Assata: An Autobiography by Assata Shakur

$16.95

"A deftly written book... a spellbinding tale." -New York Times Book Review

On May 2, 1973, Black Panther Assata Shakur (aka JoAnne Chesimard) lay in a hospital bed, while local, state, and federal police attempted to question her about the shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike that had claimed the life of a white state trooper. Long a target of J. Edgar Hoover's campaign to defame, infiltrate, and criminalize Black nationalist organizers and their leaders, Shakur was incarcerated for four years prior to her conviction on flimsy evidence in 1977 as an accomplice to murder.

This intensely personal and political autobiography belies the fearsome image of JoAnne Chesimard long projected by the media and the state. With wit and candor, Assata Shakur recounts the experiences that led her life to a life of activism and portrays the strengths, weaknesses, and eventual demise of Black and white revolutionary groups at the hands of government officials. The result is a contribution to the literature about growing up Black in America that has already taken place along sideThe Autobiography of Malcolm X and the works of Maya Angelou.

Two years after her conviction, Assata Shakur escaped from prison. She was given political asylum by Cuba, where she now resides.

Lawrence Hill Books, 1987, Forward by Angela Davis, 2001, softcover, 247pp

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