Assata: An Autobiography

The FBI’s Counter-intelligence Program (COINTELPRO) began in 1956 under then-director J. Edgar Hoover. Its initial aim was to combat communism within the United States, but it quickly expanded to focus heavily on the activities of Black-led civil rights organizations, as Hoover claimed that communist agents had infiltrated these organizations.

Among the most notorious of COINTELPRO’s many deceptive and illegal practices was its bugging of Martin Luther King Jr.’s home and the hotel rooms where he stayed while traveling. William C. Sullivan, the official in charge of the program, called King “the most dangerous Negro of the future in this nation” (Weiner, Tim (2012). Enemies: A History of the FBI (1st ed.). New York: Random House.)

Beginning in 1969, COINTELPRO targeted the Black Panther Party with a program of illegal domestic espionage intended to neutralize its leaders, planting false stories in the press and sending fake letters such as the ones described in Chapter 15, intended to sew discord among the movement’s leadership. COINTELPRO was officially disbanded in 1971, though documented cases of the FBI’s domestic espionage against radical social movements have continued well into the 21st century.

While liberation theology was never an ideology that Shakur subscribed to, she learned to have reverence for it through her encounter with Puerto Rican nationalist Lolita Lebrón. Liberation theology is a blend of Christian theology and social and economic theory that draws parallels between the need for freedom from oppression and spiritual salvation. Originating from Latin America, liberation theology reclaims Christianity from its history as an oppressive instrument of European and US colonialism. While Shakur was never religious, her respect for Lolita made her more receptive to the Puerto Rican activist’s religious beliefs and the way they informed her politics. Shakur decided to learn more about liberation theology while she was incarcerated at Alderson’s maximum-security prison. When she saw that people were criticizing Lolita for allowing religion to play a part in her political beliefs, she came to her defense, arguing that “religion had helped her to remain strong and committed all those years” (256).

Revolution refers to the complete overthrow or radical transformation of a current political and social structure. During the 1960s and 1970s, in which Shakur became politically active, the goal of revolution was inspired by communist movements overseas. At a time where many activists, especially radical Black organizing groups, were critical of the US government for its longstanding oppression of people of color and for its unjust military intervention overseas, the dream of a revolution rose in prominence. Shakur contrasts revolution with the more mainstream goal of reform: Where reform aims to make existing power systems more equitable, revolution begins from the conviction that those existing systems a fundamentally unjust and must be eliminated rather than improved.

For Shakur, revolution represented the opportunity to undo the US as an imperialist and racist state. Shakur thought of revolution as a way for different groups to unite and forge a more equitable world. She believed in “uniting with white revolutionaries to fight against a common enemy” (192), but that this revolution still had to be led by Black revolutionary leaders. For her, the revolution must be led by those most vulnerable and others should follow their lead.

Shakur also states, “Revolution is about change, and the first place the change begins is in yourself” (203). For her, revolution was not about empty political strategy. It required self-reflection and the ability to transform one’s thinking through critical thought. People needed to have a personal connection to the struggle to sustain it.