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{{Short description|1988 memoir by Assata Shakur}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2019}}
{{Infobox book
{{Infobox book
| italic title = <!--(see above)-->
| name = Assata: An Autobiography
| name = Assata: An Autobiography
| image = File:AssataAuto.jpg
| image = File:AssataAuto.jpg
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| illustrator =
| illustrator =
| cover_artist =
| cover_artist =
| country = [[United States]], [[Cuba]]
| country = United States, Cuba
| language = English
| language = English
| series =
| series =
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| genre = Autobiography
| genre = Autobiography
| set_in =
| set_in =
| publisher = Lawrence Hill Books<ref name=NYT/>
| publisher = [[Lawrence Hill Books]]<ref name=NYT/>
| publisher2 =
| publisher2 =
| pub_date =
| pub_date =
| english_pub_date =
| english_pub_date =
| published = 1988
| published = {{date and age|1988}}
| media_type =
| media_type =
| pages = 320 pp
| pages = 320 pp
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| native_wikisource =
| native_wikisource =
| wikisource =
| wikisource =
| notes =
| notes =
| exclude_cover =
| exclude_cover =
| website =
| website =
}}
}}


'''''Assata: An Autobiography''''' is a 1988 autobiographical book by [[Assata Shakur]].<ref name=NYT>{{cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/06/books/in-short-nonfiction-880388.html|date= 1988|title=IN SHORT; NONFICTION|authorlink=E. R. Shipp|author=Shipp, E. R.}}</ref> The book was written and released in Cuba where Shakur currently has political asylum.
'''''Assata: An Autobiography''''' is a 1988 autobiographical book by [[Assata Shakur]].<ref name=NYT>{{cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/06/books/in-short-nonfiction-880388.html|date=March 6, 1988|title=IN SHORT; NONFICTION|author-link=E. R. Shipp|last=Shipp|first= E. R.}}</ref> The book was written in Cuba where Shakur currently has political asylum.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/cubas-american-refugees-1162033.html |title=Cuba's American refugees |last=Davidson |first=Phil |date=May 1, 1998 |website=independent.co.uk }}</ref>

==Synopsis==
==Synopsis==
The autobiography, begins on May 2nd, 1973. Shakur recounts what happened after a shooting on the New Jersey State Turnpike, the shooting left New Jersey State Trooper, Werner Foerester, and Zayd Shakur killed, and Assata Shakur and [[Sundiata Acoli]] severely injured. The book continues with Shakur describing her early childhood growing up in Queens, New York with her mother, and spending her summers in Wilmington, North Carolina with her grandparents. Shakur tells her story by going back and forth between the “present” with Shakur’s hospitalization, incarceration, pregnancy and trial following the events on the Turnpike; and the “past” with her early childhood schooling, the beginning of her radicalization, and her time as a prominent Black Power and human rights revolutionary.
The autobiography<ref name="Shakur 1988">{{cite book |last=Shakur |first=Assata|date=1988 |title=Assata: An Autobiography |publisher=Lawrence Hill Books |isbn=9780882082219 }}</ref> begins on May 2, 1973. Shakur recounts what happened after a shooting on the New Jersey State Turnpike. The shooting left Zayd Shakur and New Jersey State Trooper Werner Forrester killed, Assata Shakur wounded, and [[Sundiata Acoli]] on the run.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.assatashakur.com/facts.htm |title=Statement of Facts in the New Jersey Trial of Assata Shakur |last=Williams |first=Evelyn |date=June 25, 2005 |website=assatashakur.com }}</ref> The book continues with Shakur describing her early childhood growing up in [[Queens, New York]], with her mother, and spending her summers in [[Wilmington, North Carolina]], with her grandparents. Shakur tells her story by going back and forth between the "present" with Shakur's hospitalization, incarceration, pregnancy and trial following the events on the New Jersey State Turnpike; and the "past" with her early childhood schooling, the beginning of her radicalization, and her time as a prominent Black Power and human rights revolutionary.


