Tuesday, April 21, 2015

ASSATA AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY by Assata Shakur

Finished Mo 4/20/15 (At FitClub South after the Classic Book Club meeting)

Another book from my collection that caught my eye after I learned that Obama seems to have succeeded in normalizing relations with Cuba. Ex-Black Panther and Black Liberation Army member Assata Shakur, a.k.a. JoAnne Chesimard escaped from prison and was given political asylum by Cuba. Apparently she lives there to this day, and I was wondering if her status will remain unchanged. We now view Cuba as 'non-terrorist state'.

The book is well written and she definitely has a grasp of history and the uncanny ability to interpret historical events as they truly impact the Black community, and does not fall prey to the usual American (White) cultural and political bromides... "Hard work is all you need", "Racism ended when Blacks got the right to vote", "Discrimination ended in the sixties", and "Jesus will set you free".

She lived part of her childhood in Wilmington, North Carolina and The Bronx, NY. Her grandparents owned a restaurant on a Black beach on the North Carolina shore and she spent her summers there helping out at the family business. And, she went to school in New York City.

Whether or not she actually did the things that she was accused of, it's clear that state and federal authorities destroyed her life. Almost all of the charges were dropped after she spent months and years in prison. She didn't ever receive a clear-cut guilty verdict, but she spent an amazing amount of time behind bars. Obviously there was a concerted effort by the FBI and federal officials to target leaders within the Black community.

She refers to  herself as a '20th century escaped slave'.

wikipedia entry-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assata_Shakur

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