REST IN PEACE - Afeni Shakur
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I was talking to an old veteran at a retirement home and he said very smuggly, "You know, no one leaves this rock alive." RIP Afeni
Rest!!!!
R.I.P. Ms. Shakur
R.I.p.
R.I.P. a lot of people heading home as the Earth raises it frequency. Even the sky looks different nowadays.
Peace Afeni,
May the ANCESTORS welcome you and embrace you!
May the ANCESTORS welcome you and embrace you!
Her defense of the Panther 21 with no law degree to speak of charged with 156 felonies facing 300 plus years
and defeating white supremacy in it's own court is nothing short of Godly.
and defeating white supremacy in it's own court is nothing short of Godly.
http://www.thetalkingdrum.com/afeni.html
Afeni Shakur
Tupac Shakur's mother, Afeni Shakur activist, Black Panther, poet, actress, NY 21 political prisoner, addicted to freedom and liberation The Black Panther Party, life addicted to the assessment of Amerikkka's idea of her: helpless Black woman without a clue to what life is/was about. Being born Black in the 1960's-1970's was a struggle for dignity and power. A time to challenge prejudice and edicts, sexism etc. Corporate and institutionalized deaths, her language is fierce and loving hard and soft her words are lullabies and martial songs. Her words, so untold full of secrets waiting to reveal themselves, Tupac and Afeni are two miracles! two individuals daring to live and create and love. Both cross color, class and gender. Afeni is indeed the miracle woman wonder. Afeni comes from a very closed world, from Lumberton, North Carolina. She moved to New York when she was in the sixth grade, she was 11 and lived in the Bronx. she went to the Performing Arts High School in Manhattan. She wanted to be an actress. When she was in her late teens she would go to Manny's Bar on 169th St. in the Bronx. This guy use to come in there named Shaheed. At the time I was a greasy short haired little colored girl, skinny, with no breasts and never had no butt, she wasn't the one men would look at but she was smart and had a nice smile. Shaheed introduced her to the lessons given by the Nation of Islam.
As she listened to Brother Shaheed, she began to like herself, because of what she was, this little Black girl with short hair. He introduced her into MalcolmX, At 19 she got a job working at the post office, she met a brother there, and they became lover, she was with him when she first saw the Black Panther Party, they found their Blackness together, She had gone to the Black Power Conference in Philadelphia and that singular event affected her like no other even in her life. She had seen the pictures of the Black Panthers in Sacramento. What a wonderful sight that was to her, A black woman who was unapologetic, told her if she wanted to be a revolutionary she didn't have to do anything but walk through the supermarket with a razor blade and run her hands across the flour and the sugar An act of resistance She saw Elderige Cleaver, you have to have heard him to know how wonderful and beautiful he was and what a motivator he was for those of us who didn't go to college or who were dropouts from college, she explains. His words became like food, hope and dreams in her brain, her name Afeni was given to her by the brother who built the Yoruba village in South Carolina, Afeni means "dear one" or "lover of the people". Harlem Time It was the first time Afeni heard the Ten Point Program of the Black Panther Party and she was truly hooked. She heard Bobby Seale recite the Ten Point Program. He could recruit a town full of Black people just by saying it. Meetings for the Black Panther Party, were held at L.I.U. on Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. Afeni was there every Saturday.
The Panthers got involved in the
school strike. She was now part of the Black Panthers Party and Lumumba Shakur's wife. Lumumba later got arrested and one other member was beaten up, two were killed in L.A. And the trigger was allegedly pulled by members of the Ron Karenga Led, United Slaves (US) Organization. There was a party rally the next morning, At 5:00a.m. there was banging at Afeni's apartment door, Lumumba ran to the door and looked out the peak hole, there was a fire and a whole bunch of people yelling. He opened the door and police came in with shotguns at his head, one at his stomach and one on my stomach. Brother Lumumba was a polygamist. Sister Sayeeda was his first wife, Afeni at first disrespected her, She thought Sayeeda wasn't bad enough to be the wife of this revolutionary brother. Afeni now feels it was cruel and insensitive, but she didn't understand that then. But she accepted Afeni into her home, All I did was make her life miserable and i was with her husband, which we were sharing. Earlier the police took Lumumba and Afeni in a caravan, to the D.A.'s office, there she saw everybody in the party. Her sister and her sisters husband scraped together all the money they could to bail me out of jail. They raised 1000 dollars. But when they go into the courtroom the first name they call is Lumumba Abdul Shakur. They announce his bail at 100,000 dollars, they got to my name and said the same. She thought they were mistaken. They didn't misspell her new name. So she went to jail and there she sat for eleven months while George Jackson, Jonathan Jackson and Fred Hampton were killed. While in jail She was about organizing the jail, anybody and anything she could. Finally woman from the church raised her bail The Dickersons (Charlotte and Angela) and their friends. Black and White women raised 64,000 dollars in cash and then the church put up 36,000 dollars in church property. They weren't even party members! Young and older woman, Black and White Leftist lawyers Church going mommas. She was amazed by that. Bail revoked, she was imprisoned in the Women's House of Detention in Greenwich Village. In her cell she patted her belly and said, "This is my prince. He is going to save the black nation. "By the time Tupac was born on June 16, 1971, Afeni had already defended herself in court and been acquitted on 156 counts. Living in the Bronx, she found steady work as a paralegal and tried to raise her son to respect the value of an education. From childhood, everyone called him the "Black Prince". I named him Tupac Amaru Shakur (Shining, Serpent, Blessed One). I wanted him to have the name of revolutionary, indigenous people in the world. I wanted him to know he was part of a world culture and not just from a neighborhood...When he was two years old and did something wrong, I would say to him, an independent Black man wouldn't do that. He was always an independent Black man! I wasn't by myself when my son Tupac died: a lot of mommas have lost their sons to this country's violence. I AM NOT ALONE. So don't try to isolate me, If you do, it will relieve ordinary people of assuming their important roles. We all have important roles to assume before we leave this planet."
Afeni Shakur
Tupac Shakur's mother, Afeni Shakur activist, Black Panther, poet, actress, NY 21 political prisoner, addicted to freedom and liberation The Black Panther Party, life addicted to the assessment of Amerikkka's idea of her: helpless Black woman without a clue to what life is/was about. Being born Black in the 1960's-1970's was a struggle for dignity and power. A time to challenge prejudice and edicts, sexism etc. Corporate and institutionalized deaths, her language is fierce and loving hard and soft her words are lullabies and martial songs. Her words, so untold full of secrets waiting to reveal themselves, Tupac and Afeni are two miracles! two individuals daring to live and create and love. Both cross color, class and gender. Afeni is indeed the miracle woman wonder. Afeni comes from a very closed world, from Lumberton, North Carolina. She moved to New York when she was in the sixth grade, she was 11 and lived in the Bronx. she went to the Performing Arts High School in Manhattan. She wanted to be an actress. When she was in her late teens she would go to Manny's Bar on 169th St. in the Bronx. This guy use to come in there named Shaheed. At the time I was a greasy short haired little colored girl, skinny, with no breasts and never had no butt, she wasn't the one men would look at but she was smart and had a nice smile. Shaheed introduced her to the lessons given by the Nation of Islam.
As she listened to Brother Shaheed, she began to like herself, because of what she was, this little Black girl with short hair. He introduced her into MalcolmX, At 19 she got a job working at the post office, she met a brother there, and they became lover, she was with him when she first saw the Black Panther Party, they found their Blackness together, She had gone to the Black Power Conference in Philadelphia and that singular event affected her like no other even in her life. She had seen the pictures of the Black Panthers in Sacramento. What a wonderful sight that was to her, A black woman who was unapologetic, told her if she wanted to be a revolutionary she didn't have to do anything but walk through the supermarket with a razor blade and run her hands across the flour and the sugar An act of resistance She saw Elderige Cleaver, you have to have heard him to know how wonderful and beautiful he was and what a motivator he was for those of us who didn't go to college or who were dropouts from college, she explains. His words became like food, hope and dreams in her brain, her name Afeni was given to her by the brother who built the Yoruba village in South Carolina, Afeni means "dear one" or "lover of the people". Harlem Time It was the first time Afeni heard the Ten Point Program of the Black Panther Party and she was truly hooked. She heard Bobby Seale recite the Ten Point Program. He could recruit a town full of Black people just by saying it. Meetings for the Black Panther Party, were held at L.I.U. on Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. Afeni was there every Saturday.
