Assata Shakur — godmother to rapper Tupac Shakur — has died in Cuba, according to her daughter.
Her daughter wrote on Facebook … Assata “took her last earthly breath” Thursday afternoon, going on to say in part … “words cannot describe the depth of loss that I am feeling at this time.”
The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reportedly released a statement, confirming she died in Havana of health complications and advanced age.
Part of the Black Liberation Movement, Assata was arrested for the 1973 shooting death of a New Jersey state police officer following a traffic stop. She and two members of the Black Liberation Army got into a shootout with police and Assata was wounded, but survived.
Four years later, Assata was convicted of murder in the officer’s shooting and other offenses and was sentenced to life in prison.
But, two years into her sentence in 1979, Assata escaped from prison with help from BLM members and fled to Cuba, where communist dictator Fidel Castro gave her asylum. She stayed in Cuba until her death.
Interestingly, Assata was the first woman to show up on the FBI’s most-wanted list — and she became an icon to a bunch of activist groups for her stances on anti-sexism and anti-racism before her conviction.
Assata was 78.
RIP
