just posted this in gd.. thought it fit over here tho..

U.S. Government Declares $1 Million Bounty For Assata Shakur, Tupac's Godmother
By Houston Williams
Date: 5/2/2005 6:00 PM

The federal government has announced a $1 million bounty for the capture of fugitive JoAnne Chesimard, who is widely known as Assata Shakur. Assata, who is also Tupac’s godmother, has lived in Cuba nearly 30 years after escaping a maximum security jail.

Today represents the 32nd anniversary of a notorious clash between members of the Black Liberation Army and the New Jersey state troopers. At the end of the conflict, two were dead and two were incarcerated, including Assata.

Rappers like Paris and Common have written sympathetic, reflective songs about Assata . Common explained his support of Shakur.

“The reason I was even connected to this woman is because of her humanity and her passion for people,” the Chicago native told AllHipHop.com. “And when I met her on a Black August trip four years ago and I learned she was innocent and that all the pain and hate that had been placed upon her, she'd overcome. There's no way than anyone in this world should want to harm her. She’s such a beautiful human being.”

Accounts of that fateful day vary. On May 2 1973, New Jersey State Trooper James Harper pulled over Assata, Zayd Shakur and Sundiata Acoli for an apparent broken taillight on their vehicle.

The incident rapidly escalated into a gunfight and resulted in the deaths of Zayd Shakur and Trooper Werner Foerster. Harper and Assata were also injured in the melee.

The authorities maintain that Assata murdered Foerster executioner style after he was injured, but her lawyers charge that she herself was too severely wounded to do such and act. She was hit twice and her gunshot wounds were inflicted as she surrendered.

Nevertheless, Assata was convicted and served six and a half years in prison at the maximum security wing of the Clinton Correctional Facility for Women in New Jersey.

In 1979, with the help of others, she escaped and found asylum in Cuba. She asserts that she was living in deplorable conditions and was brutalized by correctional officers. Tupac’s godfather Mutulu Shakur, a political prisoner, was also sent to prison and accused of helping Assata escape Clinton.

Despite her legal status, he still has staunch supporters stateside.

“Assata is innocent. She is a legitimate political refugee in Cuba. Castro recognizes her as such because the case against her in New Jersey nearly 30 years ago was an attempt to frame a Black revolutionary who was herself shot and tortured by police,” writer/author Dream Hampton told AllHipHop.com.

Hampton, author of Jay-Z’s upcoming autobiography “The Black Book,” is also a member of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, helps organize Black August and helped launch the “Hands off Assata” campaign.

“But we should never lose sight of the fact that she's innocent. And now more than ever she needs our support,” Hampton said. Hampton said that three experts testified in the case and there was no gun power residue present to support the theory that she murdered officer Foerster.

In her own words, Assata, now 57, has proclaimed her innocence in writings now widely posted online. “I am a 20th century escaped slave. Because of government persecution, I was left with no other choice than to flee from the political repression, racism and violence that dominate the US government's policy towards people of color,” Shakur has written in the past. “I am an ex-political prisoner, and I have been living in exile in Cuba since 1984. I have been a political activist most of my life, and although the U.S. government has done everything in its power to criminalize me, I am not a criminal, nor have I ever been one.”

On the classic song “Rebel Without A Pause,” Chuck D of Public Enemy declared himself to be a “supporter of Chesimard” and Hampton concurred that the fugitive continues to inspire the generations after her escape to Cuba – as she is vilified in the mainstream press and domestic government.

“Black August, our annual Hip-Hop benefit concert, is inspired in part by Assata. The artist we've taken to Cuba---Mos, dead prez, Common and Kweli have all been moved to action by Assata. She's our soldier and hero.”

Regardless of her grassroots backing, the federal authorities haven’t eased their pursuit of Assata Shakur and plan to use international influence to squeeze her out of her Cuban sanctuary.

"She is now 120 pounds of money," State Police Superintendent Rick Fuentes said to the NJ Star-Ledger. " is going to exert pressures that weren't in place nationally and internationally before. And we're going to follow up to make sure everybody is aware of this both inside and outside of Cuba."

The bounty on Assata Shakur is the largest reward ever placed on an individual in the state of New Jersey.

Breathe E.Z.

~Vee~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I Drive Stick.. an I'm Focused, Man...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

wow this is sooo sad since you know there will be some crazy bounty hunter who will sneak into Cuba and attempt to collect on that bounty

for someone SO CLEARLY innocent , I cant imgagine how this even be a valid case

I mean, wow.

And they spending MORE money to chase her? Horrible. For what at this point?

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she and afeni were members of the NY chapter of the panthers. a bunch of em took the name "shakur" .

my bad.