The Panthers got involved in the
school strike. She was now part of the Black Panthers Party and Lumumba Shakur's wife. Lumumba later got arrested and one other member was beaten up, two were killed in L.A. And the trigger was allegedly pulled by members of the Ron Karenga Led, United Slaves (US) Organization. There was a party rally the next morning, At 5:00a.m. there was banging at Afeni's apartment door, Lumumba ran to the door and looked out the peak hole, there was a fire and a whole bunch of people yelling. He opened the door and police came in with shotguns at his head, one at his stomach and one on my stomach. Brother Lumumba was a polygamist. Sister Sayeeda was his first wife, Afeni at first disrespected her, She thought Sayeeda wasn't bad enough to be the wife of this revolutionary brother. Afeni now feels it was cruel and insensitive, but she didn't understand that then. But she accepted Afeni into her home, All I did was make her life miserable and i was with her husband, which we were sharing. Earlier the police took Lumumba and Afeni in a caravan, to the D.A.'s office, there she saw everybody in the party. Her sister and her sisters husband scraped together all the money they could to bail me out of jail. They raised 1000 dollars. But when they go into the courtroom the first name they call is Lumumba Abdul Shakur. They announce his bail at 100,000 dollars, they got to my name and said the same. She thought they were mistaken. They didn't misspell her new name. So she went to jail and there she sat for eleven months while George Jackson, Jonathan Jackson and Fred Hampton were killed. While in jail She was about organizing the jail, anybody and anything she could. Finally woman from the church raised her bail The Dickersons (Charlotte and Angela) and their friends. Black and White women raised 64,000 dollars in cash and then the church put up 36,000 dollars in church property. They weren't even party members! Young and older woman, Black and White Leftist lawyers Church going mommas. She was amazed by that. Bail revoked, she was imprisoned in the Women's House of Detention in Greenwich Village. In her cell she patted her belly and said, "This is my prince. He is going to save the black nation. "By the time Tupac was born on June 16, 1971, Afeni had already defended herself in court and been acquitted on 156 counts. Living in the Bronx, she found steady work as a paralegal and tried to raise her son to respect the value of an education. From childhood, everyone called him the "Black Prince". I named him Tupac Amaru Shakur (Shining, Serpent, Blessed One). I wanted him to have the name of revolutionary, indigenous people in the world. I wanted him to know he was part of a world culture and not just from a neighborhood...When he was two years old and did something wrong, I would say to him, an independent Black man wouldn't do that. He was always an independent Black man! I wasn't by myself when my son Tupac died: a lot of mommas have lost their sons to this country's violence. I AM NOT ALONE. So don't try to isolate me, If you do, it will relieve ordinary people of assuming their important roles. We all have important roles to assume before we leave this planet."
http://www.daveyd.com/afeni.html
An Interview With 2Pac's Mom
Afeni Shakur
This interview took place one week before the one year anniversary of 2Pac's untimely death.. His mother, Afeni Sakur who has been the subject of so much of 2Pac's work talked very passionately about her son.. During the interview his Godfather Geronimo Pratt rolled through.. and his sister Set also stopped through....
Davey D: The First thing I want to do is thank you for granting us this interview. We're up on the anniversary of your son's un-timely death. There are so many of us that are still in the shock, so many of us who can't believe it and so many of us within the Hip Hop Generation that are trying to heal from this. And one way we can bring about this healing, is to continue to study and learn about Tupac. I guess the best way to really do that is by talking to you his mom, Afeni Shakur. You're the person who can provide us with that bridge of information. After all, you're the woman who raised him, you're the person who helped shape him, and helped make him into the person whom we've come to admire. I guess the first thing I would like you to do is let our listeners know who Afeni Shakur was. You were a member of the Black Panther Party, you were pregnant with Tupac while in jail, as one of the infamous New York 21. Who is Afeni Shakur?
Afeni Shakur: Basically, first let me just say Peace and Respect to all of the listeners, and all of the people who care about my son, who care about his work and who care about his music. And the first thing I would like to do is give encouragement to Brothers & Sisters who are artists or trying to be artists. From the bottom of my heart, I encourage them to work on their art and to not allow anyone or anything to keep their artist spirit down. And that to me is really important.
And then having said that, let me say that I was a member of the Black Panther Party. I joined in 1968. When I joined, I wasn't a student. I did not come off the college campuses like a lot of known Panthers did. I came from the streets of the South Bronx. I had been a member of the Disciples Deads, which would have been the women Disciples in the Bronx.. What the Panther Party did for me, I used to always say it gave me home training. The Party taught me things that were principles to living, and those principles are the principles I think most Panthers have tried to pass on to their children and to anybody else that would listen to them. You know that one of those principles was like don't steal a penny, needle or a simple piece of thread from the people. It's just general basic things about how we as individuals treat a race of people, and how we treat each other as a people! And those are the things I think the people recognize in Tupac....
We discovered, that within the BBP, that is you try and live by these principles and you have attached to those principles a willingness and a desire to protect and defend your family and your people.. also if you have a large mouth and your willing to speak openly about those things, that you are going to be the victim of all kinds of attacks. That's basically what has happened to all of us. Tupac was and remains in my mind a child of the BBP. I think that I always felt that even through this society that they had destroyed the work of the BBP. I always felt that Tupac was living witness to who we are and who we were. I think that his life spoke to every part of our development and the development of the Party, and the development in this country that I don't think will die.
Davey D: One of the perspectives that people have put forth about Tupac was that he was a gangster.. and that, he was somebody who invited trouble.How do you address that? How should, especially those of us within the Hp Hop Generation perceive 2Pac?
Afeni Shakur: First of all, the difference in people's temperment and my temperment, our temperment is such that is just like you were asking me about a song 'Wade in the Water, God Gonna Trouble the Waters'. We want the waters troubled. We are trouble makers, it's what we are here for. We don't make apologies for it. Why would we? We are revolutionaries, the children of Revolutionaries.... I believe that this is true, basically of young people in any Generation. And that's just true naturally. For us, we're trouble makers, because why wouldn't we be trouble makers in a society that has no respect for us. That has no respect about what I began talking you about. The fact that it is a miracle that we sit here. I don't think that we are suppose to be anything but trouble makers. Tupac use to comment on people who critized him for cursing, as a matter of fact he said this is just about verbatum, 'As I walked into this hall, I passed a young child who was hungry. There is not a bigger curse than a young child hungry'. If we are not concerned about the incest, the rape, about our children dying at the rate that they are dying, I cannot imagine why we would be making all this noise about a word, any word.'..
Davey D: Do you think his music influenced people to move in a direction of violence? That was one thing, I remember the police in Houston wanted to sue him and say that he caused an officer to be shot....
Afeni Shakur: They did sue him in Houston and as a matter of fact, that campaign was started by C. Delores Tucker who has now sued Tupac's estate, namely Tupac's music. Has sued him for interferring with her and her husband's sexual life. Now, don't you think that's proposterous? Of course it is. And I think it's okay for us to say that it is.. and it's just as proposterous to think that music could influence you to do anything else. If that were possible, will someone, please, make a song that will influence us to not kill each other. Please, I beg any person to do that. That should be simple under that mentality. But obviously, that's an irrational concept, and that's what I mean about us thinking. Don't allow people to think for you. Let's use ration. It's okay for us to do it.
I'll tell you something else, for people who feel so bad about Tupac's leaving this planet, we should remember that each of us come here with a beginning date and an ending date. Tupac's beginning was June 16, 1971 and his end was September 13th, 1996. In the 25 years that God gave him on this earth, he shone like a star, and he did all that he was suppose to do, he said all that he needed to say. You need not weep for Tupac, but weep for yourself, because we are left here with these contradictions that we still must face.
Davey D: The whole rivarly between Tupac and Biggie and to see both of them at the height of their careers, as far as a lot of people are concerned gone. Have you ever talked to Biggie's mom? You know you guys are looked at in a way where it's like well, wow if we can't get next to them, we have to get next to their mothers. What words do you pass on about that? And what are your thoughts on that?
