Assata Shakur
Assata Olugbala Shakur (born July 16, 1947, as JoAnne Deborah Byron, married name Chesimard) is an African-American activist and escaped convict who was a member of the Black Panther Party (BPP) and Black Liberation Army (BLA). Between 1971 and 1973, Shakur was accused of several crimes and made the subject of a multi-state manhunt.
In May 1973 Shakur was involved in a shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike, during which New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster and BLA member Zayd Malik Shakur were killed and Shakur and Trooper James Harper were wounded. Between 1973 and 1977, Shakur was indicted in relation to six other alleged criminal incidents—charged with murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, bank robbery, and kidnapping—resulting in three acquittals and three dismissals. In 1977, she was convicted of the first-degree murder of Foerster and of seven other felonies related to the shootout.
Shakur was then incarcerated in several prisons, where her treatment drew criticism from some human rights groups. She escaped from prison in 1979 and has been living in Cuba in political asylum since 1984. Since May 2, 2005, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has classified her as a "domestic terrorist" and offered a $1 million reward for assistance in her capture. Attempts to extradite her have resulted in letters to the Pope and a Congressional resolution. Shakur is the step-aunt of the deceased hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur, the stepson of her brother Mutulu Shakur. Her life has been portrayed in literature, film and song.
Read more about Assata Shakur: Early Life, Allegations and Manhunt, New Jersey Turnpike Shootout, Criminal Charges and Dispositions, Imprisonment, Escape, Political Asylum in Cuba, Cultural Impact
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... A documentary film about Shakur, Eyes of the Rainbow, written and directed by Cuban filmmaker Gloria Rolando, appeared in 1997 ... the professional organizations and entertainers to support Assata Shakur The "Hands Off Assata" campaign is organized by Dream Hampton ... Digable Planets, Paris ("Assata's Song"), Public Enemy, and X-Clan have recorded similar songs about Shakur ...
... In another high-profile incident, Assata Shakur, Zayd Shakur and Sundiata Acoli were said to have opened fire on state troopers in New Jersey after being pulled ... Zayd Shakur and state trooper Werner Foerster were both killed during the exchange ... Following her capture, Assata Shakur was tried in six different criminal trials ...
2006, include the following Clark Edward Squire (aka Sundiata Acoli), convicted along with Assata Shakur of the murder of a New Jersey state trooper in ... Jeral Wayne Williams (aka Mutulu Shakur), charged in part with conspiracy in 1979 BLA prison break of Chesimard (Assata Shakur), FBI's top ten Fugitive #380. 2000 as no longer meeting criteria} Assata Shakur, fugitive from justice and currently in Havana, Cuba ...