A CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE OF ASSATA SHAKUR

(Born 1-16-1947 in New York and Transcended 9-25-2025 in Havana Cuba)

The following materials were gleaned from various sources online.  It is important to note that there are basically two versions of her life.  The version from a Black perspective which acknowledges racism’s role in her life and the version told by racists and racist supporters.  For Melanics (People of Color), it is critical that we realize that there are always at least two stories.  What we know is that racist white people lie and cause harm to Melanics, especially Blacks.  The more you agree with and look like white people the less harm and the more opportunities you receive-usually.  The depth of pathology that racists possess has been attempted to be covered up.  Little by little, the light of truth, Ma’at is revealed.  The experiences of Assata Shakur is not unlike others of our people.  We have the known and the unknown.  The best rule of thumb is to be aware that racists will do what Byron Allen calls the “4 Ds”: Dismiss, Discredit, Demonize, and Destroy us.  If ignoring, hiding what we do does not work then, we will be discredited.  If that does not work, we will be demonized.  Finally, racists will find a way to destroy us. Think about our heroes, sheroes, history, and herstory.  White people said we should not like Nat Turner,  Malcolm X, or Assata Shakur.  All of them were fighting for our freedom.  Use this information to more accurately assess Blacks, especially in the media.  We have been colonized.  We must decolonize ourselves.  Below you will read a decolonized version of the escape from enslavement (slavery is legal in prison) and courage of Assata Shakur.

Blacks admire Assata Shakur for her dedication to Black Liberation and view her as a revolutionary freedom fighter who fought against racism, capitalism and state oppression. Her involvement in community programs like the Black Panther Party’s Free Breakfast for Children and her influential autobiography have inspired many to continue the fight for freedom and self-determination. Her story is seen by supporters as a symbol of resistance against a corrupt, unjust, and racist system. 

Contributions and activism

• Community organizing: Shakur was an active member of the Black Panther Party, where she contributed to community programs like the Free Breakfast for Children program.

• Revolutionary thought: She dedicated herself to studying the struggles of oppressed people globally and developed a strong anti-capitalist worldview, which is still influential in revolutionary spaces today.

• Influential writing: Her autobiography is considered a significant text that has influenced many people by providing a framework for understanding oppression and inspiring resistance. 

Symbol of resistance

• Opposing the justice system: She is viewed by many as a victim of a racist and unjust criminal justice system. Her escape to Cuba and continued work in exile are seen as a powerful act of defiance against state repression.

• Inspiration for generations: Her courage and commitment to fighting for freedom have made her a hero and a symbol of perseverance for many Black people and other oppressed groups, particularly for women in activism.

• Legacy in culture: Her life has inspired artists and cultural figures, including rapper Tupac Shakur for whom she was a godmother, and the movie Queen & Slim.

Members of the Black community who admire Assata Shakur view her as a symbol of Black liberation and resistance against state repression and systemic racism. This perspective stems from her role as a prominent activist in the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army, the circumstances surrounding her conviction, and her defiant stance against what supporters consider an unjust system. Her story is complex and controversial, but supporters cite several reasons for their admiration: 

Symbol of resilience and resistance

• Embodiment of Black liberation. For many, Shakur represents unwavering courage and intellectual defiance against the forces of systemic oppression and injustice. Her autobiography and outspoken activism are seen as a powerful testament to the struggle for Black empowerment.

• Modern-day "escaped slave." Supporters, including Shakur herself, frame her 1979 prison escape and subsequent asylum in Cuba as an act of resistance against a racist and politically repressive system. This is seen as a rejection of an American legal system that often denies justice to Black people.

• Inspiration for protest. Her story and writings have influenced generations of activists, including those in the Black Lives Matter movement. Her famous quote, "It is our duty to fight for our freedom," has become a rallying cry for self-determination and unapologetic resistance. 

 

An Open Letter From Assata Shakur - Hood Communist

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"Mar 7, 2024 My name is Assata Shakur, and I am a 20th century escaped slave. Because of government persecution, I was left with no ..." Read more on hoodcommunist.com

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Assata Shakur was a Black Revolutionary who fought for freedom even in exile.

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Distrust of the justice system

• Target of COINTELPRO. Shakur's legal case occurred during the FBI's counterintelligence program (COINTELPRO), which sought to discredit and dismantle Black liberation movements. For many supporters, this context provides evidence that she was a political target whose prosecution was politically motivated.