==="To My People"===
==="To My People"===
"To My People" was a recorded statement released by Assata Shakur while in jail in Middlesex County, NJ. The tape was recorded on Independence Day, 1973, and was broadcast on numerous radio stations. Shakur includes the transcript of the recording in Chapter 3 of the autobiography. The recording was released in response to the media coverage about Shakur after the [[New Jersey Turnpike Shooting]]. In the recording, Assata publicly described herself as a black revolutionary and her participation in [[Black Liberation Army]] and her participation in the incident. In the message Assata describes the corruption of police, structural inequality between blacks and whites, and the American support of brutal wars and regimes in Cambodia, Vietnam, and South Africa.
"To My People" was a recorded statement released by Assata Shakur while in jail in [[Middlesex County, New Jersey]]. The tape was recorded on Independence Day, 1973, and was broadcast on numerous radio stations.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gcadvocate.com/2017/06/21/assata-shakur-always-welcome/ |title=Assata Shakur, Always Welcome |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=June 21, 2017 |website=gcadvocate.com }}</ref> Shakur includes the transcript of the recording in Chapter 3 of the autobiography.<ref name="Shakur 1988"/> The recording was released in response to the media coverage about Shakur after the [[Assata_Shakur#New_Jersey_Turnpike_shootout|New Jersey Turnpike Shooting]]. In the recording, Assata publicly described herself as a black revolutionary, her participation in the [[Black Liberation Army]] and her participation in the incident. In the message, Assata describes the corruption of police, structural inequality between blacks and whites, and the American support of brutal wars and regimes in Cambodia, Vietnam, and South Africa.


==Major themes==
==Major themes==
===Oppression and resistance===
Shakur describes the oppression she faced and witnessed throughout her life. The book<ref name="Shakur 1988"/> begins with the physical abuse she received from New Jersey police officers in the hospital after the shooting on the Turnpike.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.zedbooks.net/blog/posts/assata-shakur-arrest-shooting/ |title=There Were Lights ad Sirens |last=Shakur |first=Assata |date=2016 |website=zedbooks.net }}</ref> She discusses the trials against her and describes them as completely fabricated. Along with the oppression from the state, she recounts the racism she, and her family experienced in North Carolina as well as watching the [[ National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]] (NAACP) train people for peaceful protests and sit-ins.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://time.com/3638319/life-and-civil-rights-anatomy-of-a-protest-virginia-1960/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219125955/http://time.com/3638319/life-and-civil-rights-anatomy-of-a-protest-virginia-1960/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 19, 2014 |title=Civil Rights: Photos From Sit-ins and Protest Training Sessions, 1960 |last=Cosgrove |first=Ben |date=January 31, 2013 |website=time.com }}</ref> Shakur describes resistance methods taken by the NAACP, including the peaceful, non-violence ideology. Though she does not adopt this, she respects it. Shakur chooses to take on roles with the [[Black Panther Party]] and Black Liberation Army as forms of resistance to social oppression.

===Revolution===
===Revolution===
Throughout the book Shakur describes her personal desire to be a revolutionary, and the social revolution she believes is necessary for African Americans and other minorities. She discusses this revolution many times including in the “To My People” recording. The idea of revolution is also mentioned when she makes the opening statement at the New York State Supreme Court County of Kings during the trial against her; where she was accused of the kidnap of a drug dealer, for which she was acquitted.
Throughout the book<ref name="Shakur 1988"/> Shakur describes her personal desire to be a [[revolutionary]], and the social revolution she believes is necessary for African Americans and other minorities. She discusses this revolution many times, including in the “To My People” recording. The idea of revolution is also mentioned when she makes the opening statement<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.freedomarchives.org/Documents/Finder/DOC513_scans/Assata_Shakur/513.Assata.OpeningStatement.pdf |title=Opening Statement by Assata Shakur (Joanne Chesimard |last=Shakur |first=Assata |date=1976 |website=freedomarchives.org }}</ref> at the New York State Supreme Court County of Kings during the trial against her, where she was accused of the kidnap of a drug dealer, for which she was acquitted.

===[[Black Panther Party]]===
===Black Panther Party===
In Chapter 13 Shakur describes her introduction into the Black Panther Party while visiting the Bay Area. Shakur discusses her reservations about joining the party with the members which included their lack of politeness and respect for the people they talked to. Shakur eventually joins while living in New York. It is when she joins the party, she witnesses and experiences the government infiltration now known as [[COINTELPRO]]. It is this surveillance that leads her to choose to go “underground” and eventually leave the party.
In Chapter 13, Shakur describes her introduction into the Black Panther Party while visiting the Bay Area. She discusses her reservations about joining the party with the members which included their lack of politeness and respect for the people they talked to. Shakur eventually joins while living in New York. It is when she joins the party, she witnesses and experiences the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] infiltration of political organizations now known as [[COINTELPRO]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://vault.fbi.gov/cointel-pro |title=COINTELPRO |website=vault.fbi.gov }}</ref> It is this surveillance that leads her to choose to go "underground" and eventually leave the party.


