Assata Shakur

Assata Shakur
Photograph taken in 1977
Born
JoAnne Deborah Byron

(1947-07-16)July 16, 1947
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedSeptember 25, 2025(2025-09-25) (aged 78)
Havana, Cuba
Known forConvicted of murder, one of the FBI's "Most Wanted Terrorists", friend of Afeni Shakur and Mutulu Shakur and often described as their son Tupac Shakur's "godmother" or "step-aunt"
Spouse
Louis Chesimard
​
​
(m. 1967; div. 1970)​
Children1 (Kakuya Shakur)
AllegianceBlack Liberation Army (1970/1–1981)
Black Panther Party (1970)
Conviction(s)
  • First degree murder
  • Atrocious assault and battery
  • Assault and battery against a police officer
  • Assault with a dangerous weapon
  • Assault with intent to kill
  • Illegal possession of a weapon
Criminal penaltyLife sentence
Reward amount
$1,000,000
Capture status
Fugitive
Wanted by
FBI
EscapedNovember 2, 1979;
46 years ago (1979-11-02)

Assata Olugbala Shakur (born JoAnne Deborah Byron; July 16, 1947 – September 25, 2025) was an African-American activist. She was a member of the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army. She was put into prison, but in 1984 she managed to escape. She lived in Havana, Cuba, as a fugitive. She was the first woman to be put on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list.[verification needed] Shakur was the step-aunt of Tupac Shakur, a rapper who was assassinated in 1996.

Early life

Shakur was born in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. She lived there for three years. She then moved to North Carolina with her grandparents. Shakur was arrested for the first time in 1967 for trespassing during a protest.

Activism

In 1971, Shakur joined the Republic of New Afrika and the Black Liberation Army. She chose the name Assata Olugbala Shakur because she felt that her English name was a "slave name." She wrote in her book, "It sounded so strange when people called me Joanne. It really had nothing to do with me. I didn’t feel like no Joanne, or no negro, or no amerikan. I felt like an African woman".

Assata is a West African name from the Arabic name Aisha, which means "she who struggles." Olugbala is from Yoruba and means "savior." Shakur means "thankful one" in Arabic.

Arrests and trials

On April 6, 1971, Shakur was shot in the stomach. She was charged with attempted robbery, felonious assault, reckless endangerment, and possession of a deadly weapon, then released on bail. Between 1973 and 1977 Shakur was charged with two bank robberies, the kidnapping of a Brooklyn heroin dealer, and attempted murder of two Queens police officers. She was put in prison in 1973. On November 2, 1979 she escaped the Clinton Correctional Facility for Women in New Jersey.

Political asylum in Cuba

In 1984, the Cuban government granted political asylum to Shakur. Her daughter Kakuya came to live with her in 1985.

Shakur wrote in a letter that Cuba was "one of the largest, most resistant and most courageous Palenques (Maroon Camps) that has ever existed on the face of this planet".

Death

Shakur died in Havana, Cuba on September 25, 2025, following health problems, at the age of 78.

Notes

  1. ↑ The Federal Bureau of Investigation says that Shakur also said that 19, 1952 was her birthdate.

References

  1. ↑ "Most Wanted Terrorists". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Archived from the original on June 11, 2008. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Cuba still harbors one of America's most wanted fugitives. What happens to Assata Shakur now? - The Washington Post". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  3. ↑ "FBI - Wanted:Assata Shakur". FBI. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  4. ↑ Shakur, Assata. Assata - an autobiography. London: Zed, 2014. Print.
  5. ↑ Van Deburg; William L. (1997). Modern Black Nationalism: From Marcus Garvey to Louis Farrakhan. NYU Press. p. 269. ISBN 0-8147-8789-4. As early as 1973, Shakur referred to Joanne Chesimard as her "slave name".
  6. ↑ "An open letter from Assata Shakur: 'I am a 20th century escaped slave'". Worker's World. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Nota de Prensa del Ministerio Relaciones Exteriores". Ministry of Foreign Affairs (in Spanish). September 26, 2025. Retrieved September 26, 2025.