was growing up; and how skeptical the incident made her of everyone.
I had read this play by Sartre. The play ended with the conclusion that hell is other people, and, for a while, i agreed.
Following her Village escape, Assata moved in with her aunt Evelyn on 80th Street in Manhattan; the point at which she became aware of the class system in amerika and speaks about the vast difference between the people living only a stone throw away. With Evelyn, Assata's love for the arts and reading further blossomed and she became more cultured.
Assata recalls being intrigued by the NAACP while visiting her grandparents and being denied when trying to join because she was unable to say how she would react if spat on. Although she commended the ability of members of the NAACP to remain civil and peaceful in the pursuit of equality, justice and freedom, Assata believes that the civil rights movement never stood a chance...
Nobody in the world, nobody in history, has ever gotten their freedom by appealing to the moral sense of the people who were oppressing them.
Joining The Movement
A significant moment in Assata’s past included her time at Manhattan Community College where she realises she was ignorant to worldly conflicts after befriending some African students from Columbia. Having been schooled on the Vietnam war and the true motives of the u.s. government by these students, Assata makes it a priority to read up on and keep up to date on events. It was also at this point that Assata's concept of beauty changed, and she cut the 'conk' (relaxer) out of her hair.
Our desire to be free has got to manifest itself in everything we are and do.
She later is introduced to the Golden Drums through which she meets other brothers and sisters she describes as having higher levels of consciousness. Through discussions with these individuals she learns about black heroes, other than Harriet Tubman, such as Nat Turner, Denmark Vesey, etc. Assata goes into detail about the inaccuracies and distortions of Black history taught in amerikan public schools, specifically in regards to the abolition of slavery.
I had grown up believing the slaves hadn't fought back. I remember feeling ashamed when they talked about slavery in school.
Abolition of slavery was not a moral issue.
Assata also mentions learning from the Puerto Rican students:
Once you understand something about the history of a people, their heroes, the hardships and their sacrifices, it's easier to struggle with them, to support their struggles.
It was years later that JoAnne changed her name to Assata Olugbala Shakur, Assata meaning 'she who struggles', Olugbala meaning 'love for the people' and Shakur after her friend Zayd, meaning 'the thankful'.
Assata also vividly recalls her reaction to learning about the death of Martin Luther King, her desire to riot and need for blood. The words rebellion and revolution constantly run through her mind.
While attending CCNY Assata was married for a period to Louis Chesimard. The two divorced due to differences of what they believed marriage should be, and Assata with the help of friends, moved to Berkeley, California. Here she endeavoured to meet up with and learn from various groups also being attacked by the u.s government, including the Native Americans, Chicanos and had plans to meet up with the Red Guard; she believes that there were similarities between their struggles and that by working together they had a better chance of pushing for change.
People think that in order for something to work, it has to be complicated, but a lot of times the opposite is true. We usually reach success by putting the simple truths that we know into practice. The basis of any struggle is people coming together to fight against a common enemy.
In Oakland, Assata met the Black Panther Party, whom she admired for many reasons.
One of the most important things the Party did was to make it really clear who the enemy was: not the white people, but the capitalistic, imperialistic oppressors. They took the Black liberation struggle out of a national context and put it in an international context.
Whilst meeting members of the Party, Assata was asked why she had yet to join and responded by telling them of the differences in opinion she had with the style of work expressed by some members of the Party; like how certain party representatives addressed the people with a flippant attitude. The members agreed and encouraged her to join the Party when she returned to New York, expressing that the Party needed her and was only as strong as its members.
Assata did just that, and joined the Black Panther Party on her return to Harlem. There she was assigned to the medical cadre and the breakfast program. She spoke about the flaws of the Party, predominantly how enough effort was not put into educating all Party members, and how some members did not understand the importance of organizing with other Black organizations. She stressed how important education was for any successful movement or organization.
Assata speaks about her friendship with Zayd who was a Minister of Information at the Party, of how he didn’t put on the macho bravado, how he pushed her out of her comfort zones and of how open and frank she could be with him. Zayd comes across as a safe space for Assata.