Afeni Shakur: Let me say that my son was killed on 9/13/96 and Nov. 10th, Yafa Ufala, one of the Outlaws and a member of my son's group, and a member of our family was murdered... and on Jan. 12th a daughter of another member of the BPP was murdered in her bed with her baby playing in her bed while the killer, her husband, watched all day long. What I have known from the beginning is that I am not alone. And I am not alone does not mean that the only two people that got killed were Biggie and Tupac. I am so sorry, but every child's death is painful. To me, it's painful, because it's this process that we have to stop. We are right back to the same thing which is about ration and reason..and about winning. And as I said, Tupac had 25 years and he did 25 years worth of wonderful work. What the next person needs to know in whatever years they are alloted to them, is what have they done? And I'm sure that Biggie's mother must feel the same about her son. It's no use in people trying to swage their on guilt for their own deficiency by debating or spending that much time on Tupac and Biggie.
Davey D: What do you mean by swage?
Afeni Shakur: I mean that we all have to speak about our own issues. When we talk about rivarlries, with East/West Coast, I don't have any idea what that is. But let me say this, my son was shot on two separate occassions; the 1st was five times, twice in the head and at that time we though he could have died. So a year later he was shot again and he did die, but there wasn't a rivarly. My son was injured by gunshots and my son reacted through his msuic to what had happened to him and as I say, Tupac spoke eloquently about how he felt about all of that East/West Coast stuff. I would not try and change one period of a sentence that Tupac spoke about that, because Tupac was an honorable young man, He did not lie and whatever Tupac said happened, happened in that way. And I think that people have to deal with their responsibilities for whatever they have done or not done. That's a part of life also. Tupac dealt with his responsibilities, I think other people have to do the same.
Davey D: You talk about Tupac being honorable and speaking truth. How did you feel when he said things about you in records?
Afeni Shakur: He told the truth. I live with truth. I have no secrets. Neither did Tupac, neither does my daughter. We don't live behind secrets, we don't live lies, we are who we are, and we are pretty happy to be who we are. We are proud of who we are and we stand tall and defend who we are.
Davey D: Was it painful to hear him talk about you having a drug addiction? Was it something that you had to discuss or did you know that he would put some things that happened in his life in music for the public to look at and hear and formulate their own opinion?
Afeni Shakur: Let me first say that any of those songs that Tupac wrote was primarily the way he felt about something. You have a right to express your feelings. I do not have to agree with them. I needed him to say how he felt, specifically about the pain that I had caused him. That's how we heal ,and so you now for me it was Tupac explaining something that happened to his family, his reaction to it and his feelings about it. I think they were honest and I respect him for that. Absolutely and completely.
Davey D: Tupac has done a lot of thing in his career. What do you think he should have done differently in terms of the decisions he made? What sort of path do you think he should have continued on? Do you think he deviated, or went down the wrong corner in any of the things that he did?
Afeni Shakur: I think that Tupac made perfect decisions for himself. I would like to encourage young people to make decisions for themselves. You make decisions that you stand by and you take responsibility for them. Really, this is life, you try to make a difference in peoples lives, because you stand firm for something. So really, for me, Tupac was perfection.
Davey D: What do you think the mis-perceptions that you as his mom would like to clear up about him?
Afeni Shakur: The misconceptions are that Tupac was a rapper, the Tupac wasn't political and that Tupac was a gangster. But primarily I really think that time will take care of that. I have faith in Tupac's legend. I really believe in the divinity of legends. I believe that God choose Tupac and I believe that no human being can destroy his image, his legend, his life, his music or his work. So in reality I don't care what people say, because I truly believe that God sent him here. He sent him with a mission. He fulfilled his mission and he went back where he came from.
Davey D: What is it about Tupac that so many people admired, and still admires about him?
Afeni Shakur: His truth in the face of anything. And I think that you know that's why people don't want to believe that he is dead. Because they believe that Tupac could face anything, and come out on the other side. Let me say, so can you.
Davey D: It's been a year and there's been a lot of controversy surrounding his death in terms of who owns the estate, recording rights and situations involving the record company Death Row. What is happening with that? Can you give us an understanding on where things stand and where you hope to have things going?
Afeni Shakur: As it relates to Death Row, we have reached an agreement, a settlement of some sort and I'm sure that's probably resolved.
Davey D: There has been an iron hand placed upon people who might have had affilations with Tupac in terms of them releasing his earlier music. I guess that's good, because they have always had to come through and some how deal with you one way or the other before materials are released. Where does that stand now? Will we start to see hear some of his earlier recordings? Some of the things he left with Death Row, will they start to come out or are there other plans for releases of his music materials, movies, etc.?
Afeni Shakur: Well, some of Tupac's extended and biological family have started Amoru Records, which is a record company that Tupac would have started had he still been here. We are going to first release his earlier material so that people have a more comprehensive understanding of what his journey was. We have the end of his journey, it would probably be okay to have the beginning also, so that's what we are attempting to do with his first release. And after that, we would like to do a tribute album and an audio book of his poetry. We also are committed, within the next 2 or 3 years to developing and releasing up to 8 new artists. So prayfully we will be able to do that what we want to do is so business in a principle and ethically manner. And prayfully we will be able to do that outside of that, we are trying to negotiate a documentary about Tupac's life. Possibly and probably a feature film with HBOwith a producer by the name of Marvin Worth... What we wanted is for people not to steal Tupac's material.
It had really less to do with control than it had to do with stealing.. And the problem I have with stuff is that, I always say if Tupac were here would you do it? And to answer the question, you wouldn't do it if he were here.. First of all I have no respect for you because you are a coward.. And I know if Tupac was here he would call you one of those names that he knew oh so well.. And that's pretty much the way I feel about the Vibe Pictorial Book.. I found out about it when it was reviewed in Essence Magazine.. I had been speaking to Quincy Jones all year and he never mentioned it.. I have no respect for that kind of behavior.. People can buy what they want, but just don't expect me to say it's cool, because I am not.. and further more I ain't mad at nobody..
Davey D:What individuals do you see today that embody the revolutionary spirit that has often been associated with 2Pac? Who has that mindset?
Afeni Shakur: Well, I really think Sista Souljah has that type of spirit. I think Geronimo Pratt also has it..and so does Mumia Adul Jamal.. The fact is ..that I'm not whaling off the names of young brothers and sisters a mile a minute...It's not like Tupac was the most excellent person.. I just ask for people to be honorable, honest and honest to themselves about themselves and to be courageous about truth. When I can see more of that, I'll just feel a little better, but whether I do or don't I'm not mad at nobody...
Davey D: Is this a lost generation? Are we a lost generation?
Afeni Shakur: Absolutely not!.. Thank You Treach for your song.. Thank You Scarface for your song.. Thanks for the respect Bones Thugs N Harmony.. Thanks for the respect and at least musically understanding what my son was about and saying.. They've done that.. I thank them from the bottom of my heart...
Davey D:So tell us about the foundation...
Afeni Shakur: I just wanted to tell people that outside of music, Tupac was about the business of helping families and helping people.. We would like to continue that... We started the Tupac Amuru Foundation. We will be giving you notice about how people can get in touch with the foundation, whether they are interested in either obtaining or giving assistance.. We are really excited about that.. One of the first things we want to do with the foundation, is to build an Art Institute in the name of Tupac over in Marin City where that little boy was killed. We would like to leave something there that is an institution that goes on everyday and provides help for somebody in that community.. Tupac wanted to build Ghetto Heavens and Thug Heavens all over the country.. So that's the stuff we are going to do...
Davey D: Any idea who might have taken his life? Do you think the government had some connection with it?.. They talk about the rappers being the revolutionaries of the 80s and 90s..do you see the same type of forces that divided the Black Panther Party at work with today's rap artists..?
Afeni Shakur: Yes I do.. But I just don't want to simplify things by saying that it was the government.. because that's another reason why I would like people to study The Art of War by Son Zu, and The Prince by Machavelli, so that they would have a better way of looking at things.. I don't think it's just the government.. I don't think our enemies are just in the gov't.. I believe it was in someone's interest to play this card out like this.. The other side of that is that whoever the person was that pulled the trigger and whoever participated in it and knows about it; those people will have to deal with that from here to eternity.. Not only will they have to live with it, but so will their children and their children's children.. I would not want to stand before God and say that I'm the one who took Tupac's life.. So what I have to say is more power to them..
2pac's sister Set rolls through and some questions are directed at her...
Davey D: What was it like growing up with 2Pac? What type of person was he? Was he the same type of person we got to know through film, records and video?
