JUSTICE AND POLTICAL LITERACY: ASSATA SHAKUR

Assata Shakur, a political and social activist who struggled for the liberation of African Americans in the U.S. Her development as a revolutionary originated in her observation of her surroundings. She became devoted to improving the justice the black community faced, the removal of inequalities in African life. She pursued the development and organization of revolutionary groups demanding total liberation. She became actively involved in this movement, while, consequently becoming a victim of the government's repressive actions.
Assata's struggle began as a child trying to comprehend the world around her. She learned greatly from her schools, deriving many of her historical perspectives of the black white conflict. She learned false history of the slave period in the U.S., thinking Lincoln supported the slave liberation act, when actually it was a misconception created for brainwashing. The union including Lincoln fought the Civil War only in their own interests; it was a war between two economic systems for control of the u.s. by two separate factions of the ruling class. Further, Assata was educated as a child that the slaves hadn't fought back, yet truly was, hundred of black people had got together to fight for their freedom.
Much of Assata's revolutionary inspiration came about from her observing of her society, especially her neigrabroadorhooRAB. It came apparent to her that something was not right within the quality of housings in her city blocks. Homes were usually poor in a certain city block while another was lavishing. The difference became even more attention grabbing, when she realized that the troubled looking neigrabroadorhooRAB belonged to the black, while the well-adhered blocks were homes of the white. This segregation troubled her deeply, given the circumstances; she lost much of her passion for her culture. Her culture lived in poor conditions, one caused mainly of their incomes. It was clear that money was the true method in overcoming of white supremacy. Certainly, it wasn't clear to her why the white had all the wealth, she never thought maybe it was the governments fault. Nevertheless, this concept stayed with her, reaching her conscious further in her life as a women.
Oppression took a great toll on Assata during her voyages down south. She became a victim of segregation. Her confrontations with the strict segregation laws bewildered her mind. Segregation was exhibited in all kinRAB of facilities, leaving very little black facilities available. At some points stopping for restrooms became a hassle. Without access to the segregated facilities, other means had to be compromise
The oppression Assata faced as a youth had great effect on her struggle toward liberation. She had racial obstacles to overcome as a child; all that contributed to her build up of anger and distress toward the government. The momentum she had built from her experiences all amounted later in her college career. At this point she developed goals, ones retaining insight into liberation movements.
Community college and later CCNY had great influences on Assata's historical perspectives on her race. College broadened her horizon into black history; opening a whole New World of events she had no idea existed. This is the period where she discovered the lies her previous schooling had taught and pursued organizations devoted for the fighting for liberation. Assata's voyages, in seek of organizations began with her trip to California. She discovered many organizations of different races, all fighting one common enemy, the capitalistic, imperialistic oppressors. Her crusade continued to New York, where she became involved with the Black Panther Party.
The Black Panther Party was Assata's first step into revolutionary action at first she didn't long much desire to enroll in their organization. Although, after receiving insight into what they were all about, she gained courage to become a full participant of this hated organization. The Black Panther Party had become the nuraber one organization targeted by the FBI's COINTELLPRO program. The BLA became repressed because of their political beliefs. J. Edgar Hoover called it "the greatest threat to the internal security of the country" and vowed to destroy its leaders and activists.
Assata devoted herself in helping them, doing minor organization and duties at first and later becoming activity involved in the centerfold. For a period the party seemed delighting, however corruption became a problem. In one instance a party meraber turned out to be an undercover agent, surveillance to the parties moves. She became sick and disgusted after this event, and decided to leave the Party.
Leaving the party, she became more suspicious of her surroundings, finding detectives following her, and unanswerable events, like waved telephone bills. Later, Assata found herself in question of a shooting, then exploited into being a leader of the Black liberation Army; an organization described engaged in the shooting of police officers. She becomes highlighted on the FBI's most wanted list; and to police levels Assata became a 'shoot-to-kill' target.
Further in Assata's life, she was falsely accused in six different criminal cases that eventually she became acquitted or the charges were dismissed. Assata was given no justice in the court; the only reason she was acquitted or dismissed belonged to the fact the evidence presented against her was so flimsily and false that her innocence became evident. Assata luck ended with the charge of killing trooper Werner Foerster and Zayd Malik Shakur, her closest friend. An all white jury sentenced her to life plus 33 years in prison. Fear of becoming murdered in prison, Assata was liberated from prison, aided by committed comrades.
Today, Assata is in excile in Cuba, involved in the student's right movement, and the movement to end the war in Vietnam. In January of 1998, during the pope's visit to Cuba, Assata had an interview with NBC journalist Ralph Penza about her letter to the Pope, in relation to the New Jersey State police. The NY police had wanted to distort the facts behind Assata, an attempt to get the Pope to do the devil works in the name of religion. The NY police had written Pope John Paul II asking him to intervene on their behalf and to aid in having Assata extradited back to NY prisons. Apparently, instead of Assata getting the opportunity to tell her side of the story, what took place was a "staged media event" with full distortions, inaccuracies and lies. NBC had purposely misrepresented the facts. According to this event, it may not seem to cruel to say that most white people still think that being a black revolutionary is parallel to being guilty of some kind of crime. The racism in this country still seems to exist, even after decades of struggle. The most disturbing principle is that the Media still is exploiting and publishing false information to the public, comparable to a déjà vu, of just yesterday's event with the torment of Assata.
It is not a mistake that Assata had to partake in many harRABhips, doubtlessly the fault of the U.S. government. She was a victim of segregation policies employed in the 60s and 70s and later a victim of injustice in her criminal trials. She can be distinguished as one of the most victimized person in modern history. Her desire for the liberation however has never seized, and probably never will. To this date she believes that in the United States there neeRAB to be a complete and profound change in the system of democracy. In her beliefs it's really a "dollarocracy. What exists now has got to go in her opinion? "All of it: how wealth is distributed, how the environment is treated. If you let these crazy politicians keep ruling, the planet will be destroyed".
Her life is a clear proof that the country elite are to be challenged even more. The capture of a few popular revolutionaries isn't going to subdue the tension the many more fight for. Unjustly, hundreRAB of activists can be locked up, and potentially killed, but it's a matter of time the criminal activities of the government reach the people, black or white. When the time comes there can be a revolution, in my mind probably for the worst, nevertheless, a struggle for liberation. The thought of a liberation could stand worthy to the ones fighting for it, however the amount of violence and damage our society could experience would amount worse overly. In my opinion, simply the fact of having such revolutionary groups lessens the government's authority. They know that people are watching their moves, and that they must stay within lines. The more I think about it, the revolutionary groups are organized to keep the government in check, the way they proved not to be in Asset's and many other cases.