Assata Olugbala Shakur is an Black civil rights activist who was a member of the Black Panther Party (BPP) and Black Liberation Army (BLA). Sex: Female Race: Black Citizenship: American Scars . One issue that was not raised publicly during his visit was the fate of Assata Shakur, the legendary figure within the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army who now lives in Cuba . "No Checking Was Done On Chesimard 'Visitors'; Identification Required of Visitors Security Review Ordered". [219], On May 2, 2005, the 32nd anniversary of the Turnpike shootings, the FBI classified her as a domestic terrorist, increasing the reward for assistance in her capture to $1million,[193][220] the largest reward placed on an individual in the history of New Jersey. He felt it was intended to insult him, as she had killed an officer, and was "racist in nature". [81][82] Seven other BLA members were indicted by District Attorney Eugene Gold in connection with the series of holdups and shootings on the same day,[84] whoaccording to Goldrepresented the "top echelon" of the BLA as determined by a year-long investigation. Assata spent six and a half years in prison under brutal circumstances before escaping out of the maximum security wing of the Clinton Correctional Facility for Women in New Jersey in 1979 and moving to . Shakur herself was called as a witness on March 15, the first witness called by the defense; she denied shooting either Harper or Foerster, and also denied handling a weapon during the incident. Assata Olugbala Shakur (born JoAnne Deborah Byron; July 16, 1947[a]) is an American political activist who was a member of the Black Liberation Army (BLA). Tupac's aunt is Assata Shakur, the political activist and former Black Liberation Army member who escaped prison and fled to Cuba after she was convicted for the 1977 murder of a New. Wilfredo, Cancio Isla (December 18, 2007). Following her parents' divorce in 1950, she moved with her mother and maternal grandparents to Wilmington, North Carolina. Last week, it. Director and Others to Testify on Program Aimed at Harassing Activists". "[225] In 2013, the FBI announced it had added Shakur to its list of 'most wanted terrorists', the first time that a woman was so designated. [70] Shakur admitted to carrying an identification card with the name "Justine Henderson" in her billfold the night of the shootout, but denied using any of the aliases on the long list that Barone proceeded to read. ", Waggoner, Walter H. (February 14, 1977). She said she was taught a sugar-coated version of history that ignored the oppression suffered by people of color, especially in the United States. Between 1971 and 1973, she was charged with several crimes and was the subject of a multi-state manhunt. "Cuba seeks deals with US to fight terror, migrant smuggling". (1975). [201] Her autobiography was republished in Britain in 2014[129] and a dramatized version performed on BBC Radio 4 in July 2017.[209]. [81] A contemporary New York Times editorial criticized Williams for failing to maintain courtroom "decorum," comparing her actions to William Kunstler's recent contempt conviction for his actions during the "Chicago Seven" trial. [76], During an interview, Assata Shakur discussed her treatment by the police and medical staff at Middlesex General Hospital. [9] [147] Until obtaining a court order, Kunstler was forced to strip naked and undergo a body search before each visit with Shakurduring which Shakur was shackled to a bed by both ankles. State correction officials disclosed in November 1979 that they had not run identity checks on Shakur's visitors[190] and that the three men and one woman who assisted in her escape had presented false identification to enter the prison's visitor room,[191] before which they were not searched. [202] She has praised Fidel Castro as a "hero of the oppressed"[12] and referred to herself as a "20th century escaped slave". [58][60] Recordings of Trooper Harper calling the dispatcher were played at the trials of both Acoli and Assata Shakur. [238] According to Dylan Rodriguez, to many "U.S. radicals and revolutionaries" Shakur represents a "venerated (if sometimes fetishized) signification of liberatory desire and possibility". [62], In December 1973, Shakur was tried for a September 29, 1972, $3,700 robbery of the Manufacturer's Hanover Trust Company in the Bronx, along with co-defendant Kamau Sadiki (born Fred Hilton). If one were to examine, closely, the hegemonic discourses of black American history, one would be surprised to . For the book, see, Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army, Howell, Ron (October 11, 1987) "'On the Run With Assata Shakur' -, "Hands Off Assata Shakur: Angela Davis Calls for Radical Activism to Protect Activist Exiled in Cuba. While serving a life sentence for murder, Shakur escaped in 1979, with assistance from the BLA and members of the May 19 Communist Organization, from the Clinton Correctional Facility for Women in Union Township, NJ, now the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women. Born on July 16, 1947 in Queens, New York City, Assata Shakur's age is 69. On May 2, 1973, Chesimard, who was part of a revolutionary extremist organization known as the Black Liberation Army, and two accomplices were stopped for a motor vehicle violation on the New. [203], In 1987, she published Assata: An Autobiography, which was written in Cuba. [176] At Alderson, Shakur was housed in the Maximum Security Unit, which also contained several members of the Aryan Sisterhood as well as Sandra Good and Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, followers of Charles Manson. [105] New Jersey Superior Court Judge Leon Gerofsky ordered a change