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get the fuck outta here....

DONT GET ME WRONG.....

most brothers are pretty ignorant to who Assata Shakur is and her struggle BUT what's with the blanket generalization??

I've known of Assata Shakur since i was a kid and my folks are rather centrist..

and black.

..

did any of you watch BET SPRING BLING last week? probably not, especially coon-time3X - but there was a segment on there where the host walked up on folks down there and asked them what NAACP meant and they had ENOUGH negroes to NOT know what it meant to run a 2 minute segment out of it. and anybody that saw this knows im talking about GROWN FOLKS, not some damn teenagers these folks were in their 20's and some of them looked to be in their 30's (the shit was on national TV and will probably come on again, no need to exaggerate or lie)...

now, what in the fuck makes you think people know who this woman is!? she hasn't had her name in headlines for decades whereas the NAACP has and niggas STILL dont know...

again, stop surrounding yourselves around a neo-bohamian slam poet weed head mofoes and surround yourselves around ordinary everyday black folks and you will see where I am coming from...

sad to say, but it's true. the general mass of the black population doesn't know who she is. save the neo bohemian slam poets. lol that's funny

Im not gonna even front like most black folks is caring, because they aren't (not the first line in my post).

Here's some questions- what do you think is an effective means for transmitting information to our community? What's an effective way for keeping things of historical significance "relevent" to black folks?

There is a school of thought which thinks... well, black folks ain't carin. But why should they? What relevence does Assata or the NAACP have to anyone's lives nowadays. (i dont think like this so dont try it)

>Here's some questions- what do you think is an effective means
>for transmitting information to our community?
>What's an
>effective way for keeping things of historical significance
>"relevent" to black folks?

- with ignorance. look @ what MTV does, they show BULLSHIT all day but they have commercials/programs on there that educate their dumbass bubble gum viewers. BET is gonna have to do that. start out a little 45 second spot with jiggling asses and 50 cent, then have a voiceover come on and talk about nat turner. keep the music going underneath the narrator while showing snips of nat turner, at the end of the piece go back to 50 and the shaking asses. as stupid and silly as that sounds, THAT is the only way we are going to educate our people.


>There is a school of thought which thinks... well, black folks
>ain't carin. But why should they? What relevence does Assata
>or the NAACP have to anyone's lives nowadays. (i dont think
>like this so dont try it)

- actually if you get to the bare root of it: the only shakur that is relevant is 2pac and the NAACP doesn't do SHIT. maybe local branches of the NAACP are but nationally? nada.

>- actually if you get to the bare root of it: the only shakur
>that is relevant is 2pac and the NAACP doesn't do SHIT. maybe
>local branches of the NAACP are but nationally? nada.

The NAACP is makin MOVES:

http://washingtontimes.com/national/20030721-113723-6114r.htm

------------------------------

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Romans 8:18

>>- actually if you get to the bare root of it: the only
>shakur
>>that is relevant is 2pac and the NAACP doesn't do SHIT.
>maybe
>>local branches of the NAACP are but nationally? nada.
>
>The NAACP is makin MOVES:
>
>http://washingtontimes.com/national/20030721-113723-6114r.htm
This bias conservative newspaer. Ok, you must be another jesse lee peterson negro.

where he goes around asking people....mostly White folks who the President and vice-president are....many of them do not know...

to make an assumption about what a race knows or doesn't know about, whether the assumption comes from a late night tv sketch..or some sort obsession one has with making members of their own race look less intelligent...

interesting thing is that there are several people hear on this thread that obviously know who Ms. Shakur is, and I'd guess many of which are Black...so to make such a blanket statement as you made in the midst of something that shows your statement not to be true is just a bit silly...

this was HUGE when this happened during the 70's. As time has gone on i have found that once most blacks hit college that is when they find out about her.

I can't lie. I didn't find out about her until 2000 when Like Water For Chocolate dropped. I was 20. They don't teach us this in school. Which is just affirmation that if you really want truth, you have to search for it. In any event, it's a blatant racism driven crusade. The beast of racism is alive and well in America. Little black girls in handcuffs, college athletes being compared to "niggers" by their coaches, it's no secret. Cuba ain't lettin her go nowhere. Fidel hates the U.S. government, so if anything he'll let her stay out of spite for America.

I told my 30sumthing yr old african american roomate from brooklyn and she sai

"Who?"

itsamuddahphuckinshame...

and so are you however right you are.


***************************************************************************************************
"What people think of me is none
of my business." ~O.Winfrey

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ME PEACE,LOVE
& SOOOOUUUULLLL>

.

he shouldn't "get the f outta here"...those that don't know should be taught.