==Critical reception==
==Critical reception==
''[[The New York Times]]''{{'}} review stated "The book's abrupt shifts in time can annoy after a while, as can the liberties she takes with spelling - ''court,'' ''America'' and ''Rockefeller,'' for example, become ''kourt,'' ''amerika'' and ''Rockafella.'' But, all in all, the author provides a spellbinding tale that evokes mixed feelings in the way the autobiographies of [[Malcolm X]], [[Robert "Sonny" Carson|Sonny Carson]] and [[Claude Brown]] did in years past."<ref name=NYT/>
''[[The New York Times]]''{{'}} review stated: "The book's abrupt shifts in time can annoy after a while, as can the liberties she takes with spelling – ''court'', ''America'' and ''Rockefeller'', for example, become ''kourt'', ''amerika'' and ''Rockafella''. But, all in all, the author provides a spellbinding tale that evokes mixed feelings in the way the autobiographies of [[Malcolm X]], [[Robert "Sonny" Carson|Sonny Carson]] and [[Claude Brown]] did in years past."<ref name=NYT/>


==Legacy and influence==
==Legacy and influence==
The book<ref name="Shakur 1988"/> was first published in the United Kingdom by [[Zed Books]] in 1987.<!-- Zed Books describes its primary focus as publishing the works of oppressed people and groups.--><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.zedbooks.net/about/ |title=ABout Zed|author=<!--Not stated--> |website=zedbooks.net }}</ref> In 1999, an American edition was released by [[Lawrence Hill Books]] of Brooklyn, New York.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/lawrence-hill-books-pages-470.php |title=Lawrence Hill Books |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=chicagoreviewpress.com }}</ref>
⚫
The latest 2014 edition of the book begins with two forewords from renowned activist [[Angela Davis]] and criminal justice scholar Lennox S. Hinds.
⚫
[[Common (rapper)]], released the song "A Song for Assata" in 2000 after visiting Shakur in Cuba<ref>https://www.complex.com/music/2014/12/common-best-political-moments/</ref>. The song details some of the events described in the book.


⚫
Rapper [[Common (rapper)|Common]] released "A Song for Assata" in 2000 after visiting Shakur in Cuba.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.complex.com/music/2014/12/common-best-political-moments/ |title=Common's Best Political Moments |last=Garvey |first=Megan |date=December 31, 2014|website=complex.com }}</ref> The song details some of the events in the book.
The book was originally published in the U.K. by British publication [[Zed Books]] in 1987. Zed Books is self-described as primarily publishing the works of people and groups who have been oppressed.<ref>https://www.zedbooks.net/about/</ref> In 1999 the text was then published by Lawrence Hill Books based in Brooklyn, New York. Lawrence Hill Books is also a progressive, radical publisher similar to Zed Books.<ref>https://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/lawrence-hill-books-pages-470.php</ref>

⚫
The 2014 edition of the book<ref name="Shakur 1988"/> features forewords by activist [[Angela Davis]] and criminal justice scholar Lennox S. Hinds.

The book was adapted as an audio dramatization by [[BBC Radio 4]] in July 2017.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08xzzb3 |title=15 Minute Drama, Assata Shakur-The FBI's Most Wanted Woman |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=bbc.co.uk |date=July 2017}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Assata: An Autobiography}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Assata: An Autobiography}}
⚫
[[Category:1988 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:African-American autobiographies]]
[[Category:African-American autobiographies]]
⚫
[[Category:Political autobiographies]]
[[Category:Racism in the United States]]
⚫
[[Category:1988 books]]
[[Category:Autobiographies]]
[[Category:African-American literature]]
[[Category:African-American literature]]
[[Category:American autobiographies]]
[[Category:Black Power]]
[[Category:Black Power]]
[[Category:English-language books]]
[[Category:English-language books]]
[[Category:Literature by African-American women]]
[[Category:Non-fiction books about racism]]
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[[Category:Political autobiographies]]

Latest revision as of 04:43, 9 May 2024

Assata: An Autobiography
AuthorAssata Shakur
LanguageEnglish
GenreAutobiography
Published1988; 36 years ago (1988)
PublisherLawrence Hill Books[1]
Publication placeUnited States, Cuba
Pages320 pp

Assata: An Autobiography is a 1988 autobiographical book by Assata Shakur.[1] The book was written in Cuba where Shakur currently has political asylum.[2]

Synopsis

[edit]

The autobiography[3] begins on May 2, 1973. Shakur recounts what happened after a shooting on the New Jersey State Turnpike. The shooting left Zayd Shakur and New Jersey State Trooper Werner Forrester killed, Assata Shakur wounded, and Sundiata Acoli on the run.[4] The book continues with Shakur describing her early childhood growing up in Queens, New York, with her mother, and spending her summers in Wilmington, North Carolina, with her grandparents. Shakur tells her story by going back and forth between the "present" with Shakur's hospitalization, incarceration, pregnancy and trial following the events on the New Jersey State Turnpike; and the "past" with her early childhood schooling, the beginning of her radicalization, and her time as a prominent Black Power and human rights revolutionary.