of venue in 1973 from Middlesex to Morris County, New Jersey, saying "it was almost impossible to obtain a jury here comprising people willing to accept the responsibility of impartiality so that defendants will be protected from transitory passion and prejudice. Getty Images Joanne Chesimard, or Assata Shakur, is New Jersey's most wanted fugitive for killing a state trooper and then fleeing to Cuba in 1979. Assata Shakur was born as JoAnne Deborah Byron in 1947, but after getting deep into political activism and fighting to end oppression with the Black Panther Party she changed her "slave name" and adopted the . [171] She was also transferred from the Clinton Correctional Facility for Women to a special area staffed by women guards at the Garden State Youth Correctional Facility, where she was the only female inmate,[172] for "security reasons". Exploring her well-read autobiography last year changed my life. [5][6], Assata Shakur was born Joanne Deborah Byron, in Flushing, Queens, New York City, on July 16, 1947. In July 1973, after being indicted by a grand jury, Shakur pleaded not guilty in Federal Court in Brooklyn to an indictment related to a $7,700 robbery of the Bankers Trust Company bank in Queens on August 31, 1971. $55.00 + $5.55 shipping. Farley, Anthony Paul (Fall 2005). She's an activist, member of the Black Liberation Army, and escaped convicted murderer with a $2 million bounty currently on her head. . Shakur was charged with two bank robberies, the kidnapping of a Brooklyn heroin dealer, the attempted murder of two Queens police officers stemming from a January 23, 1973, failed ambush, and eight other felonies related to the Turnpike shootout. [219] In the letter, Waters explained her opposition, calling COINTELPRO "illegal, clandestine political persecution". 1977) (en banc). [78], On the charges related to the New Jersey Turnpike shootout, New Jersey Superior Court Judge Leon Gerofsky ordered a change of venue in 1973 from Middlesex to Morris County, New Jersey, saying "it was almost impossible to obtain a jury here comprising people willing to accept the responsibility of impartiality so that defendants will be protected from transitory passion and prejudice. [202] Shakur is also known to have worked as an English-language editor for Radio Havana Cuba. One man involved in the killing was still wanted at the time of the arrests. Judge Starkey said, "People have constitutional rights, and you can't shuffle them around. Assata had several warrants for her arrest on charges . [226], In June 2017, President Donald Trump gave a speech "cancelling" the Cuban thaw policies of his predecessor Barack Obama. [62] Judge Appleby also refused to investigate a burglary of her defense counsel's office that resulted in the disappearance of trial documents,[135] amounting to half of the legal papers related to her case. [11] Often there were few or no other black students in her Catholic high school class. Smothers, Ronald (October 24, 1973), "Chesimard Case Gets A Jury Shift". [135][152] A sixteenth female juror was removed before the trial formally opened, when it was determined that Sheriff Joseph DeMarino of Middlesex County, while a private detective several years earlier, had worked for a lawyer who represented the juror's husband. [16], After graduation from CCNY, Shakur moved to Oakland, California, where she joined the Black Panther Party (BPP). Assata Shakur: from civil rights activist to FBI's most-wanted A leading figure in the 70s Black Liberation Army, Shakur was given life for murder in 1977. [213] On March 10, 1998[214] New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman asked Attorney General Janet Reno to do whatever it would take to return Shakur from Cuba. [27], Following an August 23, 1971, bank robbery in Queens, Shakur was sought for questioning. [106] On this basis, Shakur unsuccessfully attempted to remove the trial to federal court. Assata Olugbala Shakurpolitical activist, author, fugitive, and step-aunt of the famed, slain hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur was born JoAnne Deborah Bryon on July 16, 1947 in New York City, New York. [217][218] The Resolution was due in no small part to the lobbying efforts of Governor Whitman and New Jersey Representative Bob Franks. [234] In 2008, a Bucknell University professor included Shakur in a course on "African-American heroes"along with figures such as Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, John Henry, Malcolm X, and Angela Davis. [241], In 2015, Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza writes: "When I use Assata's powerful demand in my organizing work, I always begin by sharing where it comes from, sharing about Assata's significance to the Black Liberation Movement, what its political purpose and message is, and why it's important in our context. "Militant Autobiography: The Case of Assata Shakur," in. . [62] Shakur again attempted to remove the trial to federal court. Middlesex County Ethics Committee v. Garden State Bar Ass'n, 457 U.S. 423 (1982). [99] Kennedy objected to this identification on the grounds that the prosecutor, assistant United States attorney Peter Truebner, had offered to stipulate that Shakur was not depicted in any of the photographs. [12], She was booked on charges of attempted robbery, felonious assault, reckless endangerment, and possession of a deadly weapon, then released on bail. A photograph of a woman (who was later alleged to be Shakur) wearing thick-rimmed black glasses, with a high hairdo pulled tightly over her head, and pointing a gun, was widely displayed in banks. From: Black Liberation Army in Encyclopedia of African American History 1896 to the Present . In 1977, she was convicted