Hardcover, 274 pages
English language
Published Dec. 1, 1987 by Lawrence Hill Books.
On May 2, 1973, Black Panther Assata Shakur (aka JoAnne Chesimard) lay in a hospital, close to death, handcuffed to her bed, while local, state, and federal police attempted to question her about the shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike that had claimed the life of a white state trooper. Long a target of J. Edgar Hoover's campaign to defame, infiltrate, and criminalize Black nationalist organizations and their leaders, Shakur was incarcerated for four years prior to her conviction on flimsy evidence in 1977 as an accomplice to murder.
This intensely personal and political autobiography belies the fearsome image of JoAnne Chesimard long projected by the media and the state. With wit and candor, Assata Shakur recounts the experiences that led her to a life of activism and portrays the strengths, weaknesses, and eventual demise of Black and White revolutionary groups at the hand of government officials. The result is …
On May 2, 1973, Black Panther Assata Shakur (aka JoAnne Chesimard) lay in a hospital, close to death, handcuffed to her bed, while local, state, and federal police attempted to question her about the shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike that had claimed the life of a white state trooper. Long a target of J. Edgar Hoover's campaign to defame, infiltrate, and criminalize Black nationalist organizations and their leaders, Shakur was incarcerated for four years prior to her conviction on flimsy evidence in 1977 as an accomplice to murder.
This intensely personal and political autobiography belies the fearsome image of JoAnne Chesimard long projected by the media and the state. With wit and candor, Assata Shakur recounts the experiences that led her to a life of activism and portrays the strengths, weaknesses, and eventual demise of Black and White revolutionary groups at the hand of government officials. The result is a signal contribution to the literature about growing up Black in America that has already taken its place alongside The Autobiography of Malcolm X and the works of Maya Angelou.
Two years after her conviction, Assata Shakur escaped from prison. She was given political asylum by Cuba, where she now resides.
I am so glad my friend gave me this book to read. This book is so necessary for anyone involved in political organizing, community organizing, mutual aid, etc. There are so many lessons pertaining to the COINTPRO campaign against Assata and other Black revolutionaries. Her message is poignant and so optimistic, but also so grounded in a scientific and material understanding of our world.
Assata taught me so much on emerging black womanhood, navigating through imposter syndrome, loving family and yourself, and so much more. I plan to read this book again in a few years just so it all sticks and I never forget my own calling.
Our struggles are so very intimately connected. We should match our intentions & our words with our actions, as Assata says.
„Each time one of imperialism's tentacles is cut off we are closer to liberation. [...] Imperialism is an international system of exploitation, and, we, as revolutionaries, need to be internationalists to defeat it.”
I've read it with a knot in my neck, heart alternating between being as big as a flea to full of love and inspiration. You should read it too. Please read it too.
She went through hell and back at the hands of white people. Of bastard police. Of racists, both the loud kind and the quiet, enabler kind. At the hand of patriarchy. And yet, in spite of it all, she stood by herself, finding herself and her culture in every instance, in every trial, in every struggle.
The book is so well structured. There's …
Our struggles are so very intimately connected. We should match our intentions & our words with our actions, as Assata says.
„Each time one of imperialism's tentacles is cut off we are closer to liberation. [...] Imperialism is an international system of exploitation, and, we, as revolutionaries, need to be internationalists to defeat it.”
I've read it with a knot in my neck, heart alternating between being as big as a flea to full of love and inspiration. You should read it too. Please read it too.
She went through hell and back at the hands of white people. Of bastard police. Of racists, both the loud kind and the quiet, enabler kind. At the hand of patriarchy. And yet, in spite of it all, she stood by herself, finding herself and her culture in every instance, in every trial, in every struggle.
The book is so well structured. There's a main arc, the one of her trials for allegedly murdering a bastard cop (which she didn't), and snapshots from throughout her life.
As with any book I fall in love with, this one is full of passages you'll want to turn into huge billboards so everyone could read and shed off some privilege and wilful ignorance.
Won't spoil anything in this review but ugh. I did spoil it for the people that were unfortunate enough to talk to me while I was reading this, haha.
I was looking for a book to help me understand how black people experience racism, and this one delivered.
The Book has an autobiographical style and wholistic approach that makes it easy to take Assata‘s perspective. It is a story of slow radicalization of a kind, intelligent woman - and a document of a long list of different manifestations of racism.
Parts of the book are hard to read because of the sheer brutality - sometimes physical, sometimes social - of the events described. But parts of it are beautiful, too.
This book was everything I hoped - it kept me engaged all the way, and opened my eyes to a different perspective on the world we all live in. It also gave me new appreciation for the people who dedicate their life to a fight against injustice.
Inget litterärt mästerverk men fångar uppmärksamheten med ganska chockerande redogörelser från USA:s krig mot sin egen befolkning.
I didn't really know Assata's story before reading. This was an incredible story. I found it engaging and believable. Also both inspiring and sad.
An important book to read for those of us who were born after the radical movements of the 60s and 70s were squashed - or in my case, who was born the day that she is accused of having tried to kill a cop.
