On September 25, 2025 Assata Shakur - activist, writer, and symbol of Black Liberation - died in Havana, Cuba at the age of 78.
Her passing marks the end of a life lived in struggle, controversy, and exile. But her story - and the questions it raises - remains urgent today.
Who was Assata Shakur?
Born Joanne Chesimard in New York in 1947, Assata Shakur became a member of the Black Panther Party and later the Black Liberation Army, two organizations at the center of the radical resistance movement in the 1960s and 1970s.
In 1977, she was convicted of the murder of a New Jersey state trooper - a charge she and her supports argued was the result of racial and political targeting. After escaping prison in 1979, she fled to Cuba, where she was granted asylum.
For decades she lived in exile - teaching, writing, and continuing her activism from abroad.
The Book They Tried to Silence
In 1987, she published Assata: Autobiography, a book that has since become, required reading in many classrooms and banned from others.
Her words weave together her personal story with reflections on race, justice, and America's deep contradictions. For many Assata remains one of the most powerful testimonies of resistance written in the 20th centry.
Why Her Passing Matters
Shakur's death comes at a time when the voices of Black women, freedom fighters, and truth tellers remain under attack. Books like hers are still being censored and erased from schools and libraries across the US .
He Life Forces Us to Confront Difficult Truths;
- How do we perserve stories that challenge power?
- And what does it take to honor someone whose legacy is both celebrated and condemned?
- What does justice mean in a nation with a long history of racial oppression?
Keeping the Legacy Alive
At Unbanned Books. we believe Assata Shakur's story derves to be read, and debated, and remembered.
Link to purchase Autobiography
As we mark her passing, we invite you to join us in reading her work, reflecting on her legacy, and carrying forward the struggle for justice and liberation.
Her Words Remain:
"It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to loose but chains."
Reat in peace, Assata Shakur