• Questionable evidence. During her trial for the murder of a New Jersey State Trooper, medical evidence showed that she had her hands up when she was shot. She has always maintained her innocence in the shooting. This, combined with the wider context of state-sanctioned harassment, fuels the view that she was unjustly convicted. 

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Cultural influence

• Hip-hop icon. Shakur's status as the godmother of the late rapper Tupac Shakur and her embrace by the hip-hop community cemented her cultural legacy. Artists like Common and Public Enemy have referenced her in their music, honoring her defiance against systemic oppression and reinforcing her status as a folk hero.

• Black feminist agency. Shakur's unapologetic stance and leadership as a Black woman in the movement are widely celebrated. She is viewed as a pioneer who broke barriers in activism and demonstrated powerful Black feminist agency. 

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Colonized Views of Assata Shakur

It is important to note that perspectives on Assata Shakur vary widely, and her legacy is highly controversial, particularly among law enforcement and some segments of the public. She was on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list, and many racist whites and racist supporters believe she was justly convicted for her crimes. However, for those in the Black community who view her as a hero, these criticisms are often seen as further evidence of an oppressive and racist system trying to silence a freedom fighter. 

• Domini Hoskins Black History Museum & Learning Center

Sep 26, 2025 — Assata Shakur stands as a powerful symbol of resistance, intellect, and unwavering commitment to Black liberation. As ...

• The Assata Alignment - WURD Radio

Oct 13, 2025 — By Dr. James Peterson | WURD Radio * As a central figure in both the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army... Read more at Wurdradio.com)

• Assata Shakur: on race and racism - openDemocracy

Oct 5, 2014 — What Assata couldn't have known whilst writing these words, was that those Black middle classes would go on to birth (Read more at openDemocracy.com)

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​MAY SHE REST IN POWER

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WHY BLACK PEOPLE SHOULD NOT CELEBRATE EUROPEAN/WHITE HOLIDAYS

BLACK/AFRIKAN PEOPLE AND EUROPEAN HOLIDAYS

By

Ayo Maria Casey Gooden, Ph.D., ABPBC, LLC

 

Holidays are an important part of teaching cultural values.  A holiday is a celebration of an event which is valuable to use by a collective group of people.  Through celebrating holidays, children learn what is valuable and correct as well as what is not.  African people in the United States (or people of African ancestry whether called Black, African Americans, Afro-Americans, Colored, or Negroes) have been celebrating European holidays.  This is a direct consequence of being removed from our native land-Africa (Afrika, Alkebu-lan) and being prevented from maintaining our cultural ties with Africa.  What many people do not realize is that many of the European holidays have been built around untruths or lies.  This miseducation has hurt all people and has derived from racism (Discrimination against Melanics-or People of Color and the power to enforce it against an entire group of people).  Let us look at some of the romanticized holidays:

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Independence Day (4th of July) – People commonly refer to this day as the day “we” won “our” freedom.  The 4th of July was the day the Europeans, in what is now called the United States won “their” freedom from their European relatives in 1776.  Africans were still enslaved by these same free Europeans.  Indigenous People in American (commonly referred to as Indians) were being pushed off their land and those who were not killed by bullets or biological warfare (smallpox was intentionally given to Native Americans- to kill them) were forced onto reservations (The most barren lands white people could find.).

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Columbus Day – Anyone can tell you “Columbus discovered America.”  However, very few people can tell you that this Italian Jew was lost and just as his crew was about to mutiny, he sighted land.  Not America, but Espanola, now called Haiti and the Dominica Republic.  You cannot “discover” a land already inhabited.  You can be an invader.  Reporting that Columbus discovered America is like me finding your house and “discovering” it and claiming it as mine.  Columbus never set foot on North or South America and when he talked to the people native to Espanola, he was told that black skinned people had been there trading with them for many years.  The queen who approved his stealing “for her,” imprisoned Columbus because he was also stealing from her-a fact that seldom makes it into history books.  He did contribute to the beginning of the slave trade.  Columbus was a thief, rapist and mass murderer-killing over 8 million men, women, and children in 50 years.