Assata also outlined some of the biggest problems she sees associated with the Black Panther Party, the negative media attention, the growing rate of the Party (particularly being unable to educate the new members), the handling of criticism within the Party and the attack by the u.s. government. She documents the moments where she felt chaos begin to emanate- the Party began to receive word of planned attacks or invasions by the FBI; fear and paranoia began to run rampant within the Party and longstanding members were being expelled from the Party. She also speaks about things not sitting right with her and feeling like she was being watched. It was not until years later that members would learn of the FBI COINTELPRO program which was designed to infiltrate and turn members of Black organizations against each other.
Not long after leaving the Party, Assata is forced underground.
Movement through Prison and Legal System
Assata very briefly speaks on the incident that lead to the murder of Zayd Shakur on the New Jersey Turnpike and her arrest and movement through he anmerikan prison and kourt system. Assata had been travelling with Zayd and Sundiata, when they had been pulled over for a broken tail light only yards away from the Turnpike Authority Administration building. She discloses how the officers as well as the medical responders had waited before removing an injured Assata to the hospital, in hope that she would die. Assata believed that she would have been paralyzed from her injury. She also details being questioned and tormented by the staff and officers at the hospital and being taken to and left near Zayd’s body. For days she was not allowed to contact anyone and had been told they had not been able to reach her lawyer.
Shakur crossed paths with many people while in prison, many of whom were blacks or hispanics. In the 70s, prisons were a goldmine camp for minority groups. They claimed slavery was abolished but they only reconstructed it into a legal system and branded it as a force to protect the people. One day a master, next an officer draped in a uniform with a badge and the law behind him.
As someone reading this book for the first time, I was shocked to uncover the truth of the inhumane treatment Shakur experienced while incarcerated in amerikan prisons. Shakur tells us how she was beaten and tortured and kept in solitary confinement. She was denied adequate healthcare during her whole pregnancy. The negligence is both horrific and graphic. Guilty or not, no human being should undergo such treatments. But Assata demonstrated strength. She was fearless, shouting down guards and judges and demanding her rights. I loved how the women exhibited in this book were strong, powerful struggling to fight a system that was working against them.
The portrayal of black and brown people as lesser, sub human, steams from slavery. History is full of the vilification of ethnic groups for the benefit of another. This continuation of dehumanizing ethnic groups is a recycled technique to make another group seem superior and more advanced. It is reinforced by institutions and platforms such as the media. Which acts as a tool of oppression to construct ethnic groups as folk devils with the intention to create a moral panic and attach all these negative stigmas onto black and brown people.
During Shakur's manhunt her face was plastered all around amerika. While In federal prison a few inmates revealed they had seen Shakur on wanted posters and her pictures on TV but were apprehensive since they didn’t fully recognise her straight away.
‘When I saw your picture I thought you were much bigger. And much Blacker, too”.
“ Bad as them papers said you was, I just knew you had to look bad. And here you are, just a little ole thing”.
This is how the system continues to operate and work against under represented groups. Prisons are a reflection of how corrupted the system truly is. Things that they made illegal are things you associate with people who had no rights to equal education and weren’t getting paid enough to eat therefore were pushed into illegitimate crime to stay afloat. Many of the women were arrested for petty crimes. Crime that would have awarded white women with a slap on the wrists with no jail time.
“there was absolutely no justice whatsoever for Black people in amerika.”
Reading this book I understand Shakur’s frustration and anger, I understand why she was a communist, a radical, I understand why she believed in the armed struggle and how non violence was a sham because her experience as a young black women in the united states of amerika, she saw first hand what was happening to her peers, family and friends.
‘Black revolutionaries do not drop from the moon. We are created by our conditions. Shaped by our oppression.’
It is important for stories such as this to be told. We can not rely on the education system to teach our children the black experience. I am sure many of us can relate to Shakur’s school experience, with our culture and history being dismissed or even fabricated. Shakur’s addresses the misconception about leaders such as Abraham Lincoln who was painted as the liberator of slaves in schools and universities. while in fact, in August 1862, Lincoln stated: “If I could save the union without freeing any slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that.”
We need to dismantle these false narratives and untrue ideas that only white people contribute substantially to cultural, scientific, legal and other advances. By sharing true stories we have a chance to eradicate not only racist behaviour but also racist thoughts. We are able to expand our understanding of history to include all who play a role in it.
Reading Shakur’s autobiography I was able to live history through her eyes and experiences. Her words made history real for me, so painful but also celebratory.
