Assata Shakur was the first woman to be listed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist List. In spite of numerous appeals from the US Government for her extradition from Cuba where she now lives, Assata Shakur continues to be a voice throughout the world. Assata Shakur: A 20th Century Escaped Shave is her story.
In May 1973, Assata Olugbala Shakur was involved in a shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike in which she was accused of killing New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster and assaulting Trooper James Harper. This resulted in her indictment of first-degree murder of Foerster and seven other felonies related to the shootout. A member of the Black Panther Party, she became a prime target of the Federal Bureau of Investigations Counterintelligence Program. When she joined the Black Liberation Army and went into hiding, between 1973 and 1977, she was placed on the FBIs Most Wanted List for three bank robberies, the kidnapping and murder of two drug dealers, and the attempted murder of two New Jersey police officers.
In March 1977 Assata Shakur was convicted of murdering state trooper Werner Forrester and was imprisoned. Two years later she broke out of the maximum-security wing of Clinton Correctional Facility in New Jersey, pistol in hand, as she and three cohorts sped out of the prison grounds. In 1984 she was granted political asylum in Cuba where she has lived ever since. On May 2, 2013, the FBI added her to the Most Wanted Terrorist List, the first woman to be listed. "Assata Shakur: A 20th Century Escaped Slave" is the story of Assata Shakur, before she became a fugitive and since.
Excerpt
While under their care, Assata’s grandparents tried to instill in their young granddaughter a sense of dignity. “You’re as good as anyone else. Don’t let anybody tell you that they’re better than you,” her grandmother would tell her sternly. “Don’t you let me hear about anybody walking over my grandbaby.” Not surprising, these were the same lessons instilled in the minds of Assata’s mother and her mother’s younger sister, Evelyn.
For Assata’s grandparents, pride and dignity were connected to position and money, and that meant having a nice house, nice clothes, and a nice car—things white people had. “That’s why you’ve got to get your education so that you can be somebody and have something in life,” they told Assata. Young Assata was also lectured on how she should play with “decent children” who came from “decent families” and not “alley rats,” although the difference, Assata would later confess, she couldn’t distinguish.
Professional Reviews
*****Powerful Profile of Polarizing Assata
In selecting Assata Shakur for this engaging biographical treatment, Barbara Casey faced a formidable challenge profiling one of the more incendiary figures of 20th century racial politics. Under the pen of a lesser author, this work would have been undermined by the injection of judgmental prose.
Still ensconced in Cuba where she fled seeking political asylum, Shakur remains an intensely polarizing figure. To her credit, Casey keeps her opinions to herself, delivering a balanced account of the life and legacy of the legendary Shakur. By not force-feeding readers an agenda (there sure is enough inflammatory commentary written on both sides of the Shakur debate) Casey allows the reader to form their own bias (or reinforce exiting viewpoints).
This is also just solid storytelling. Meticulously researched, Casey provides a robust roadmap for Shakur from her rise as a black activist and member of the left-wing Black Liberation Army, to her involvement in a series of high-profile crimes, including the a multi-state manhunt and the May 1973 shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike, resulting in the death of a N.J. State Trooper. Convicted of the murder in 1977, Shakur’s time in prison is chronicled by Casey, as was Shakur’s escape in 1979, and subsequent flight to Cuba in 1984 where she gained political asylum. Casey effectively paces this harrowing account, while also enriching this work with critical contextual narrative. Ultimately, regardless what you think of the first woman named to the Most Wanted Terrorist List, this is a highly recommended read that adds to the discussion.
*****A Fascinating Biography
A fascinating look into the life and times of the first woman to be placed on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorist List.
*****A Comprehensive Look into the Life of Assata Shakur
This is a comprehensive look into the life of JoAnne Chesimard aka Assata Shakur. Thoroughly researched and well written, Casey reveals little-known facts and information about her subject as well as the documented evidence making Shakur the first woman to be included on the FBIs “Most Wanted Terrorist” list. Like Casey’s previous book, KATHRYN KELLY: THE MOLL BEHIND MACHINE GUN KELLY, this book is well worth reading for the historical information leading up to Shakur’s situation today as well as for entertainment and enjoyment.
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