black history
April V. Taylor: Why Is Assata Shakur A Hero To Black People But A Terrorist To The Government
April V. Taylor
According to the United States government, Assata Shakur, born JoAnne Chesimard, is an escaped convicted cop killer and a domestic terrorist, worthy of being placed on the FBI’s “Most Wanted Terrorists” list. Shakur was the first woman to ever be placed on the list, and the state of New Jersey put a $2 million bounty on her head. The United States government has a $1 million bounty out for her.
Authorities want the public to believe that Shakur murdered a New Jersey State trooper in 1973, but many activists, intellectuals, musicians, and perhaps most of all, Black people believe she was framed as a vendetta for being a strong, courageous and fearless woman who embraced her role as a leader in the Black liberation movement. One of the reasons she is considered a hero by so many of her own people is, as Angela Davis put it, a “compassionate human being with an unswerving commitment to justice.”
Even Davis, with the experience of being a revolutionary activist, former political prisoner and ground breaking intellectual, sees heroic qualities in Shakur’s ability to persevere. Shakur, along with many other Black leaders, was targeted by the FBI’s illegal COINTELPRO operation, which sought to “neutralize” Black leaders by monitoring, infiltrating and destroying the social justice movements they led.
Davis sums up Shakur’s heroic perseverance by stating, “Assata was falsely charged on numerous occasions in the United States during the early 1970’s and vilified by the media…charged with armed robbery, bank robbery, kidnap, murder, and attempted murder of a policeman. Although she faced 10 separate legal proceedings, and had already been pronounced guilty by the media, all except one of these trials – the case resulting from her capture – concluded in acquittal, hung jury, or dismissal…under highly questionable circumstances, she was finally convicted of being an accomplice to the murder of a New Jersey state trooper.”
What makes Shakur a hero is not so much the fact that she was a political prisoner or that she was falsely convicted, but that she staged a daring prison break, six years and six months to the day of her being arrested on false charges. Shakur eventually made it to Cuba, surfacing in 1984 and being granted asylum by Fidel Castro. On top of escaping from prison, Shakur was able to get Castro, a man many government officials considered an enemy of democracy and the United States, to grant her asylum.
Rather than allow the United States government to kill her or tp continue to deny her justice under the corrupt American criminal justice system, Shakur fought for her freedom, in much the same way an escaped slave would, eventually being granted her freedom by a man the United States government has tried to paint as a worse oppressor than themselves.
The Cuban people have never wavered in their protection of Shakur. After enduring their own military attacks, assassination attempts, and economic blockades as the U.S. has tried to break the revolutionary process of the Cuban people, there is perhaps no other country in the world who can more strongly identify with Shakur’s conviction of her right to be free from the tyranny imposed by a government who tries, at all costs, to suppress rebellion.
Shakur’s triumph over racial bias is also heroically inspiring for Black people who are forced to deal with implicit and overt racial bias that comes with being Black in America. With the unfolding of a new Civil Rights Movement for a generation born after Shakur’s last days on American soil, Shakur’s ability to not let racial bias define her and to use it as a stepping stone for something greater provides a hope that many young activists cling to, not just for a better future but the for the right to fiercely protect their own dignity and self worth as Black women and men.
The government’s labeling of Shakur as a terrorist is meant to detract from her legitimacy as a leader, as someone who should be admired. Angela Davis again sums up the message that the government and powerful elite are trying to send by labeling Shakur a terrorist. Davis states, “the attack on [Shakur] reflects the logic of terrorism, because it precisely is designed to frighten young people, especially today, who would be involved in the kind of radical activism that might lead to change.”
As a recent Atlanta BlackStar article points out, Shakur may have been just one Black woman, but she, “is a symbol of what it means to be a Black woman who dares to fight back.” Unrepentant in her political beliefs and demand to be free from oppression, Shakur is a symbol of resistance to those who have not allowed her legacy to be whitewashed, dismissed or distorted. As many young Black activists begin to come into their own and find their voices, although decades have passed since Shakur was last in the United States, the conditions of racial and systemic oppression still exist and have the potential to give birth to a million Assata Shakurs.
Activists all over the country invoke Shakur’s strength and courage through hashtags like #AssataTaughtMe and #HandsOffAssata. To an entire generation who only know her through her legacy, her words and presence live on as if she were standing in the streets with us. Thousands of demonstrators and protestors across the country and around the world chant her words as a rallying cry: “It is our duty to fight for our freedom! It is our duty to win! We must love and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”
Mike j
February 27, 2021 at 2:44 pm
Much Love to Assata! She fought a crooked, demonic, corrupt & insane system that has the nerve to call others terrorists! This country is sick with unbelievable gaul! Stay strong Assata and I hope they never catch her, The oppression will end from this system real soon due to a simple yet profound prophecy found @ Dan2:44.
Regina
February 27, 2021 at 4:55 pm
I AM LOYAL TO MY QUEEN MOTHER. The United Snakes of Amerikkka has made it their mission to prove that they wear the white hats and make our Queen Mother wearing the black hat. I hope the Castro Brothers live forever. They are her guardian angels.
Regina
February 27, 2021 at 4:56 pm
@Lester Morrow
Are you finished with your novel? has it been published? What is the title. I want to purchase it.
Michael Jones
April 14, 2021 at 7:29 pm
She is a criminal. Why did she forcefully escape? She deserves what she gets. Don’t believe the hype!
Guillermo Dread
November 11, 2021 at 8:50 pm
Criminal, where do you live?