Assata Shakur (Essay Sample)

Assata Shakur NAME INSTITUTIONAL AFFILIATION COURSE PROFESSOR DATE Assata Shakur was born in New York City in the early 1940s. She lived with her parents, grandparents, and aunts for up to three years after which her parents divorced and she was forced to accompany her grandparents to North Carolina where she grew up to maturity. The grandmother installed humanity and taught Shakur to respect adults and uphold human dignity which reflected her adulthood. Her full name was Joanne Deborah Chesimard which was her original identity before she declined it and embraced Shakur. In 1971 she realized that name, Deborah Chesimard originated from slavery, therefore, dropping it and adopting Assata Shakur. Assata is a name from Arabic meaning a lady who struggles while Shakur means one who gives thanks. She became famous in the year 1972 after she was labeled as the most wanted criminal nationawide by the FBI. Since the 1970s, she was at the front line in leading the black people's liberation in North Carolina. She was concerned and advocated the revolutionary changes in the model and the laws that governed the United States. The target was to bring the oppression of the black people to the end. She aimed at discouraging racism, exploitation of the black people, political harassment and encouraging self-determination. She took all these issues affecting the black people as her responsibility and fought for liberation. Shakur with her team aimed at liberating the black people in New York City. In 1973 she led a strong battle against the mistreatments that were happening in the city. In her line of duty, she was involved in a shootout where she was shot twice, wounded, and arrested together with the two members of the liberation army by the New Jersey police. After the arrest, she was charged with the murder of an officer of police and put into prison. In 1977 Shakur was charged with other offenses which included first-class murder, robbery by use of power arms, and other crimes. These criminal charges made her to be life imprisoned. After serving the jail term for two years, Shakur escaped from the prison with the help of Black Liberation Army members who entered the Women Correction Center as Prison visitors. However attacked two prison officers and took them hostage at Clinton Correctional facility. They also high-jacked the prison van and used it to flee Shakur to Cuba where she took refuge. Due to h...