Assata: An Autobiography

Raised in Wilmington, North Carolina, and Queens, New York, in a time of intense racial injustice, Shakur became radicalized through her exposure to the constant racism and sexism she endured during her childhood and through her adulthood as a wanted political refugee. Her family taught her to “speak in a loud, clear voice and to hold [her] head up high” (19) with pride and dignity in a racist society. The lessons from her childhood helped shape her sense of independence and determination in her adulthood when she became politically conscious and decided to work toward Black liberation.

Shakur was acutely aware that as a Black revolutionary woman, she was especially vulnerable to racist and sexist attacks from the state as well as those around her. She showed a keen understanding of the historical context for these attitudes and actions, dating this behavior to the period of legal enslavement in which enslavers perpetuated the notion that Black women were “less than human, unintelligent” and “less than a woman” (116). While enslavement was no longer legal in the US, Shakur believed that these historical attitudes still had ramifications in the present-day. To refute these beliefs, Shakur dedicated herself to political causes that celebrated Black dignity and pride.