By Angela Hay
Assata Shakur, a prominent Black liberation activist and longtime political refugee, died Sept. 25 in Havana, Cuba, at 78, according to a statement from Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported by the Associated Press on Sept. 26, 2025.
To the U.S. government, she was considered a dangerous terrorist; to many of her supporters, she remained a symbol of resistance and an enduring source of inspiration.
Early Life and Activism
The Guardian reported that JoAnne Deborah Byron, later known as Assata Shakur, was born in New York City in 1947. While attending college, she became involved in activism for racial and social justice during the civil-rights era.
After graduation, she adopted the name Assata Olugbala Shakur and joined the Black Panther Party, which sought to empower Black communities. She later became affiliated with the more militant Black Liberation Army (BLA), a group that described itself as seeking “total liberation from those forces that maintain our oppressive condition,” according to documents cited by The Guardian.
Shakur faced multiple criminal charges in the 1970s —including robbery, kidnapping and murder —but NPR noted that she was acquitted or had charges dismissed in each case.
New Jersey Turnpike Incident
According to the Associated Press, Shakur was traveling with fellow activists Zayd Malik Shakur and Sundiata Acoli in 1973 when New Jersey state troopers stopped their car. A shootout ensued, leaving Trooper Werner Foerster and Zayd Malik Shakur dead; Assata Shakur was wounded in the arm, and Acoli was injured.
Supporters maintained that evidence suggested her innocence. Nevertheless, an all-white jury convicted her of Foerster’s murder in 1977 and sentenced her to life in prison, as detailed in The Guardian.
Target of COINTELPRO
Shakur believed she had been targeted by the FBI’s Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO), a covert operation established under J. Edgar Hoover to suppress communist influence and political dissent.
In a 1998 open letter published on her website and quoted by NPR, Shakur wrote that “many political activists were harassed, imprisoned, murdered or otherwise neutralized.” She said that false accusations by law enforcement had created a situation where “any police officer could have shot me on sight.”
The Washington Post reported in August 2021 that recently declassified FBI files formally confirmed the existence of COINTELPRO and detailed the program’s surveillance and disruption of civil-rights activists. Historical records reviewed by BBC News show that Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Elijah Muhammad and other Black leaders were also targeted.
Escape and Exile in Cuba
In 1979, Shakur escaped from a New Jersey prison with the help of allies and fled the United States. She became the first woman placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list, which offered a $2 million reward for her capture, according to both the Associated Press and Reuters.
In 1984, Cuban leader Fidel Castro granted her political asylum, and she lived in Cuba for the remainder of her life, as reported by The Guardian.
While in exile, Shakur continued her activism through books and interviews. She wrote in 1998, “I had advocated —and I continued to advocate— revolutionary change … I called for an end to capitalist exploitation, the abolition of racist policies and the eradication of sexism.” The letter has been cited by NPR and Democracy Now! as a defining statement of her political philosophy.
Reactions to Her Death
The Guardian reported that news of Shakur’s death prompted sharply divided responses. In a Sept. 28 post on X, former FBI Director Kash Patel reaffirmed the bureau’s stance, writing: “The FBI never stopped calling her what she was: a terrorist.”
Meanwhile, the Chicago Teachers Union memorialised her on Sept. 26 as “a revolutionary fighter, a fierce writer, a revered elder of Black liberation and a leader of freedom whose spirit continued to live in our struggle,” according to the Associated Press. The post drew criticism from some Chicago alderpersons but received support from Mayor Brandon Johnson.
Dr. Marc Lamont Hill described Shakur as “a legend, a mentor and a resource to so many of us.” Speaking on The Joe Budden Podcast, he said he was grateful that “she was able to live free and die free,” as quoted by The Guardian.
Angela Hay is a professional writing and journalism student at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. She has written and edited for Capital Stories, Capital Magazine and The Chimes, the university’s student newspaper.
