Invisible Leaders: Assata Shakur

A story about a civil rights activist who became the FBI’s most wanted 

Dominic Urquidez / Asst. Feature Editor / The USD Vista

Activist, political refugee, and relative to famed rapper Tupac Shakur, Assata Shakur lived a life of resistance. She was born on July 16, 1947, in Queens, New York to the name Joanne Deborah Byron, and later moved to North Carolina with her grandparents. Shakur grew up in a time of Jim Crow laws and signs that read “Whites Only” or “Colored Only.”

Due to the racism and prejudice that not only she but also her grandparents experienced, they made sure she practiced personal dignity and respect. The values instilled in her at a young age helped pave the way for her fight against racial inequality. 

Shakur’s radicalization for Black liberation started during her college years in the mid-60s. She first enrolled in Borough of Manhattan Community College before transferring to City College of New York. She was introduced to many Black nationalist organizations which had a tremendous influence on her activism. One such group included the Golden Drums society, where she learned about many Black historical figures who pushed back against racial subjugation and social violence.

She also interacted with various activist groups that challenged the Vietnam War and supported the Black liberation movements. In the 1970s, she joined the Black Panther Party (BPP) in New York. After growing more and more critical of the party due to what she believed was the lack of a systematic approach to political education, Shakur left the party and joined the Black Liberation Army (BLA) shortly after. The group called for revolutionary change through self-determination, anti-racist laws, and equality for all oppressed people. 

In the 1970s she decided to change her name. Originally Joanne Deborah Byron, she felt bothered by her name, as if it did not belong to her. She mentioned in her autobiography that her soul, mind, and heart had returned to Africa, but her name was connected to Europe. For this reason, to reclaim her autonomy she changed her name to Assata, which is derived from the Arabic name Aisha (“she who struggles”), Olugbala, which can be traced to the Yoruba language (“love for the people”), Shakur, which is also Arabic (“the thankful one”).

As someone who advocated for self-determination and the end of capitalistic exploitation, racist policy, sexism, and political repression, she was deemed dangerous by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and became a victim to COINTELPRO, a list of those who were seen as suspicious by the U.S. government. Many of the people on that list were people fighting for civil rights such as Fred Hampton, other members of the Black Panther Party, and Martin Luther King Jr. She was spied on by the FBI and was deemed a threat to the structures of society that upheld white supremacy. 

Assistant Professor of Sociology at USD, Odilka Santiago, discussed the implications of labeling her a domestic terrorist. She argues that doing so can be harmful as it teaches people that structural change is dangerous and should be avoided. 

“Calling her a terrorist, labeling her a terrorist, is an attempt to dismantle radical politics and I think that is a very dangerous thing to do with young people, especially those who are learning about what is anti-exploitation and what does anti-oppression look like,” Santiago said. 

Between the years 1971 to 1973, Shakur was alleged to have committed a multitude of crimes including bank robberies, kidnapping, and attempted murder. However, all these charges were acquitted or dismissed. The incident that made a huge impact on her life occurred on May 2, 1973.

Shakur was riding in a car with other Black Liberation Army members, Zayd Malik Shakur and Sundiata Acoli, when they were pulled over on the New Jersey Turnpike for allegedly driving with a faulty rear light. What was originally a routine traffic violation quickly turned into a shoot-out where Shakur was shot in the back and her friend Zayd Malik was killed along with Trooper Foerster. 

“She was severely injured to the point where she was hospitalized afterward, she was shot by police from the back, which shows you that she couldn’t have killed a police officer execution-style,” Santiago said. “She had no gun residue, there’s no physical evidence to show that she actually did it.”

In the days that followed, Shakur was not allowed to call a lawyer, her food was spat in, and the body of Zayd Malik was left next to her. After four years of being incarcerated, her case was brought to court in 1977. Though the Constitution demands a fair trial for all citizens, it was anything but that. 

The jurors consisted of twelve white men, two of whom were shown to have expressed prejudice before the case even started. There was also evidence that the office of the defense team was bugged, and materials correlating to her case went missing and were later found with the New York City police. In only 24 hours, the jury found her guilty on one account of murder and six assault charges. She was sentenced to life in prison. 

After spending two years in prison, Shakur escaped in 1979 with the help of BLA members who pretended to be visitors. She escaped to Cuba where she now lives in political exile. On the 40th anniversary of Troop Foerster’s death in 2013, the FBI placed her on the Most Wanted list and increased her bounty to $2 million. This made her the first woman and the second domestic terrorist to be on the list. 

“The way that education in this country generally works is that you’re not taught any kind of information to radicalize you,” Santiago said. “And when I say radicalize students and young people, it means to challenge current structures of power.” 

Despite having a case that deemed her guilty before it even started, Shakur’s name is one to be remembered as her story explains the biases and racism that fill the criminal justice systems. Shakur’s legacy highlights the effort needed to be done in order to create a society that is not only equal but equitable as well. Though her case is overlooked, it should be recognized as it is filled with knowledge that can bring to light the current injustices within the systems of authority, specifically the policies that rely on the exploitation of oppressed people. 

“I think she’s an important hidden figure to Black history because, one, she still is a symbol of the current struggle that we have today which is that we still haven’t, we still are dealing with racism in this country, sexism, oppressions of many people,” said Santiago. “The criminalization of Assata Shakur is really a sign that we still have a lot of work to do.”

Although Black History Month celebrates Black history for a month, the impact of Black history is important every month of the year. It is important to honor the activists who have been taught in our education systems, yet they should not be alone in their celebration. It is also necessary to research the leaders who helped get the spokespeople to where they were and to value them for their own contributions.