"Too many people in the u.s. support death and destruction without being aware of it. They indirectly support the killing of people without ever having to look at the corpses."

— Assata Shakur: Assata, p. 268

#assata #assatashakur #imperialism

"As far as i was concerned, building a sense of national consciousness was one of the most important tasks that lay ahead of us. I couldn't see how we could seriously struggle without having a strong sense of collectivity, without being responsible for each other and to each other.

It was also clear to me that without a truly internationalist component nationalism was reactionary. There was nothing revolutionary about nationalism by itself-Hitler and Mussolini were nationalists. Any community seriously concerned with its own freedom has to be concerned about other peoples' freedom as well. The victory of oppressed people anywhere in the world is a victory for Black people. Each time one of imperialism's tentacles is cut off we are closer to liberation. The struggle in South Africa is the most important battle of the century for Black people. The defeat of apartheid in South Africa will bring Africans all over the planet closer to liberation. Imperialism is an international system of exploitation, and, we, as revolutionaries, need to be internationalists to defeat it."

— Assata Shakur: Assata, p. 267

#assata #assatashakur #revolution #collectivism #classconsciousness #liberation #apartheid #imperialism

"THE TRADITION

Through the lies and the sell-outs. The mistakes and the madness. Through pain and hunger and frustration, We carried it on.

Carried on the tradition.

Carried a strong tradition.

Carried a proud tradition.

Carried a Black tradition.

Carry it on.

Pass it down to the children. Pass it down. Carry it on. Carry it on now. Carry it on TO FREEDOM!"

— Assata Shakur: Assata, pp. 263-265

#assata #assatashakur

"In the long run, the people are our only appeal. The only ones who can free us are ourselves."

— Assata Shakur: Assata, p. 325

#assata #assatashakur

"Some of the groups thought they could just pick up arms and struggle and that, somehow, people would see what they were doing and begin to struggle themselves. They wanted to engage in a do-or-die battle with the power structure in amerika, even though they were weak and ill prepared for such a fight. But the most important factor is that armed struggle, by itself, can never bring about a revolution. Revolutionary war is a people's war. And no people's war can be won without the support of the masses of people. Armed struggle can never be successful by itself; it must be part of an overall strategy for winning, and the strategy must be political as well as military."

— Assata Shakur: Assata, p. 314

#assata #assatashakur #revolution

"As far as i was concerned, the police in the Black communities were nothing but a foreign, occupying army, beating, torturing, and murdering people at whim and without restraint. I despise violence, but i despise it even more when it's one-sided and used to oppress and repress poor people."

— Assata Shakur: Assata, p. 306

#assata #assatashakur #acab

Today in Labor History May 12, 1971: The Panther 21 were acquitted in New York on charges of conspiring to bomb buildings after it was revealed that the undercover police had infiltrated the Black Panther Party, created the plans for the violence, and framed innocent Panthers. Among those charged were Afeni Shakur who was, at the time, pregnant with Tupac Shakur. Another defendant was Sundiata Acoli, who would later join the Black Liberation Army (BLA) and get convicted (1974), along with Assata Shakur, of murdering a New Jersey state trooper. Another defendant in the Panther 21 case was Kuwasi Balagoon who became an anarchist while in prison and who also joined the BLA. In 1979, while on the lam from his second prison escape, he helped to free Assata Shakur, who fled to Cuba and who died there in 2025. In 1986, Balagoon, who was bisexual, died in prison from AIDS. The prison abolitionist group, Black and Pink, which supports LGBTQ and HIV-positive prisoners, has, since 2020, run a "Kuwasi Balagoon award" for prisoners living with HIV/AIDS.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #blackpanthers #bpp #tupac #assata #aids #lgbtq #racism #homophobia #kuwasibalagoon #anarchism #socialism #communism #sundiataacoli #police #BlackMastodon

I missed the #news that #Assata #Shakur passed away a few days ago. I would say it's ironic that the fascists on the right are excoriating people mourning her death with the same breath they use to shout down anyone who has anything other than glowing praise to say about #CharlieKirk but there's no such thing as irony in the fascist ideology. Rules for thee but not for me.

Rather than post anything more on the topic, I thought I'd post a link to "A Song for Assata" by Common: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaqXrT9bU10