Assata Shakur Essay

1630 Words4 Pages

Pg.1
Carlos Lima
11/17/14
Section: 10385
Assata Shakur Essay

Assata Shakur’s political views are similar and different from many other political activists but the injustice she faced changed her views in ways other will never understand. Assata Shakur was an African American activist who became a member of the Black Panther party which supported the black power movement. Shakur faces oppression and is persecuted by the FBI for being a member of the black liberation army and the Black Panther party. Assata was convicted and charged with murdering a New Jersey police officer. She faced life in prison but she escaped and fled to Cuba where she seeked political asylum. Assata was persecuted so heavily and incarcerated because of her involvement …show more content…

In a way they both used militant strategies to directly fight for Black liberation.
Malcom X differs from Assata in many ways. Malcolm X wanted a separate state for African Americans. He believed that blacks were feeding into the white power structure and then whites were holding them down. Malcolm X challenged the political economy which had African Americans facing poor working conditions and rates of unemployment higher than whites. Assata was not striving for a separate African American state but was more for equality in the United States for all people of color. She fought against police brutality and political injustice with the black panthers. Also Malcolm X was part of the nation of Islam while Assata was part of the Black Panther’s party and black liberation army.
Assata’s political beliefs are also similar in some ways to those of W.E.B Du Bois. They both believed in equal rights in every aspect of a person’s life. They fought for full equality and were against accommodation. For example when W.E.B Du Bois apposed the Atlanta Compromise because he believed blacks should not have to compromise on this issue and they deserve to have the same rights that all citizens are promised in the constitution. As W.E.B. Du Bois believed only direct protest would advance African American civil rights, Assata also took direct action in the fight for black …show more content…

She states she was no longer the wide eyed, romantic young revolutionary who believed the revolution was just around the corner. She is saying she is not so hopeful that change will come so quick. She has realized that the revolution is a process and it is going to take for things to change. At that point they should not expect a revolution all of the sudden because it was not ready yet. It was going to take a lot more for real change to actually occur. She is still a revolutionary fighting for liberation of black people but now that she has escaped prison and fled to Cuba, she must do her work from afar. She is no longer in the middle of the conflict and directly working towards liberation and equality. She also now believes that it is not the government who runs the country. She says those who believe that the president or the vice-president and the congress and the Supreme Court run this country are sadly mistaken. The almighty dollar is king (Assata,

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