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Today, on her birthday, we remember Assata Shakur, a Black revolutionary and freedom fighter who dedicated her life to the struggle against racism, capitalism, and oppression.

A member of the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army, Shakur faced the full force of US government repression. Amid the COINTELPRO campaign to infiltrate, criminalize, and destroy Black and revolutionary organizations, she was subjected to heavy surveillance, a nationwide manhunt, and multiple indictments.

Shakur was convicted in 1977 for the murder of a police officer – despite forensic evidence showing that she did not fire the weapon and medical experts asserting that her injuries made it physically impossible for her to do so. The state hoped to crush the growing movement for Black liberation by imprisoning its leaders, and Shakur was sentenced to life plus 33 years.

Two years later, Shakur escaped prison with the help of her comrades. Cuba granted her political asylum in 1984 and, for over four decades, refused US demands to hand her over, recognizing her as a victim of political persecution.

The side eye looks 🤷🏿‍♂️. Presence/energy cannot lie or be debated. It's undeniable. It commands the room. We shift the atmosphere when we walk in the room. Our presence is felt and speaks before we even open our mouths. It's in our DNA and can never be erased/muted. Rest in Power, ancestors. Gone but never forgotten 👑

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Powerful. 🖤

That presence isn't accidental—it's inherited. Passed down through generations of survival, resistance, and excellence. When we walk into a room, the ancestors walk in with us.

The white man that landed here, he came with two great weapons: One is the Bible and the other was the gun. If he didn’t humble you with the Bible, he’d crumble you with the gun. And they’re still praising the lord and passing the ammunition all over the world.

“If you take Black coffee and lighten it up with white cream, what kept you awake will now lull you to sleep.”