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Thanksgiving – Described as the day the Pilgrims, “Sat down in peace with the Native Americans and ate a turkey dinner.”  Actually, Thanksgiving is a holiday created in response to the massacre of the Indigenous People (referred to as “savages” by the Pilgrims and in the Constitution) by the Pilgrims and as they described it, the deliverance of a new homeland from the “heathen savages.”  This should be a “National Day of Mourning” for Indigenous People who were tortured, raped, massacred, had almost all of their treaties broken, and were forced to assimilate through boarding schools that committed many atrocities (pedophilia, physical abuse, torture, rape, and murder).

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Halloween – “Trick-or-Treat” and dressing up in costumes highlights this European/white holiday.  Halloween is actually the holiest day for Satan worshippers.  It is the day of “blood and sacrifice.”  The razor blades placed in candy and apples are consistent with the true purpose of this evil holiday.  In the field of psychology, dissociative identity disorder (formerly called multiple personality disorder) has been linked to satanic rituals-many of which are performed on Halloween.

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Christmas-The day of the savior’s birth.  Well not quite.  Christmas is actually the day Nimrod was born (Read your Bibles!). Jesus was not born in December.  Nimrod was wicked and promised to return. He commanded his followers to place lights on the evergreen tree and to bring him presents.   Nimrod vowed that with his return would come grief, selfishness, greed, and a preoccupation with the material.  Does this ring any bells?  (No pun intended).

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Valentine’s Day – Valentine’s Day is the day we give a heart to the one we love.  Giving hearts is a tradition that was started by the Roman Emperor Constantine who had a preference for male lovers and forbade any marriages.  St. Valentine was secretly performing marriage ceremonies.  Once Constantine learned of this violation of his orders, he demanded that St. Valentine be killed and that his heart be brought to him.  Constantine reportedly ate St. Valentine’s heart!

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Washington’s Birthday-The first president of the United States and the “Father of American Freedom.” Washington was an  enslaver who raped and abused many Blacks.  He also fathered many African children.  He caught pneumonia while exercising his “enslaver’s rights” to sexually abuse an African woman he had as “chattel slave.”  Washington later died from pneumonia, and that’s no lie!

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St. Patrick’s Day- St. Pat was famous for killing the snakes in Ireland.  Scientists have documented that there is no history of snakes ever inhabiting Ireland.  St. Patrick actually killed African people who wore the symbol of snakes on their heads like the ancient Kemetans/Kmtns (Egyptians).

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Good Friday – The day Jesus died for our sins.  Jesus was an Abyssinian.  Abyssinia is Ethiopia.  Jesus was Black (African).  The persecutors of Jesus were the Romans, who were Europeans (Whites/Caucasians). There is a saying among racist Europeans, “The only good nigger is a dead nigger.”  Thus, we see why the day Jesus was murdered was a “good” day.  Shouldn’t the day Jesus was resurrected be the good day?  Think about it.

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I could go on but space does not permit.  I am sure you get the message.  As one of my heros, El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X), stated, “The language and logic of the oppressor cannot be the language and the logic of the oppressed.”  So, what can we as African/Black people celebrate?  Our African heroes and sheroes such as Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Queen Nzingha, Harriet Tubman, Nelson and Winnie Mandela.  Celebrate them by continuing the work of those who are now our warrior ancestors and support those who are still living and working who need our help.

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Celebrate the following Black Holidays:

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• January 1 – Emancipation Proclamation Lincoln revealed on September 22, 1862 that he would free those African people in the 11 states that seceded from the Union. The states that belonged to the Union did NOT free the enslaved African people.

• January 15 – Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday Third Monday in January – National Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday-whether or not white people sanction it.

• January 31-13th Amendment On December 6, 1865, Congress abolished enslavement in all states (except in prisions).

• February-Black History Month The “Father of Black History”, Dr. Carter G. Woodson started with a week in 1926.  It was increased to a month in 1976.  Black history must be taught every day in every school and business all year round.

• February 21 –Assassination of Malcolm X El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X) was assassinated in 1965.

• May 19 – Malcolm X’s Birthday Born on May 19 in 1925.  He was murdered on February 21, 1965.  He spoke out against racism and urged Blacks to work together to create Black sufficiency and to heal from the effects of racism.

• May 25 – African Liberation Day A day to remind us that all Blacks on the planet have the same struggle against racism (white people with the power to discriminate against Melanics).

• June 19 – Juneteenth Also known as Emancipation Day, Jun Jun and Freedom Day.  When Blacks in the United States heard the news of freedom from enslavement in June 1865. Some Blacks were kept from knowing they were legally free (see the movie Alice with singer Common)

• November 28-Umoja Karamu Unity feast celebrated the 4th Sunday of November to promote family unity.

