The experience confirmed Assata’s decision to part ways with the party, and she went on to join the Black Liberation Army, an underground Black nationalist and Marxist group that advocated revolutionary armed struggle. Though there is little documentation of Assata’s BLA activities, she faced a series of criminal accusations and charges, including robbery, assault, and possession of a deadly weapon. Her life was forever changed when she was arrested on the night of May 2, 1973, following a violent shootout with police on the New Jersey Turnpike. The incident drew significant media attention and before long Assata Shakur, the revolutionary turned icon, became a household name. In a July 4, 1973, address, “To My People,” written in prison, Shakur denounced the U.S. government and condemned racism and inequality. “I have declared war on the rich who prosper on our poverty, the politicians who lie to us with smiling faces, and all the mindless, heartless robots who protected them and their property.” “I am a black revolutionary,” she continued, “and as such I am the victim of all the wrath, hatred and slander that amerikkka is capable of.” Shakur’s remarks were broadcast on local stations and reprinted in the Black Scholar, a preeminent journal of Black studies.
In 1977, Assata was convicted of the first-degree murder of a white state trooper during the shootout and sentenced to life in prison. Two years later, she escaped with the assistance of fellow BLA members and is currently in exile in Cuba. Though she was vilified in the white media, Assata Shakur emerged as an inspirational figure—and an international symbol—of Black radical resistance to oppression.
In the aftermath of the trial of the Panther 21, Afeni’s life took a myriad of twists and turns. While she was out on bail in the summer of 1970, she had a relationship with Billy Garland, a Black Panther activist from New Jersey. While fighting for her freedom during the trial, Afeni found out she was pregnant. One month after the acquittal, she gave birth to her son, Tupac Amaru Shakur.