"To My People"

[edit]

"To My People" was a recorded statement released by Assata Shakur while in jail in Middlesex County, New Jersey. The tape was recorded on Independence Day, 1973, and was broadcast on numerous radio stations.[5] Shakur includes the transcript of the recording in Chapter 3 of the autobiography.[3] The recording was released in response to the media coverage about Shakur after the New Jersey Turnpike Shooting. In the recording, Assata publicly described herself as a black revolutionary, her participation in the Black Liberation Army and her participation in the incident. In the message, Assata describes the corruption of police, structural inequality between blacks and whites, and the American support of brutal wars and regimes in Cambodia, Vietnam, and South Africa.

Major themes

[edit]

Oppression and resistance

[edit]

Shakur describes the oppression she faced and witnessed throughout her life. The book[3] begins with the physical abuse she received from New Jersey police officers in the hospital after the shooting on the Turnpike.[6] She discusses the trials against her and describes them as completely fabricated. Along with the oppression from the state, she recounts the racism she, and her family experienced in North Carolina as well as watching the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) train people for peaceful protests and sit-ins.[7] Shakur describes resistance methods taken by the NAACP, including the peaceful, non-violence ideology. Though she does not adopt this, she respects it. Shakur chooses to take on roles with the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army as forms of resistance to social oppression.

Revolution

[edit]

Throughout the book[3] Shakur describes her personal desire to be a revolutionary, and the social revolution she believes is necessary for African Americans and other minorities. She discusses this revolution many times, including in the “To My People” recording. The idea of revolution is also mentioned when she makes the opening statement[8] at the New York State Supreme Court County of Kings during the trial against her, where she was accused of the kidnap of a drug dealer, for which she was acquitted.

Black Panther Party

[edit]

In Chapter 13, Shakur describes her introduction into the Black Panther Party while visiting the Bay Area. She discusses her reservations about joining the party with the members which included their lack of politeness and respect for the people they talked to. Shakur eventually joins while living in New York. It is when she joins the party, she witnesses and experiences the Federal Bureau of Investigation infiltration of political organizations now known as COINTELPRO.[9] It is this surveillance that leads her to choose to go "underground" and eventually leave the party.

Critical reception

[edit]

The New York Times' review stated: "The book's abrupt shifts in time can annoy after a while, as can the liberties she takes with spelling – court, America and Rockefeller, for example, become kourt, amerika and Rockafella. But, all in all, the author provides a spellbinding tale that evokes mixed feelings in the way the autobiographies of Malcolm X, Sonny Carson and Claude Brown did in years past."[1]

Legacy and influence

[edit]

The book[3] was first published in the United Kingdom by Zed Books in 1987.[10] In 1999, an American edition was released by Lawrence Hill Books of Brooklyn, New York.[11]

Rapper Common released "A Song for Assata" in 2000 after visiting Shakur in Cuba.[12] The song details some of the events in the book.

The 2014 edition of the book[3] features forewords by activist Angela Davis and criminal justice scholar Lennox S. Hinds.

The book was adapted as an audio dramatization by BBC Radio 4 in July 2017.[13]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Shipp, E. R. (March 6, 1988). "IN SHORT; NONFICTION". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Davidson, Phil (May 1, 1998). "Cuba's American refugees". independent.co.uk.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Shakur, Assata (1988). Assata: An Autobiography. Lawrence Hill Books. ISBN 9780882082219.
  4. ^ Williams, Evelyn (June 25, 2005). "Statement of Facts in the New Jersey Trial of Assata Shakur". assatashakur.com.
  5. ^ "Assata Shakur, Always Welcome". gcadvocate.com. June 21, 2017.
  6. ^ Shakur, Assata (2016). "There Were Lights ad Sirens". zedbooks.net.
  7. ^ Cosgrove, Ben (January 31, 2013). "Civil Rights: Photos From Sit-ins and Protest Training Sessions, 1960". time.com. Archived from the original on December 19, 2014.
  8. ^ Shakur, Assata (1976). "Opening Statement by Assata Shakur (Joanne Chesimard" (PDF). freedomarchives.org.
  9. ^ "COINTELPRO". vault.fbi.gov.
  10. ^ "ABout Zed". zedbooks.net.
  11. ^ "Lawrence Hill Books". chicagoreviewpress.com.
  12. ^ Garvey, Megan (December 31, 2014). "Common's Best Political Moments". complex.com.
  13. ^ "15 Minute Drama, Assata Shakur-The FBI's Most Wanted Woman". bbc.co.uk. July 2017.
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