• Dec. 26 – Jan. 1 – Kwanzaa.  A celebration of our African roots, present accomplishments and future goals.

Learn more about your African Heritage. For example, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, from an African perspective is the day parents’ bring a child into the world.  This means that if you have 5 children, you celebrate their birthdays as Mother’s, Father’s, Grandparent’s, Aunt’s, and Uncle’s Day, etc.  It makes a lot of sense. Doesn’t it?  Read more in Afrikan People and European Holidays: A Mental Genocide, book I and II by Rev. Ishakamusa Barashango and African Holidays by James Anyike.

 

Famous People who were born in October:

 

Pioneers in psychology

• Mamie Phipps Clark (October 18, 1917–1983): A social psychologist who, along with her husband, Kenneth Clark, conducted groundbreaking research on the effects of racial segregation on children. Their "doll studies" were instrumental in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case, which ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional.

• Herman George Canady (October 9, 1901–1970): A social psychologist and the first psychologist to research the impact of the race of a test administrator as a bias factor in IQ tests. His work drew attention to the influence of cultural differences on test results. 

 

Contemporary psychologists

• Carl Hart (October 30, 1966–present): A professor of psychology and neuroscience at Columbia University. He is known for his research on drug abuse and addiction, as well as his advocacy for the legalization of recreational drugs. He was the first tenured Black professor of sciences at Columbia University. 

 

Others Born in October 

• Bruno Mars: (born October 8): An American singer, songwriter, and record producer.

• Jesse Jackson: (born October 8): An influential American civil rights leader and activist.

• Allen Iverson: (born October 7): A former American professional basketball player and NBA MVP.

• Snoop Dogg: (born October 20): An American rapper and actor.

• Cardi B: The Grammy-winning rapper and television personality was born on October 11, 1992.

• Ciara: The singer, dancer, and actress was born on October 25, 1985.

• Usher: The R&B singer, songwriter, and dancer was born on October 14, 1978.

• Toni Braxton: The Grammy-winning R&B singer was born on October 7, 1967.

• Gabrielle Union: The actress and activist was born on October 29, 1972.

• Tracee Ellis Ross: The actress, singer, and television host was born on October 29, 1972.

• Ethel Waters: The celebrated singer and actress was born on October 31, 1896. 

 

Politics and activism

• Kamala Harris: The first Black and South Asian Vice President of the United States was born on October 20, 1964.

• Jesse Jackson: The civil rights activist and politician was born on October 8, 1941.

• Fannie Lou Hamer: The voting rights activist was born on October 6, 1917. 

 

Sports

• Jerry Rice: The Hall of Fame football wide receiver was born on October 13, 1962.

• Evander Holyfield: The former professional boxer was born on October 19, 1962.

• Mae Jemison: The first Black woman to travel to space was born on October 17, 1956. Transitioned (Joined the Ancestors) in October

• Tasha Butts: The former basketball player and coach died of breast cancer on October 22, 2023. 

 

Entertainment

• John Witherspoon: The beloved comedian and actor, known for his role in the Friday series, died on October 29, 2019.

• Richard Roundtree: The actor famous for playing the lead role in the movie Shaft died on October 24, 2023.

• Kimberly Hébert Gregory: The actress known for her role in HBO's Vice Principals died on October 3, 2025.

• Cissy Houston: The Grammy-winning gospel singer and mother of Whitney Houston, died on October 7, 2024​

 

Politics and Civil Rights

• Colin Powell: The first Black U.S. Secretary of State and a retired four-star general, Powell died on October 18, 2021, from complications related to COVID-19.

• John Conyers Jr.: A founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus and one of the longest-serving members of Congress, Conyers died on October 27, 2019.

• Grace Lee Boggs: A writer, social activist, and feminist, Boggs died at the age of 100 on October 5, 2015. She was known for her decades-long fight for civil rights, labor, and the environment.

• Elijah Cummings: The civil rights advocate and U.S. Congressman from Maryland died in October 2019.

• Hughes Van Ellis: A survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre, Van Ellis died on October 9, 2023, at the age of 102. 

 Let us know your birthdays/earthdays so we can acknowledge you.

 

Remember Next Month to Vote

Our current political conditions are due to those who did not vote and those who voted for the wrong person.  Do not keep making the same mistakes expecting different results!

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