Two decades ago Assata Shakur was described as "the soul of the Black Liberation Army (BLA)," an underground, black liberation group that emerged following the COINTELPRO led destruction of east coast chapters of the Black Panther Party. Among her closest political comrades was Ahfeni Shakur, mother of now slain rap artist Tupac Shakur. mother. Forced underground in 1971, by charges that were later proved false, Assata was accused of being the "bandit queen" of the BLA; the "mother hen who kept them together, kept them moving, kept them shooting." The BLA's alleged actions included: assassinating almost ten police officers, kidnapping drug dealers (one of whom turned out to be an FBI agent), and robbing banks from coast to coast.
Throughout 1971 and 1972 "Assata sightings" and wild speculation about her deeds were a headline mainstay for New York tabloids. Then, in 1973, Shakur and two friends were pulled over by state troopers on the New Jersey Turnpike. During the stop, shooting erupted. A trooper and one alleged BLA member, Zayd Shakur, were killed, another trooper was slightly hurt and Assata was severely wounded by a blast of police gunfire. The third person in the car, Sundiata Acoli, is still serving time over 20 years later and has recently been denied parole for another 20 years. Left to die in a paddy wagon, she survived only to endure beatings at the hands of police as she lay near death in the hospital. She was eventually charged for the trooper's death, which she vehemently denied, and sentenced to life in prison.
During the next six years Assata spent a great deal of time in solitary confinement. To her credit Shakur beat a half dozen other indictments. After almost a year in a West Virginia federal prison for women, where she was purposefully surrounded by white supremacists from the Aryan Sisterhood prison gang, Shakur was transferred to the maximum security wing of the Clinton Correctional Center in New Jersey. In 1979, after giving birth in prison only to have her daughter taken away in less than a week, Assata Shakur managed one of the most impressive jailbreaks of the era. For the next five years authorities hunted in vain but Shakur seemed to simply have vanished. Numerous other alleged BLA cadre were arrested during those years, including Tupac Shakur's uncle, Mutula Shakur. In 1984 word came from 90 miles off the coast of Florida. The FBI's most wanted female fugitive was living in Cuba, working on a masters degree
in political science, writing her autobiography, and raising her daughter. Today Assata remains in exile of US government which has never given up on recapturing her. Thus far US tactics, including an attempt to get the Pope to intervene on their behalf, have failed. Assata remains today an inspiration for many and remains active in struggle for black liberation, commenting frequently on the current socio-political state of the global black community. (Photo and Information courtesy of Assata Shakur: An Autobiography by Assata Shakur and Assata Shakur by Gloria Rolando on the AfroCuba Web.)
Electronic Version of 1998 Interview with Assata Shakur about the Pope's Visit to Cuba