Set: If you listen hard and look..well yeah.. You grew up with him the same way I did.. It's just that I grew up with him longer..But everyone else grew up with him the same way I did.. Everything from Souljah's Story to Brenda's Got A Baby to Against All Odds. Everything he told may not have been his own, it may have been the way God wanted him to do it...You know they way of written law and stone that is truth, but the truth is your life... If it wasn't his truth, it was your truth, my truth the girl down the street truth, it was true to him...If he didn't go through it, I went through it. He felt what other people felt whether it was him or not....
Davey D: Did you grow up with him all your life?
Set: I am not too sure of the years.. but when my mother started to use drugs.. I started puberty and Pac started to become a star.. He was working on his career.. And it wasn't even a year before he went on the Japan tour with Digital.. It was the only year of my childhood that we were apart.. Besides then he got his own apartment and became an independent man
Davey D: Is there an expectation or pressure on you to try and continue to be an embodiment of 2Pac?
Set: I really feel like if anybody put that pressure on me, it's me. Religious people say, you've been touched by Jesus and proof is your life will never be the same again.. and you have changed another person's life. I feel like I've been touched by a Saint.. I have a son to raise and Pac was the man in my life as well as my sons.. Well, now I have to make myself learn how to deal alone...
Davey D: Any last words that you like us to know or any last things you would like us to keep in our hearts and minds about your son?
Afeni Shakur: Remember the words of my son.. Remember to Keep Your Head up.. Remember Against All Odds.. Nobody Can Judge You.. that's God's job.. Remember, the things 2Pac said..I just really ask people to really study his music and to listen to his music with an open heart and soothed mind.. Thank you very much.. Peace
An Interview With 2Pac's Mom
Afeni Shakur
Davey D: The First thing I want to do is thank you for granting us this interview. We're up on the anniversary of your son's un-timely death. There are so many of us that are still in the shock, so many of us who can't believe it and so many of us within the Hip Hop Generation that are trying to heal from this. And one way we can bring about this healing, is to continue to study and learn about Tupac. I guess the best way to really do that is by talking to you his mom, Afeni Shakur. You're the person who can provide us with that bridge of information. After all, you're the woman who raised him, you're the person who helped shape him, and helped make him into the person whom we've come to admire. I guess the first thing I would like you to do is let our listeners know who Afeni Shakur was. You were a member of the Black Panther Party, you were pregnant with Tupac while in jail, as one of the infamous New York 21. Who is Afeni Shakur?
Afeni Shakur: Basically, first let me just say Peace and Respect to all of the listeners, and all of the people who care about my son, who care about his work and who care about his music. And the first thing I would like to do is give encouragement to Brothers & Sisters who are artists or trying to be artists. From the bottom of my heart, I encourage them to work on their art and to not allow anyone or anything to keep their artist spirit down. And that to me is really important.
And then having said that, let me say that I was a member of the Black Panther Party. I joined in 1968. When I joined, I wasn't a student. I did not come off the college campuses like a lot of known Panthers did. I came from the streets of the South Bronx. I had been a member of the Disciples Deads, which would have been the women Disciples in the Bronx.. What the Panther Party did for me, I used to always say it gave me home training. The Party taught me things that were principles to living, and those principles are the principles I think most Panthers have tried to pass on to their children and to anybody else that would listen to them. You know that one of those principles was like don't steal a penny, needle or a simple piece of thread from the people. It's just general basic things about how we as individuals treat a race of people, and how we treat each other as a people! And those are the things I think the people recognize in Tupac....
We discovered, that within the BBP, that is you try and live by these principles and you have attached to those principles a willingness and a desire to protect and defend your family and your people.. also if you have a large mouth and your willing to speak openly about those things, that you are going to be the victim of all kinds of attacks. That's basically what has happened to all of us. Tupac was and remains in my mind a child of the BBP. I think that I always felt that even through this society that they had destroyed the work of the BBP. I always felt that Tupac was living witness to who we are and who we were. I think that his life spoke to every part of our development and the development of the Party, and the development in this country that I don't think will die.
Davey D: One of the perspectives that people have put forth about Tupac was that he was a gangster.. and that, he was somebody who invited trouble.How do you address that? How should, especially those of us within the Hp Hop Generation perceive 2Pac?
Afeni Shakur: First of all, the difference in people's temperment and my temperment, our temperment is such that is just like you were asking me about a song 'Wade in the Water, God Gonna Trouble the Waters'. We want the waters troubled. We are trouble makers, it's what we are here for. We don't make apologies for it. Why would we? We are revolutionaries, the children of Revolutionaries.... I believe that this is true, basically of young people in any Generation. And that's just true naturally. For us, we're trouble makers, because why wouldn't we be trouble makers in a society that has no respect for us. That has no respect about what I began talking you about. The fact that it is a miracle that we sit here. I don't think that we are suppose to be anything but trouble makers. Tupac use to comment on people who critized him for cursing, as a matter of fact he said this is just about verbatum, 'As I walked into this hall, I passed a young child who was hungry. There is not a bigger curse than a young child hungry'. If we are not concerned about the incest, the rape, about our children dying at the rate that they are dying, I cannot imagine why we would be making all this noise about a word, any word.'..
Davey D: Do you think his music influenced people to move in a direction of violence? That was one thing, I remember the police in Houston wanted to sue him and say that he caused an officer to be shot....
Afeni Shakur: They did sue him in Houston and as a matter of fact, that campaign was started by C. Delores Tucker who has now sued Tupac's estate, namely Tupac's music. Has sued him for interferring with her and her husband's sexual life. Now, don't you think that's proposterous? Of course it is. And I think it's okay for us to say that it is.. and it's just as proposterous to think that music could influence you to do anything else. If that were possible, will someone, please, make a song that will influence us to not kill each other. Please, I beg any person to do that. That should be simple under that mentality. But obviously, that's an irrational concept, and that's what I mean about us thinking. Don't allow people to think for you. Let's use ration. It's okay for us to do it.
I'll tell you something else, for people who feel so bad about Tupac's leaving this planet, we should remember that each of us come here with a beginning date and an ending date. Tupac's beginning was June 16, 1971 and his end was September 13th, 1996. In the 25 years that God gave him on this earth, he shone like a star, and he did all that he was suppose to do, he said all that he needed to say. You need not weep for Tupac, but weep for yourself, because we are left here with these contradictions that we still must face.
Davey D: The whole rivarly between Tupac and Biggie and to see both of them at the height of their careers, as far as a lot of people are concerned gone. Have you ever talked to Biggie's mom? You know you guys are looked at in a way where it's like well, wow if we can't get next to them, we have to get next to their mothers. What words do you pass on about that? And what are your thoughts on that?
Afeni Shakur: Let me say that my son was killed on 9/13/96 and Nov. 10th, Yafa Ufala, one of the Outlaws and a member of my son's group, and a member of our family was murdered... and on Jan. 12th a daughter of another member of the BPP was murdered in her bed with her baby playing in her bed while the killer, her husband, watched all day long. What I have known from the beginning is that I am not alone. And I am not alone does not mean that the only two people that got killed were Biggie and Tupac. I am so sorry, but every child's death is painful. To me, it's painful, because it's this process that we have to stop. We are right back to the same thing which is about ration and reason..and about winning. And as I said, Tupac had 25 years and he did 25 years worth of wonderful work. What the next person needs to know in whatever years they are alloted to them, is what have they done? And I'm sure that Biggie's mother must feel the same about her son. It's no use in people trying to swage their on guilt for their own deficiency by debating or spending that much time on Tupac and Biggie.
Davey D: What do you mean by swage?
Afeni Shakur: I mean that we all have to speak about our own issues. When we talk about rivarlries, with East/West Coast, I don't have any idea what that is. But let me say this, my son was shot on two separate occassions; the 1st was five times, twice in the head and at that time we though he could have died. So a year later he was shot again and he did die, but there wasn't a rivarly. My son was injured by gunshots and my son reacted through his msuic to what had happened to him and as I say, Tupac spoke eloquently about how he felt about all of that East/West Coast stuff. I would not try and change one period of a sentence that Tupac spoke about that, because Tupac was an honorable young man, He did not lie and whatever Tupac said happened, happened in that way. And I think that people have to deal with their responsibilities for whatever they have done or not done. That's a part of life also. Tupac dealt with his responsibilities, I think other people have to do the same.
Davey D: You talk about Tupac being honorable and speaking truth. How did you feel when he said things about you in records?
Afeni Shakur: He told the truth. I live with truth. I have no secrets. Neither did Tupac, neither does my daughter. We don't live behind secrets, we don't live lies, we are who we are, and we are pretty happy to be who we are. We are proud of who we are and we stand tall and defend who we are.
