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The only phrase I could think of when Afeni Shakur died last week was “Rest in power”. Many know her as Tupac Shakur’s mom, but she was more than that; she was an activist. Another activist with the same spirit, Assata Shakur, is Tupac’s step-aunt. I believe that it is from those two powerful women that Tupac formed his political ideals in his lyrics, which deemed him as ahead of his time.
Alice Faye Williams later known as Afeni Shakur joined the Black Panther Party in 1964 after meeting an associate of Malcolm X. Shakur told biographer Jasmine Guy that the Black Panther Party “Took my rage and channeled it”. Her role in the party included writing articles in the Panther Post. In 1969, Shakur and 20 other Black Panthers were arrested for allegedly bombing places in New York City. Their trial became known as the Panther 21. The trial ended in 1971, and the panthers were not convicted. That same year Shakur gave birth to her son, Tupac.
Joanne Deborah Cheismard later known as Assata Shakur was the epitome of a true freedom fighter. Shakur’s name is tied to many shootings, but only one of them truly stands out for her character and legacy. Shakur was pulled over by a New Jersey police officer, and she was charged with his murder after she was shot twice. Even though there was medical evidence stating that she could not have possibly shot anybody because of her wounds, Shakur was sentenced to six and a half years in solitary confinement in Clinton Correctional Facility for Women. She is currently in exile in Cuba and has been there since 1984. Shakur is on record saying that the political persecution that she suffered in the United States gave her no choice but to flee to Cuba.
The legacy that those two women have left is one that many political activists hope to follow. They were relentless and powerful, doing anything in their power for freedom. In my opinion, without those two women, Tupac would have never been the socially conscious rapper that he was. He was basically birthed through a movement, birthed through power and passion. The revolutionary spirit was with him the day that he was born. That is the spirit that Assata and Afeni left behind.