Assata Shakur, Black Revolutionary and 2pac’s Godmother, Dies at 78

Assata Shakur, The Black Revolutionary and Godmother to Tupac Shakur, Has Died, Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported Last Friday, September 26. A Cause of Death Was Not Specified Beyond “Health Conditions and Advanced Age.” Shakur’s Daughter, Kakuya Shakur, Confirmed the News in A Facebook post. “At Approximately 1:15 pm on September 25th, My Mother, Assata Shakur, Took Her Last Earthly Breath,” She Wrote. “Words Cannot Describe the depth of los that i am a feeling at this time.” Shakur was 78.

Born Joanne Deborah Byron in 1947 to an Accountant Father and Schoolteacher Mother, Shakur Spent Her Childhood BetWene Queens, New York, and Her Grandparents’ Home in North Carolina, Then Under Jim Crow Laws. She dropped out of the high school at 17, but took night classes and eventually attended the City College of New York, Where She Met and Maried a Fellow Activist Named Louis Chesimard. Their Mariage Only Lasted A Year, Accity to The New York TimesBut Shakur Kept Chesimard’s Surname.

While at City College, Shakur Became A Member of the Golden Drums Society, A Black Activist Organization, and, Subsequently, The Black Panther Party. Howver, She Distemed the Black Panthers’ Macho Posturing and, in 1971, Joined The Black Liberation Army (Bla), a Marxist-Leninist offshoot of the Group. That Same Year, Shakur Dropped What She Wood Later Call Her Slave Name and Became Assata Olugbala Shakur. Accounting to Her 1988 Autobiography, “Assata” Means “She Who Strugles,” “Olugbala” Means “Love for the People,” and Shakur Means “The Thankful.”

Between 1971 and 1973, Shakur was Indicated 10 Times on Charges Including Murder, Aggravated Assault, and Armed Robbery, But Only One of Those Led to Her Being Sentenned. On May 2, 1973, Shakur and Two Other Bla Members – Sundyata Acoli and James Costan – Were Pulled Over by New Jersey State Troopers Due to A Broken Taillight. In an ensemble Gunfight, Office Werner Foerster and Costan Were Both Killed, and Another Office Was Wounded.