Davey D: Was it painful to hear him talk about you having a drug addiction? Was it something that you had to discuss or did you know that he would put some things that happened in his life in music for the public to look at and hear and formulate their own opinion?
Afeni Shakur: Let me first say that any of those songs that Tupac wrote was primarily the way he felt about something. You have a right to express your feelings. I do not have to agree with them. I needed him to say how he felt, specifically about the pain that I had caused him. That's how we heal ,and so you now for me it was Tupac explaining something that happened to his family, his reaction to it and his feelings about it. I think they were honest and I respect him for that. Absolutely and completely.
Davey D: Tupac has done a lot of thing in his career. What do you think he should have done differently in terms of the decisions he made? What sort of path do you think he should have continued on? Do you think he deviated, or went down the wrong corner in any of the things that he did?
Afeni Shakur: I think that Tupac made perfect decisions for himself. I would like to encourage young people to make decisions for themselves. You make decisions that you stand by and you take responsibility for them. Really, this is life, you try to make a difference in peoples lives, because you stand firm for something. So really, for me, Tupac was perfection.
Davey D: What do you think the mis-perceptions that you as his mom would like to clear up about him?
Afeni Shakur: The misconceptions are that Tupac was a rapper, the Tupac wasn't political and that Tupac was a gangster. But primarily I really think that time will take care of that. I have faith in Tupac's legend. I really believe in the divinity of legends. I believe that God choose Tupac and I believe that no human being can destroy his image, his legend, his life, his music or his work. So in reality I don't care what people say, because I truly believe that God sent him here. He sent him with a mission. He fulfilled his mission and he went back where he came from.
Davey D: What is it about Tupac that so many people admired, and still admires about him?
Afeni Shakur: His truth in the face of anything. And I think that you know that's why people don't want to believe that he is dead. Because they believe that Tupac could face anything, and come out on the other side. Let me say, so can you.
Davey D: It's been a year and there's been a lot of controversy surrounding his death in terms of who owns the estate, recording rights and situations involving the record company Death Row. What is happening with that? Can you give us an understanding on where things stand and where you hope to have things going?
Afeni Shakur: As it relates to Death Row, we have reached an agreement, a settlement of some sort and I'm sure that's probably resolved.
Davey D: There has been an iron hand placed upon people who might have had affilations with Tupac in terms of them releasing his earlier music. I guess that's good, because they have always had to come through and some how deal with you one way or the other before materials are released. Where does that stand now? Will we start to see hear some of his earlier recordings? Some of the things he left with Death Row, will they start to come out or are there other plans for releases of his music materials, movies, etc.?
Afeni Shakur: Well, some of Tupac's extended and biological family have started Amoru Records, which is a record company that Tupac would have started had he still been here. We are going to first release his earlier material so that people have a more comprehensive understanding of what his journey was. We have the end of his journey, it would probably be okay to have the beginning also, so that's what we are attempting to do with his first release. And after that, we would like to do a tribute album and an audio book of his poetry. We also are committed, within the next 2 or 3 years to developing and releasing up to 8 new artists. So prayfully we will be able to do that what we want to do is so business in a principle and ethically manner. And prayfully we will be able to do that outside of that, we are trying to negotiate a documentary about Tupac's life. Possibly and probably a feature film with HBOwith a producer by the name of Marvin Worth... What we wanted is for people not to steal Tupac's material.
It had really less to do with control than it had to do with stealing.. And the problem I have with stuff is that, I always say if Tupac were here would you do it? And to answer the question, you wouldn't do it if he were here.. First of all I have no respect for you because you are a coward.. And I know if Tupac was here he would call you one of those names that he knew oh so well.. And that's pretty much the way I feel about the Vibe Pictorial Book.. I found out about it when it was reviewed in Essence Magazine.. I had been speaking to Quincy Jones all year and he never mentioned it.. I have no respect for that kind of behavior.. People can buy what they want, but just don't expect me to say it's cool, because I am not.. and further more I ain't mad at nobody..
Davey D:What individuals do you see today that embody the revolutionary spirit that has often been associated with 2Pac? Who has that mindset?
Afeni Shakur: Well, I really think Sista Souljah has that type of spirit. I think Geronimo Pratt also has it..and so does Mumia Adul Jamal.. The fact is ..that I'm not whaling off the names of young brothers and sisters a mile a minute...It's not like Tupac was the most excellent person.. I just ask for people to be honorable, honest and honest to themselves about themselves and to be courageous about truth. When I can see more of that, I'll just feel a little better, but whether I do or don't I'm not mad at nobody...
Davey D: Is this a lost generation? Are we a lost generation?
Afeni Shakur: Absolutely not!.. Thank You Treach for your song.. Thank You Scarface for your song.. Thanks for the respect Bones Thugs N Harmony.. Thanks for the respect and at least musically understanding what my son was about and saying.. They've done that.. I thank them from the bottom of my heart...
Davey D:So tell us about the foundation...
Afeni Shakur: I just wanted to tell people that outside of music, Tupac was about the business of helping families and helping people.. We would like to continue that... We started the Tupac Amuru Foundation. We will be giving you notice about how people can get in touch with the foundation, whether they are interested in either obtaining or giving assistance.. We are really excited about that.. One of the first things we want to do with the foundation, is to build an Art Institute in the name of Tupac over in Marin City where that little boy was killed. We would like to leave something there that is an institution that goes on everyday and provides help for somebody in that community.. Tupac wanted to build Ghetto Heavens and Thug Heavens all over the country.. So that's the stuff we are going to do...
Davey D: Any idea who might have taken his life? Do you think the government had some connection with it?.. They talk about the rappers being the revolutionaries of the 80s and 90s..do you see the same type of forces that divided the Black Panther Party at work with today's rap artists..?
Afeni Shakur: Yes I do.. But I just don't want to simplify things by saying that it was the government.. because that's another reason why I would like people to study The Art of War by Son Zu, and The Prince by Machavelli, so that they would have a better way of looking at things.. I don't think it's just the government.. I don't think our enemies are just in the gov't.. I believe it was in someone's interest to play this card out like this.. The other side of that is that whoever the person was that pulled the trigger and whoever participated in it and knows about it; those people will have to deal with that from here to eternity.. Not only will they have to live with it, but so will their children and their children's children.. I would not want to stand before God and say that I'm the one who took Tupac's life.. So what I have to say is more power to them..
2pac's sister Set rolls through and some questions are directed at her...
Davey D: What was it like growing up with 2Pac? What type of person was he? Was he the same type of person we got to know through film, records and video?
Set: If you listen hard and look..well yeah.. You grew up with him the same way I did.. It's just that I grew up with him longer..But everyone else grew up with him the same way I did.. Everything from Souljah's Story to Brenda's Got A Baby to Against All Odds. Everything he told may not have been his own, it may have been the way God wanted him to do it...You know they way of written law and stone that is truth, but the truth is your life... If it wasn't his truth, it was your truth, my truth the girl down the street truth, it was true to him...If he didn't go through it, I went through it. He felt what other people felt whether it was him or not....
Davey D: Did you grow up with him all your life?
Set: I am not too sure of the years.. but when my mother started to use drugs.. I started puberty and Pac started to become a star.. He was working on his career.. And it wasn't even a year before he went on the Japan tour with Digital.. It was the only year of my childhood that we were apart.. Besides then he got his own apartment and became an independent man
Davey D: Is there an expectation or pressure on you to try and continue to be an embodiment of 2Pac?
Set: I really feel like if anybody put that pressure on me, it's me. Religious people say, you've been touched by Jesus and proof is your life will never be the same again.. and you have changed another person's life. I feel like I've been touched by a Saint.. I have a son to raise and Pac was the man in my life as well as my sons.. Well, now I have to make myself learn how to deal alone...
Davey D: Any last words that you like us to know or any last things you would like us to keep in our hearts and minds about your son?
Afeni Shakur: Remember the words of my son.. Remember to Keep Your Head up.. Remember Against All Odds.. Nobody Can Judge You.. that's God's job.. Remember, the things 2Pac said..I just really ask people to really study his music and to listen to his music with an open heart and soothed mind.. Thank you very much.. Peace
RIP
RIP
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3027700050.html
Afeni Shakur
1947—
Record company executive, social activist
A former Black Panther activist and reformed drug addict, Afeni Shakur is best known as the mother of Tupac Shakur, a successful rap artist whose murder in 1996 elevated him to cult icon status. Since the death of her son, Afeni Shakur has transformed his legacy into a multimillion dollar industry by issuing her son's catalog of unreleased material. She used the proceeds from the sale of these recordings and associated merchandise to establish a charitable foundation that promotes arts education.