We read her book in college. It was passed along from person to person. Considering she escaped and kept her ideas it's no wonder they did not up the bounty sooner. Folks need to understand that there is a war here and abroad. It did not just go away with Civil Rights and Vietnam. It is a war of ideals and ideas, a war of rights. Assata represented a break from capitalism and her being alive and communicating with folks here, stateside, is definately viewed as a threat to the status quo. Placing a bounty on her head will have unintended effects, as well.

>We read her book in college. It was passed along from person
>to person. Considering she escaped and kept her ideas it's no
>wonder they did not up the bounty sooner. Folks need to
>understand that there is a war here and abroad. It did not
>just go away with Civil Rights and Vietnam. It is a war of
>ideals and ideas, a war of rights. Assata represented a break
>from capitalism and her being alive and communicating with
>folks here, stateside, is definately viewed as a threat to the
>status quo. Placing a bounty on her head will have unintended
>effects, as well.

The first time I passed her book was shortly after the death of Tupac. Like most people, I thought this was his mothers autobiography. I read this book at the right time in my life, my enlightenment. How many of us are still in the dark? How many of us will continue to allow our colored brothers and sisters to remain in the dark?

Will we have to slip this light under Oprah's doorstep for her story/plight to be told to the masses?

>>We read her book in college. It was passed along from
>person
>>to person. Considering she escaped and kept her ideas it's
>no
>>wonder they did not up the bounty sooner. Folks need to
>>understand that there is a war here and abroad. It did not
>>just go away with Civil Rights and Vietnam. It is a war of
>>ideals and ideas, a war of rights. Assata represented a
>break
>>from capitalism and her being alive and communicating with
>>folks here, stateside, is definately viewed as a threat to
>the
>>status quo. Placing a bounty on her head will have
>unintended
>>effects, as well.
>
>The first time I passed her book was shortly after the death
>of Tupac. Like most people, I thought this was his mothers
>autobiography. I read this book at the right time in my life,
>my enlightenment. How many of us are still in the dark? How
>many of us will continue to allow our colored brothers and
>sisters to remain in the dark?
>
>Will we have to slip this light under Oprah's doorstep for her
>story/plight to be told to the masses?
>
>
>

The first time I passed her book was shortly after the death of Tupac. Like most people, I thought this was his mothers autobiography. I read this book at the right time in my life, my enlightenment. How many of us are still in the dark? How many of us will continue to allow our colored brothers and sisters to remain in the dark?

Will we have to slip this light under Oprah's doorstep for her story/plight to be told to the masses?

how you gonna collect? she's been in Cuba for 20 years, she ain't going nowhere.

--------------------------------------------------------------
Nurse Roberts: She googled your ass.

Dr. Kelso: Don't you use your street lingo on me!

I am sure she misses folks here in the U.S. but Cuba has really been her asylum over these several years. This whole thing serves up proof that COINTELPRO never really went away.

back to the U.S. so they could deal w/her
according to their "laws."

------------------------------------------------------------
Now you know - and knowing is half the battle!

i mean, i'd love to see her on the lecture circuit & all that, but i feel much better knowing she's safe & protected where she is.

bastards.


~~~~
~fear is the mind-killer~

"...jesus had a wife. and she was his
messiah like that stranger may be
yours. who holds the subtle knife that
carves through worlds like magic
doors." ~saul wms

"you have always been and will always be tiresome as long as your goal is not productive thought but self-aggrandizement. I've never once read a positive or constructive comment out of your simplistic, black and white mind."
WheatToast spreading love on okayactivist

.

goddamn imperialistz.. can't leave a sista alone...

nopeace
liveiLL

..........

WILL JAY Z HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT ASSATA. OR WILL HE CONTINUE TO SELL THE "HOOD" MORE PRODUCTS?

the article metions a niguh that help jay write his auto.

There are some of us out here...and NO I'm not a Black Studies major (not that there's anything wrong with that) but I read the book for my own knowledge not because some professor told me i should. I exercise my autonomy and I'm sure that there are a lot of others like me...that don't smoke weed or slam. LOL Geez

kb


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Let It Be Mine
2005


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im not in school and i do smoke weed, but no slam, and i read the book a few years ago. but i knew who she was since i was a teen, im 26 now, i saw her on 60 minutes(?) in the 90's. plus the common song.

but not enough of us know about her. and not just her, most black people, no matter what age dont know the importance of garvey. or the vision of elijah, the stregnth of robert williams, or even the murder of fred hampton. i observe the sleep walkin negroes and latinos everyday. and the thing about is they dont care.

"what, u trying to kick knowledge?"- an asshole of an mc said in a song