in the first-degree murder of State Trooper Werner Foerster during a shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike in 1973. "Mrs. Chesimard Is Ousted Again as 2d Trial for Robbery Begins". Black Liberation activist Assata Shakur was found guilty of killing a police officer in 1977, only to escape prison two years later and become a political refugee in Cuba. [145], Judge Appleby also threatened Kunstler with dismissal and contempt of court after he delivered an October 21, 1976, speech at nearby Rutgers University that in part discussed the upcoming trial,[146] but later ruled that Kunstler could represent Shakur. [193] The Cuban government paid approximately $13 a day toward her living expenses. [185] On November 2, 1979, Shakur escaped the Clinton Correctional Facility for Women in New Jersey, when three members of the Black Liberation Army visiting her drew concealed .45-caliber pistols and a stick of dynamite, seized two correction officers as hostages, commandeered a van and (with the assistance of members of the May 19 Communist Organization) made their escape. U.S. Government Declares $2 Million Bounty For Assata Shakur, Tupac's Godmother, Castro won't hand over killer of N.J. trooper, "Cuba still harbors one of America's most wanted fugitives. [141] The New Jersey Legal Ethics Committee also investigated complaints against Hinds for comparing Shakur's murder trial to "legalized lynching"[142] undertaken by a "kangaroo court". [123] Before the passage of the Resolution, Franks stated: "This escaped murderer now lives a comfortable life in Cuba and has launched a public relations campaign in which she attempts to portray herself as an innocent victim rather than a cold-blooded murderer. [112] On April 26, while Shakur was pregnant,[108] New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne signed an extradition order to move Shakur to New Jersey to face two counts of attempted murder, attempted assault, and possession of dangerous weapons related to the alleged ambush; however, Shakur declined to waive her right to an extradition hearing, and asked for a full hearing before Middlesex County Court Judge John E. Patty Hearst Vintage Original 1975 FBI Wanted Poster Symbionese Liberation Army. "[242], The Chicago Black activist group Assata's Daughters is named in her honor. Also involved in the shootout were New Jersey State Troopers Werner Foerster and James Harper and BLA members Sundiata Acoli and Zayd Malik Shakur. "Police See More Military Arms in Use". They "attempted to tie Assata to every suspected action of the BLA involving a woman". Kaufman, Michael T. (February 9, 1972), "9 in Black 'Army' Are Hunted in Police Assassinations". In May 1973, Shakur was arrested after being wounded in a shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike. [134], Shakur's attorneys sought a new trial on the grounds that one jury member, John McGovern, had violated the jury's sequestration order. At the rally, a statement from Shakur was circulated condemning U.S. prison conditions and calling for an independent "New Afrikan" state. "Mrs. Chesimard Bids U.S. Court Bar Trial Sessions on Her Sabbath". Shakur challenges traditional styles of literary autobiography and offers a perspective on her life that is not easily accessible to the public. Nehanda Abiodun, a radical black nationalist who was charged in the deadly botched robbery of a Brink's armored truck in 1981 and then spent decades as a fugitive in Cuba, a hero to would-be. [77], Between 1973 and 1977, in New York and New Jersey, Shakur was indicted ten times, resulting in seven different criminal trials. [192], At the time of the escape, Kunstler had just started to prepare her appeal. McFadden, Robert D. (February 19, 1972). State Trooper Harper was wounded; Zayd Shakur was killed; State Trooper Foerster was killed. Pace, Eric (December 27, 1971). [70], With gunshot wounds in both arms and a shoulder, Assata Shakur was moved to Middlesex General Hospital under "heavy guard" and was reported to be in "serious condition". Brown,[136] Stanley Cohen (who died of unknown causes early on in the Turnpike trial), Lennox Hinds, Florynce Kennedy, Louis Myers, Laurence Stern, and Evelyn Williams, Shakur's aunt. . In 1979, she escaped from prison and made her way to Cuba, where she was granted political asylum and continues to live today. (2001). ", Seedman, Albert and Peter Hellman. The FBI put out a $2 million bounty for her recapture almost 50 years ago. [63] In his opening statement to a jury, Hamlin said that Acoli shot Foerster with a .38 caliber semiautomatic pistol and used Foerster's own gun to "execute him". After the vehicle was pulled over, two men stepped out of the vehicle and opened fire on NYPD officers John Scarangella and Richard Rainey. ". [115] In November 1974, New York State Supreme Court Justice Peter Farrell dismissed the attempted murder indictment because of insufficient evidence, declaring "The court can only note with disapproval that virtually a year has passed before counsel made an application for the most basic relief permitted by law, namely an attack on the sufficiency of the evidence submitted by the grand jury. [58], According to a New Jersey Police spokesperson, Assata Shakur was on her way to a "new hideout in Philadelphia" and "heading ultimately for Washington". [7] She lived for three years with her mother, school teacher Doris E. Johnson, and retired grandparents, Lula and Frank Hill. [62][183] Amnesty International, however, did not regard Shakur as a former political prisoner. "The Msgr. [149], Shakur testified that Trooper Harper shot her after she raised her arms to comply with his demand. 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