Joined the Black Panther Party
Afeni Shakur was born Alice Faye Williams on January 10, 1947, in Lumberton, North Carolina, a prominent station in the timber industry along the Lumber River. The daughter of Rosa Belle, a homemaker, and Walter Williams, Jr., a trucker, Shakur and her sister, Gloria Jean, had a troubled childhood. "My momma left my dad because he was kickin' her ass," Shakur said in a 1997 interview in People magazine. In 1958 Shakur, her mother, and sister moved to New York City, where Shakur attended the Bronx High School of Science. A troubled child, Shakur reported later that she began using cocaine when she was about fifteen years old, and she struggled with drug addiction for most of her life.
Shakur joined the emerging Black Panther movement in 1964, after meeting an associate of Malcolm X who was recruiting among youth in the Bronx. Shakur told biographer Jasmine Guy, the Black Panthers "took my rage and channeled it. They educated my mind and gave me direction." Shakur began writing articles for the party's newsletter, the Panther Post, and was largely successful in crafting a misdirection campaign that led FBI agents to believe that the Panther Party was fading. In 1968 Shakur moved in with fellow Panther Lumumba Abdul Shakur and changed her name to Afeni Shakur.
Shakur and twenty fellow-Panthers were arrested on April 2, 1969, and charged with several counts of conspiracy to bomb police stations, department stores, and other public places in New York City. Shakur was released on bail in the fall of 1970 and became pregnant by New Jersey truck driver William Garland. Shortly thereafter, Shakur's bail was revoked, and she was returned to jail to await trial.
Shakur and the other defendants went to trial in 1971, in what came to be known as the Panther 21 trial. Shakur defended herself, despite objections from her codefendants. The case lasted for more than five months, and Shakur was largely responsible for defeating the prosecution's case, according to an account of the trial in the book The Briar Patch, by former lawyer Murray Kempton. In her cross-examination of undercover detective Ralph White, Shakur performed like a seasoned attorney and won her freedom in May of 1971. On June 16, 1971, Shakur gave birth to her son, whom she reportedly named Lesane Parish Crooks, but who she later dubbed Tupac Amaru Shakur, a name derived from the Inca words for "shining serpent."
Though Shakur never returned to the Black Panther movement, she remained proud of that period in her life, saying in a 2004 interview with Tavis Smiley that the Black Panthers taught her "to always believe in yourself, and as a woman who was in the Black Panther Party, to believe that my opinion is worth more or as much as anybody else."
Battled Drug Addiction
Shakur took a job as a paralegal working for Richard Fischbein in the Bronx and married Mutulu Shakur, who acted as stepfather to her son and became the father of Shakur's daughter, Sekyiwa. Mutulu Shakur supported Tupac as his son even after his relationship with Shakur ended in 1982. Mutulu Shakur was an activist in the New Afrika independence movement of the 1960s and later became a prominent drug-detoxification and acupuncture specialist in New York City.
Shakur later described herself as a poor mother, though she was always proud of her son, Tupac, who showed an early promise as a performer and exhibited his mother's independence. In 1984 Shakur moved her family to Baltimore, Maryland, where her son attended the Baltimore School for the Performing Arts, studying dance and music.
Shakur became addicted to crack cocaine in the early 1980s and was unable to hold a job, using welfare payments to care for her children. She said of this period to Smiley, "When I was on drugs my spirit was dead." Shakur moved her family to Marin County, California, in 1988 in an attempt to leave her drug use behind. Shakur's son left in 1989 because of her drug use and had no contact with his family for a couple of years. He started performing as a dancer and "hype man" with the alternative rap group Digital Underground, and in 1991 released the album 2Pacalypse Now, which became a major hit and launched the young rapper into stardom. Afeni Shakur returned to New York City in early 1991 and began attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings. She managed to overcome her addiction that spring, "through the grace of God," as she told Smiley. Soon afterward she reconciled with her son.
Tupac Shakur rapidly became a multimillion-dollar recording star, and he brought his mother to the public eye through such tribute songs as "Dear Mama," in which he explored his feelings about his mother's drug addiction and the difficulties of his youth. Though successful, Tupac Shakur lived an unstable life and was involved in serious legal issues, including 1993 charges of sexual abuse, for which he was later convicted and sentenced to over a year in prison. He also was convicted in 1994 of attacking a former employer and served fifteen days in jail for that offense. In 1994 Tupac Shakur was shot five times and recovered, blaming a feud within the recording industry for the attempt on his life. His life ended in September of 1996 when he was shot four times and pronounced dead at University Medical Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Became Caretaker of Tupac's Legacy
Before his death, Tupac Shakur made arrangements for his mother to receive a $16,000 monthly salary from his estate and purchased a home for her in Stone Mountain, Georgia. After her son's death, Afeni Shakur and her former employer Richard Fischbein became coexecutors of Tupac Shakur's estate, which was estimated at between $8 and $10 million in 1997 and included a library of unreleased material estimated at a value of more than $100 million.
At a Glance …
Born Alice Faye Williams on January 10, 1947, in Lumberton, NC; daughter of Walter (a trucker) and Rosa Belle Williams (a homemaker); married Mutulu Shakur, 1975-82 (divorced); married Dr. Gust D. Davis Jr., c. 2004; children: Tupac, Sekyiwa.
Career: Amaru Entertainment, Inc., founder and chief executive officer, 1997—; Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation, founder, 1997—; Makaveli Branded, founder, 2003—.
Memberships: Black Panther Party, 1964-69.
Addresses: Office—Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts, 5616 Memorial Dr., Stone Mountain, GA 30083.
Shakur and Fischbein first needed to settle disputes against the estate, including a suit from Tupac Shakur's biological father, William Garland, who sought partial control of his late son's estate. The courts ruled in 1997 that Garland was not entitled to share in the estate, listing his contributions to childhood care, as reported in Jet magazine, as "$820, a bag of peanuts and a ticket to the movie Rollerball." In another suit, the anti-obscenity activist C. DeLores Tucker filed a $10.5 million claim, stating that Tupac Shakur's insults to her in one of his songs adversely affected her marriage. The case was settled in 1999, and Tucker received no compensation.
In 1997 Afeni Shakur created Amaru Entertainment, a company established to handle the release of her son's posthumous material beginning with The Don Killuminati in 1997 and followed by eight additional albums, a licensed film biography, and several books about her son's life. In 2007 Shakur signed an agreement with EverGreen Copyrights to release a number of new albums, including remixes of Tupac Shakur's biggest hits and, potentially, a Broadway show from a script entitled "Live 2 Tell" written by Tupac Shakur.
Afeni Shakur used part of her fortune to establish a charitable organization, the Tupac Amaru Foundation for the Arts, which sponsors programs to help young people succeed in art and musical projects. The foundation features a day camp for children, provides scholarships and grants for young artists, and hosts charitable events. She established the Makaveli Branded clothing line in 2003, with a portion of the proceeds used to support expansion of the Tupac Shakur Center for the Arts in Stone Mountain, Georgia. In 2006 she added a six-acre memorial park to the complex, with areas for meditation, pavilions for visitors, and a seven-foot statue of her son.
Shakur told Smiley she believed her son died at an "embryonic" stage in his life but that his short life had an enormous impact. "That's what people are who have that impact on us. They are ahead of their time. They can't help it," she told Smiley. "They get put into a small, frail body, and they are given a light that is much too bright for that cavity," but added, "Tupac had a complete life, nevertheless."
In 2004 the actress and author Jasmine Guy released a biography of Shakur, entitled Afeni Shakur: Evolution of a Revolutionary, which documents Shakur's early life, involvement with the Black Panthers, and later life dealing with the death and estate of her son. Shakur met Guy, a friend of her son, in 1994 shortly after the first attempt on Tupac Shakur's life, and they developed an enduring friendship. The importance of the biography to Guy was that Shakur's life covered a cross section of African-American history from her days in the segregated South, through the civil rights revolution of the 1960s, to the violent street culture associated with rap music during the 1990s.
