Assata: An Autobiography
Description
In 2013 Assata Shakur, founding member of the Black Liberation Army, former Black Panther and godmother of Tupac Shakur, became the first ever woman to make the FBI's most wanted terrorist list.
Assata Shakur's trial and conviction for the murder of a white state trooper in the spring of 1973 divided America. Her case quickly became emblematic of race relations and police brutality in the USA. While Assata's detractors continue to label her a ruthless killer, her defenders cite her as the victim of a systematic, racist campaign to criminalize and suppress black nationalist organizations.
This intensely personal and political autobiography reveals a sensitive and gifted woman, far from the fearsome image of her that is projected by the powers that be. With wit and candour Assata recounts the formative experiences that led her to embrace a life of activism. With pained awareness she portrays the strengths, weaknesses and eventual demise of black and white revolutionary groups at the hands of the state.
A major contribution to the history of black liberation, destined to take its place alongside The Autobiography of Malcolm X and the works of Maya Angelou.
Praise for Assata: An Autobiography
“Shakur, the black ‘revolutionary’ fugitive residing in Cuba, was elevated to the FBI’s ‘most wanted’ list in 2013. Picking up her autobiography, first published in 1988, for the first time in nearly 20 years, I was struck by an odd sense that her brave and powerful account of the black power movement in the 1960s and 1970s feels almost more relevant than when I first read it. Her condemnation of the ‘one per cent’ (who control the wealth) and the criminal justice system resonates strongly with contemporary movements such as Occupy and Black Lives Matter.”
— Anna Hartnell