The Struggle of Assata Shakur
Brandon Ross
September 3, 2014
Africana Studies, SP12
Assata Shakur Paper
Assata Shakur is a very strong and determined individual that refused to give up her beliefs and ideas to receive her freedom. When she was incarcerated, treated like an animal, beaten to a bloody pulp and lost all basic human rights, she only grew more stronger and determined. Shakur was a political prisoner and suffered because of her Black Panther & Black Liberation Army affiliation. She spent six years in prison for crimes that she was not proven to have done or had any connection to. Most people would have given up and “sold out” to get their freedom back, she didn’t because she simply took it back! Shakur’s life changed dramatically on the night of May 2, 1973 on the New Jersey Turnpike when Zayd Malik Shakur, Sundiata Acoli and her car was stopped because “of a taillight.” After an altercation between Zayd Shakur and Trooper Harper, shots were fired which left Trooper Foerster and Zayd Shakur dead, Assata Shakur and Trooper Harper wounded. Shakur’s autobiography does a great job detailing the event. Shakur described the experience saying “Zayd was dead. My mind knew that Zayd was dead. The air was like cold glass. Huge bubbles rose and burst. Each one felt like an explosion in my chest. My mouth tasted like blood and dirt. The car spun around me and something like sleep overtook me. In the background I could hear what sounded like gunfire. But I was fading and dreaming.” (Assata 3) She was beaten very badly during the ordeal. The officer’s were very brutal towards her because they knew she was involved in the Black Panther Party and wanted information out of her. “Where did they go?...Bitch you’d better open your goddamn mouth or I’ll blow your goddamn head off!” (Assata 3) was how these officers talked to her. She doesn’t say a word. This is another example of her showing her resilience in an adverse time. She was in tremendous amount of pain. Shakur said “I felt myself
September 3, 2014
Africana Studies, SP12
Assata Shakur Paper
Assata Shakur is a very strong and determined individual that refused to give up her beliefs and ideas to receive her freedom. When she was incarcerated, treated like an animal, beaten to a bloody pulp and lost all basic human rights, she only grew more stronger and determined. Shakur was a political prisoner and suffered because of her Black Panther & Black Liberation Army affiliation. She spent six years in prison for crimes that she was not proven to have done or had any connection to. Most people would have given up and “sold out” to get their freedom back, she didn’t because she simply took it back! Shakur’s life changed dramatically on the night of May 2, 1973 on the New Jersey Turnpike when Zayd Malik Shakur, Sundiata Acoli and her car was stopped because “of a taillight.” After an altercation between Zayd Shakur and Trooper Harper, shots were fired which left Trooper Foerster and Zayd Shakur dead, Assata Shakur and Trooper Harper wounded. Shakur’s autobiography does a great job detailing the event. Shakur described the experience saying “Zayd was dead. My mind knew that Zayd was dead. The air was like cold glass. Huge bubbles rose and burst. Each one felt like an explosion in my chest. My mouth tasted like blood and dirt. The car spun around me and something like sleep overtook me. In the background I could hear what sounded like gunfire. But I was fading and dreaming.” (Assata 3) She was beaten very badly during the ordeal. The officer’s were very brutal towards her because they knew she was involved in the Black Panther Party and wanted information out of her. “Where did they go?...Bitch you’d better open your goddamn mouth or I’ll blow your goddamn head off!” (Assata 3) was how these officers talked to her. She doesn’t say a word. This is another example of her showing her resilience in an adverse time. She was in tremendous amount of pain. Shakur said “I felt myself