On the tenth anniversary of her son' murder, Shakur reflected on the impact his legacy has had on her life and work. She told National Public Radio, "It has helped me a lot in these ten years to stay focused and trying to grasp for a higher ground because of the love that people have shown to him and to me. It gives me a sense of responsibility to those people. They believed in all the good parts of Tupac, and they show me that in their lives—in that they use Tupac to push them over hurdles and through unpleasantness or hardships and trauma."
Sources
Books
Foner, Philip S., The Black Panthers Speak, Da Capo Press, 2002.
Guy, Jasmine, Afeni Shakur: Evolution of a Revolutionary, Simon and Schuster, 2005.
Periodicals
Entertainment Weekly, July 25, 1997, p. 22.
Jet, December 29, 1997, p. 60.
People, December 1, 1997, p. 151.
Time, September 25, 2006, p. 72.
Online
Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation, http://www.tasf.org/ (accessed March 26, 2008).
Other
"Afeni Shakur," Tavis Smiley Show, February 6, 2004.
"Reflections on Tupac from Afeni Shakur," National Public Radio, September 13, 2006.
—Micah L. Issitt
Afeni Shakur
1947—
Record company executive, social activist
A former Black Panther activist and reformed drug addict, Afeni Shakur is best known as the mother of Tupac Shakur, a successful rap artist whose murder in 1996 elevated him to cult icon status. Since the death of her son, Afeni Shakur has transformed his legacy into a multimillion dollar industry by issuing her son's catalog of unreleased material. She used the proceeds from the sale of these recordings and associated merchandise to establish a charitable foundation that promotes arts education.
Joined the Black Panther Party
Afeni Shakur was born Alice Faye Williams on January 10, 1947, in Lumberton, North Carolina, a prominent station in the timber industry along the Lumber River. The daughter of Rosa Belle, a homemaker, and Walter Williams, Jr., a trucker, Shakur and her sister, Gloria Jean, had a troubled childhood. "My momma left my dad because he was kickin' her ass," Shakur said in a 1997 interview in People magazine. In 1958 Shakur, her mother, and sister moved to New York City, where Shakur attended the Bronx High School of Science. A troubled child, Shakur reported later that she began using cocaine when she was about fifteen years old, and she struggled with drug addiction for most of her life.
Shakur joined the emerging Black Panther movement in 1964, after meeting an associate of Malcolm X who was recruiting among youth in the Bronx. Shakur told biographer Jasmine Guy, the Black Panthers "took my rage and channeled it. They educated my mind and gave me direction." Shakur began writing articles for the party's newsletter, the Panther Post, and was largely successful in crafting a misdirection campaign that led FBI agents to believe that the Panther Party was fading. In 1968 Shakur moved in with fellow Panther Lumumba Abdul Shakur and changed her name to Afeni Shakur.
Shakur and twenty fellow-Panthers were arrested on April 2, 1969, and charged with several counts of conspiracy to bomb police stations, department stores, and other public places in New York City. Shakur was released on bail in the fall of 1970 and became pregnant by New Jersey truck driver William Garland. Shortly thereafter, Shakur's bail was revoked, and she was returned to jail to await trial.
Shakur and the other defendants went to trial in 1971, in what came to be known as the Panther 21 trial. Shakur defended herself, despite objections from her codefendants. The case lasted for more than five months, and Shakur was largely responsible for defeating the prosecution's case, according to an account of the trial in the book The Briar Patch, by former lawyer Murray Kempton. In her cross-examination of undercover detective Ralph White, Shakur performed like a seasoned attorney and won her freedom in May of 1971. On June 16, 1971, Shakur gave birth to her son, whom she reportedly named Lesane Parish Crooks, but who she later dubbed Tupac Amaru Shakur, a name derived from the Inca words for "shining serpent."
Though Shakur never returned to the Black Panther movement, she remained proud of that period in her life, saying in a 2004 interview with Tavis Smiley that the Black Panthers taught her "to always believe in yourself, and as a woman who was in the Black Panther Party, to believe that my opinion is worth more or as much as anybody else."
Battled Drug Addiction
Shakur took a job as a paralegal working for Richard Fischbein in the Bronx and married Mutulu Shakur, who acted as stepfather to her son and became the father of Shakur's daughter, Sekyiwa. Mutulu Shakur supported Tupac as his son even after his relationship with Shakur ended in 1982. Mutulu Shakur was an activist in the New Afrika independence movement of the 1960s and later became a prominent drug-detoxification and acupuncture specialist in New York City.
Shakur later described herself as a poor mother, though she was always proud of her son, Tupac, who showed an early promise as a performer and exhibited his mother's independence. In 1984 Shakur moved her family to Baltimore, Maryland, where her son attended the Baltimore School for the Performing Arts, studying dance and music.
Shakur became addicted to crack cocaine in the early 1980s and was unable to hold a job, using welfare payments to care for her children. She said of this period to Smiley, "When I was on drugs my spirit was dead." Shakur moved her family to Marin County, California, in 1988 in an attempt to leave her drug use behind. Shakur's son left in 1989 because of her drug use and had no contact with his family for a couple of years. He started performing as a dancer and "hype man" with the alternative rap group Digital Underground, and in 1991 released the album 2Pacalypse Now, which became a major hit and launched the young rapper into stardom. Afeni Shakur returned to New York City in early 1991 and began attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings. She managed to overcome her addiction that spring, "through the grace of God," as she told Smiley. Soon afterward she reconciled with her son.
Tupac Shakur rapidly became a multimillion-dollar recording star, and he brought his mother to the public eye through such tribute songs as "Dear Mama," in which he explored his feelings about his mother's drug addiction and the difficulties of his youth. Though successful, Tupac Shakur lived an unstable life and was involved in serious legal issues, including 1993 charges of sexual abuse, for which he was later convicted and sentenced to over a year in prison. He also was convicted in 1994 of attacking a former employer and served fifteen days in jail for that offense. In 1994 Tupac Shakur was shot five times and recovered, blaming a feud within the recording industry for the attempt on his life. His life ended in September of 1996 when he was shot four times and pronounced dead at University Medical Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Became Caretaker of Tupac's Legacy
Before his death, Tupac Shakur made arrangements for his mother to receive a $16,000 monthly salary from his estate and purchased a home for her in Stone Mountain, Georgia. After her son's death, Afeni Shakur and her former employer Richard Fischbein became coexecutors of Tupac Shakur's estate, which was estimated at between $8 and $10 million in 1997 and included a library of unreleased material estimated at a value of more than $100 million.
At a Glance …
Born Alice Faye Williams on January 10, 1947, in Lumberton, NC; daughter of Walter (a trucker) and Rosa Belle Williams (a homemaker); married Mutulu Shakur, 1975-82 (divorced); married Dr. Gust D. Davis Jr., c. 2004; children: Tupac, Sekyiwa.
Career: Amaru Entertainment, Inc., founder and chief executive officer, 1997—; Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation, founder, 1997—; Makaveli Branded, founder, 2003—.
Memberships: Black Panther Party, 1964-69.
Addresses: Office—Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts, 5616 Memorial Dr., Stone Mountain, GA 30083.
Shakur and Fischbein first needed to settle disputes against the estate, including a suit from Tupac Shakur's biological father, William Garland, who sought partial control of his late son's estate. The courts ruled in 1997 that Garland was not entitled to share in the estate, listing his contributions to childhood care, as reported in Jet magazine, as "$820, a bag of peanuts and a ticket to the movie Rollerball." In another suit, the anti-obscenity activist C. DeLores Tucker filed a $10.5 million claim, stating that Tupac Shakur's insults to her in one of his songs adversely affected her marriage. The case was settled in 1999, and Tucker received no compensation.
In 1997 Afeni Shakur created Amaru Entertainment, a company established to handle the release of her son's posthumous material beginning with The Don Killuminati in 1997 and followed by eight additional albums, a licensed film biography, and several books about her son's life. In 2007 Shakur signed an agreement with EverGreen Copyrights to release a number of new albums, including remixes of Tupac Shakur's biggest hits and, potentially, a Broadway show from a script entitled "Live 2 Tell" written by Tupac Shakur.
Afeni Shakur used part of her fortune to establish a charitable organization, the Tupac Amaru Foundation for the Arts, which sponsors programs to help young people succeed in art and musical projects. The foundation features a day camp for children, provides scholarships and grants for young artists, and hosts charitable events. She established the Makaveli Branded clothing line in 2003, with a portion of the proceeds used to support expansion of the Tupac Shakur Center for the Arts in Stone Mountain, Georgia. In 2006 she added a six-acre memorial park to the complex, with areas for meditation, pavilions for visitors, and a seven-foot statue of her son.
