May 20, 2013
Some years back, I was at my cousin’s house, helping her clean out a few boxes of hers. She pulled a book from out one of the boxes and immediately I recognized the picture of a beautiful proud Queen of freedom on the cover that was identical to the poster that I had proudly displayed on my wall. “That’s Assata! I exclaimed excitedly. Aw, you’re up on Assata?” My cousin held up the book, “Oh, this? I only read a little bit of this book. You wanna-..?” Before she could finish the question, I snatched the book away from her as if it was a bar of gold, about to be tossed in the trash.
After reading “Assata” an autobiography about a Sista of Courage, Strength, Revolution and a Undying Love for her People, a surge of life & knowledge flowed through my body along with total recalls of those before me, reminding me why I chose to be a freedom fighter. Assata Shakur is not just some singled-out Black Woman, sough by amerikkka with a bounty on her head for being a so-called terrorist, This Sista of ours was on “Amerikkka’s Most Wanted” with a million-dollar price on her head because she wanted freedom, equality and peace. We the People stand up for these same hueman rights, so therefore we too, are on the same list.
LET’S GO BACK TO…
May 2, 1973 when Assata and other comrades were stopped on the New Jersey turnpike by po’lice for what was supposedly been a broken tail-light. The move by tha po’lice was actually a “Stop and Terminate” mission to get rid of the “greatest threat to the internal security of the united snakkkes” and white supremacy. After this blatant, intentional terrorist attack on the Black Panther Party for self-defense, two people lay dead, Zayd Shakur, and trooper Werner Foerster. Assata was wounded while cooperating wit the New Jersey pigs when she put her hands up. Shakur was later charged with both deaths, despite evidence that she had her hands up, unarmed and complying with pigs when she was shot twice. There had also been earlier reports that the bullets removed from Foerster’s body matched bullets belonging to a trooper’s service revolver. Regardless of the facts, Assata Shakur was tried and convicted by an all-white jury (jury of our peers?!) and was sentenced to life imprisonment, plus 33 years. While incarcerated, Assata was subjected to many forms of torture, including a liquid solution being poured into her eyes, burning them. Repeated threats to harm her in any way was constant until she was liberated from the beast of the Clinton Correctional institution in 1979 and “souljah’d” on to gain political asylum in Cuba.
“They wanted to portray her as a terrorist, something that was an injustice, a brutality, an infamous lie.” Castro stated. He (Castro) also referred to Assata as a victim of “The fierce repression against the Black Movement in the united states, and a true political prisoner.”
The question ponders in my head on how can we as stolen Black Africans, Freedom Fighters, and other poor and oppressed people of color “sit safe” in the United Snakkkes of Amerikkka , while this high-priced lynching be authorized on Assata Shakur and we believe in the liberation movement as she does?
“Nobody in the world, nobody in history has ever gotten their freedom by appealing to the mortal sense of the people who were oppressing them.”
With that so eloquently said by our Sista Assata, do folks really think that we can achieve our goal by selling out our sista, or by boot-lickin’, holding hands praying, crying and snotting with our enemies singing ‘We are the World”? Believing in the false “Zebra Propaganda” that is constantly shown on television- that people of color emulate and shuck n’ jive with white folks to obtain the “promised land” of freedom, justice and peace?! Tolerate some of these rich blacks in amerikkka who are bought-off by the white hands that write their checks so therefore could give a shit about the fate of Sista Assata, in fear that their wealth could be stripped from them before being put on the same lynching list?
“If you’re deaf dumb and blind to what’s happening in the world, you’re under no obligation to do anything. But if you know what’s happening and you don’t do anything but sit on your ass, then you’re nothing but a punk. The US is becoming more hostile to Black people and other people of color. Racism is running rampant and xenophobia is on the rise.” -Assata
...You still think you are safe in tha house, Niggah? To satan and his flunkies-hands off our sista!!! And that is my reflection...
…You still think you are safe in tha house, Niggah? Hands off our sista satan!! And that is my reflection…