Assata Shakur, the Black liberation activist who lived in Cuba under political asylum for more than four decades, has died at the age of 78.
Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed her passing Thursday, citing “health conditions and advanced age” as the cause.
Shakur’s story has long been one of polarizing perspectives. To supporters, she was a fearless fighter against racial oppression. To critics, she was a convicted fugitive responsible for the 1973 killing of New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster — a charge she always denied.
From JoAnne Chesimard to Assata Shakur
Born JoAnne Deborah Byron in Queens in 1947, Shakur’s activism began in the 1960s during her college years. She joined the Black Panther Party before becoming part of the Black Liberation Army (BLA), a militant group that carried out armed robberies and clashes with police in the early 1970s.
In May 1973, she was pulled over on the New Jersey Turnpike. What followed was a shootout that left Foerster dead, another officer wounded, and one of Shakur’s companions killed. Shakur, also wounded, was captured and later convicted of first-degree murder and assault. An all-white jury sentenced her to life in prison plus 33 years, though she maintained she never fired a gun that night.
Her trial and treatment behind bars drew widespread criticism. Doctors testified her wounds supported her claim that her arms were raised when she was shot. Still, prosecutors argued otherwise, and she was found guilty.
A Prison Break and Exile in Cuba
On November 2, 1979, members of the BLA staged a daring prison break, freeing Shakur from the Clinton Correctional Facility for Women. After years of moving through safe houses and abroad, she surfaced in Cuba in 1984, where she was granted asylum.
There, Shakur built a quiet life supported by the Cuban government. She wrote poetry, taught, and published her acclaimed autobiography Assata in 1987. In it, she explained her decision to shed her birth name:
“The name JoAnne began to irk my nerves. I didn’t feel like no JoAnne, or no Negro, or no amerikan. I felt like an African woman.”
She adopted the name Assata Olugbala Shakur — Assata meaning “she who struggles,” Olugbala meaning “savior” in Yoruba, and Shakur meaning “thankful one.”
Target of the U.S. Government
In 2013, Shakur became the first woman ever placed on the FBI’s “Most Wanted Terrorists” list, with a $2 million reward offered for her capture. She remained out of reach, however, living in Cuba for over four decades.
Despite the label, she remained a cultural symbol. She was mentioned in songs by Public Enemy and Common, honored with scholarships in her name, and revered by many as a freedom fighter. To others, she was a reminder of violent unrest during one of America’s most turbulent eras.
In her own words, Shakur called herself “a 20th-century escaped slave.” In a 2013 open letter, she urged Black media and progressive outlets to “be the voice of the voiceless,” declaring:
“All I have is my voice, my spirit, and the will to tell the truth.”
Legacy and Survivors
Shakur is survived by her daughter, Kakuya Shakur. In a heartfelt post shared Friday, Kakuya wrote:
“At approximately 1:15 PM on September 25th, my mother, Assata Shakur, took her last earthly breath. Words cannot describe the depth of loss that I am feeling at this time. My spirit is overflowing in unison with all of you who are grieving with me.”
From the streets of Queens to the prisons of New Jersey to her final years in Havana, Shakur’s life embodied contradiction — outlaw and revolutionary, villain to some and hero to others.
Her death closes a chapter on one of the most controversial, mythologized, and debated figures of Black liberation movements in the 20th century.
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