Shakur told Smiley she believed her son died at an "embryonic" stage in his life but that his short life had an enormous impact. "That's what people are who have that impact on us. They are ahead of their time. They can't help it," she told Smiley. "They get put into a small, frail body, and they are given a light that is much too bright for that cavity," but added, "Tupac had a complete life, nevertheless."
In 2004 the actress and author Jasmine Guy released a biography of Shakur, entitled Afeni Shakur: Evolution of a Revolutionary, which documents Shakur's early life, involvement with the Black Panthers, and later life dealing with the death and estate of her son. Shakur met Guy, a friend of her son, in 1994 shortly after the first attempt on Tupac Shakur's life, and they developed an enduring friendship. The importance of the biography to Guy was that Shakur's life covered a cross section of African-American history from her days in the segregated South, through the civil rights revolution of the 1960s, to the violent street culture associated with rap music during the 1990s.
On the tenth anniversary of her son' murder, Shakur reflected on the impact his legacy has had on her life and work. She told National Public Radio, "It has helped me a lot in these ten years to stay focused and trying to grasp for a higher ground because of the love that people have shown to him and to me. It gives me a sense of responsibility to those people. They believed in all the good parts of Tupac, and they show me that in their lives—in that they use Tupac to push them over hurdles and through unpleasantness or hardships and trauma."
Sources
Books
Foner, Philip S., The Black Panthers Speak, Da Capo Press, 2002.
Guy, Jasmine, Afeni Shakur: Evolution of a Revolutionary, Simon and Schuster, 2005.
Periodicals
Entertainment Weekly, July 25, 1997, p. 22.
Jet, December 29, 1997, p. 60.
People, December 1, 1997, p. 151.
Time, September 25, 2006, p. 72.
Online
Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation, http://www.tasf.org/ (accessed March 26, 2008).
Other
"Afeni Shakur," Tavis Smiley Show, February 6, 2004.
"Reflections on Tupac from Afeni Shakur," National Public Radio, September 13, 2006.
—Micah L. Issitt
What?
R.I.P
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panther_21
Panther 21
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
The Panther 21 is a group of twenty-one Black Panther members who were arrested and accused of planned coordinated bombing and long-range rifle attack on two police stations and an education office in New York City.[1] The trial eventually collapsed and the twenty-one members were acquitted.[2]
Contents
[hide]
Attempted bombings[edit]
Three attacks were planned for Friday, January 17, 1969 at 9 am. Dynamite had been placed in the three locations:
Attack Result
Bronx Forty-fourth precinct police station Dynamite sticks at the Forty-fourth Precinct station had been switched by a police undercover agent with phonies, so that only a blasting cap exploded
Manhattan Twenty-fourth Precinct police station The fuse on the phoney sticks had been improperly lit
Queens Board of Education office Real dynamite which was from a source other than the undercover police blew a hole in the side of the building
At the Queens school near the forty-fourth precinct station, one Panther, nineteen-year-old Joan Bird, was arrested, while two men escaped. The men left behind a long-range rifle with which they had planned to shoot at the police as they rushed out of the burning building after the explosion.[1]
Indictments and incarceration[edit]
On April 2, 1969 twenty-one Black Panther members were indicted. The number dropped from twenty-one to thirteen, who were arraigned before Judge Charles Marks with bail set at $100,000. Joseph A. Phillips from the District Attorney's Office led the prosecution, with Jeffrey Weinsten as his assistant.[1][3] The Panthers were charged with conspiracy to kill several police officers and to destroy a number of buildings, including four police stations, five department stores, and the Bronx Botanical Gardens.[4]
Trial[edit]
The District Attorney read Chairman Mao Zedong's Little Red Book and showed the court the movie The Battle of Algiers.[3]
The eight-month trial was the longest and most expensive in New York State history.[3]
Acquittal[edit]
The Black Panther members were acquitted on May 12, 1971 of all 156 charges.[2][3]
References[edit]
Panther 21
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
The Panther 21 is a group of twenty-one Black Panther members who were arrested and accused of planned coordinated bombing and long-range rifle attack on two police stations and an education office in New York City.[1] The trial eventually collapsed and the twenty-one members were acquitted.[2]
Contents
[hide]
Attempted bombings[edit]
Three attacks were planned for Friday, January 17, 1969 at 9 am. Dynamite had been placed in the three locations:
Attack Result
Bronx Forty-fourth precinct police station Dynamite sticks at the Forty-fourth Precinct station had been switched by a police undercover agent with phonies, so that only a blasting cap exploded
Manhattan Twenty-fourth Precinct police station The fuse on the phoney sticks had been improperly lit
Queens Board of Education office Real dynamite which was from a source other than the undercover police blew a hole in the side of the building
At the Queens school near the forty-fourth precinct station, one Panther, nineteen-year-old Joan Bird, was arrested, while two men escaped. The men left behind a long-range rifle with which they had planned to shoot at the police as they rushed out of the burning building after the explosion.[1]
Indictments and incarceration[edit]
On April 2, 1969 twenty-one Black Panther members were indicted. The number dropped from twenty-one to thirteen, who were arraigned before Judge Charles Marks with bail set at $100,000. Joseph A. Phillips from the District Attorney's Office led the prosecution, with Jeffrey Weinsten as his assistant.[1][3] The Panthers were charged with conspiracy to kill several police officers and to destroy a number of buildings, including four police stations, five department stores, and the Bronx Botanical Gardens.[4]
Trial[edit]
The District Attorney read Chairman Mao Zedong's Little Red Book and showed the court the movie The Battle of Algiers.[3]
The eight-month trial was the longest and most expensive in New York State history.[3]
Acquittal[edit]
The Black Panther members were acquitted on May 12, 1971 of all 156 charges.[2][3]
References[edit]
- ^ Jump up to: abcPolitical Trials in History: From Antiquity to the Present, Ron Christenson.
- ^ Jump up to: abThe Black Panther Party (reconsidered) Charles Earl Jones.
- ^ Jump up to: abcdOne Year Later: The Radicalization of the Panther 13 Jury, New York Magazine May 29, 1972, Catherine Breslin
- Jump up ^The Briar Patch: The Trial of the Panther 21, Murray Kempton, (1973).
Wow that was a strong woman her story is inspiring especially winning her court case. RIP
l. Demonstration out side court house for the Panther 21 trial - NYC - l969
2. Demonstration outside court house for the Panther 21 trial - NYC - 1969
3. Cops and Panthers on Court house steps for the Panther 21 trial - NYC - 1969
4. Demonstration for the Panther 21 trial outside court house - NYC - 1969
5. "Try Police Not Huey" opening day Huey P Newton trial - Oakland Court house - l969
6. Black Panther member Dr. Curtis Powell arrested as one of the Panther 21 - Lower eastside, NYC - 1969
7. Black Panther member Dr. Curtis Powell arrested as one of the Panther 21 - Lower Eastside, NYC - 1969
8. Jamal Joseph speaking about the Black Panther 21 case on the green at the University of Vermont - Burlington, Vermont - 1971
9. NYC cops throw on the floor the contents of Dr. Curtis Powell home . Pile of the Black Panther newspaper - NYC - 1969
10. NYC cops leave a note written by Dr. Curtis Powell on top of a pile of things thrown on the floor
as they search the apartment. Note reads " This young girl was beaten and tortured by the NYC police."
11. Newsreel poster made by Allan Siegel
12. Court house door opening day of Huey P. Newton trial - Oakland, California - 1969
13. Flag lowered at Oakland courthouse opening day of Huey P. Newton trial - Oakland - 1969
14. Yellow Peril - Oakland, California - 1969
15. "Huey P. Newton Defense" opening day of Huey trial - Oakland, California - 1969
16. "Yellow Power to Yellow People" In front of court house - Oakland , California - l969
17. Panther girls - Oakland, California - 1969
18. Chicago Democratic National Convention - 1968
19. Kathleen Cleaver speaking at Black Panther Rally - 1969
20. Kathleen Cleaver speaking at Black Panther Rally - 1969
21. Alameda County Court House - Oakland, California - 1969
22. 20th Anniversary of the Panther 21 - 198?
23. Akil at Panther celebration at the Schomberg Center - NYC
24. Donald Cox (DC) with his son - France - 199?
RIP
