Assata Shakur, the Black liberation activist whose life and legacy have long symbolized the turbulent struggle for civil rights in America and the fraught relationship between the United States and Cuba, died Thursday, September 25, 2025, in Havana. She was 78. The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed her passing, citing chronic illnesses and advanced age as the cause, a fact echoed by statements from her daughter and reported widely by outlets including CNN and the Associated Press.
Born Joanne Deborah Byron in 1947—later known as Joanne Chesimard—Shakur’s journey from civil rights activist to one of America’s most wanted fugitives is as complex as it is controversial. She first rose to prominence as a leader within the Black Panther Party, a political and military organization founded in 1966 that would become a touchstone for Black resistance and radical activism. After marrying Louis Chesimard and adopting the name Assata Shakur, she joined the Black Liberation Army, an armed group that splintered from the Panthers and advocated for revolution against systemic racial oppression.
Shakur’s notoriety was cemented on May 2, 1973, during a routine traffic stop on the New Jersey Turnpike. According to Reuters and Devdiscourse, a shootout erupted between Shakur, her companions, and state troopers James Harper and Werner Foerster. The incident left Trooper Foerster and one of Shakur’s companions, Zayd Shakur, dead, and Shakur herself wounded. She was arrested, tried, and in March 1977 found guilty on eight counts—including murder, armed robbery, and assault—and sentenced to life in prison.
Yet Shakur’s story did not end behind bars. In November 1979, with the help of Black Liberation Army members posing as visitors, she escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility for women in New Jersey. The escape, which involved taking two guards hostage and commandeering a prison van, quickly made headlines. Shakur vanished, only to resurface five years later in Cuba, where Fidel Castro granted her political asylum in 1984. For Cuba, offering her refuge was a pointed gesture—aligning itself with what it described as revolutionary forces resisting the “oppressive capitalist empire” to the north, as reported by the Associated Press.
The United States, meanwhile, never ceased its pursuit. In 1998, Congress unanimously demanded Shakur’s extradition, but Cuban authorities refused. By 2005, her name was added to the FBI’s Terrorist List, and in 2013, she became the first woman to appear on the bureau’s Most Wanted Terrorists list, with a reward for her capture set at $2 million. U.S. officials, from President Donald Trump to Senators Marco Rubio and Bob Menendez, repeatedly pressed Cuba to surrender Shakur. As recently as May 2025, the U.S. government renewed its call for her extradition, highlighting the enduring diplomatic tensions between Washington and Havana.
Shakur’s supporters, however, have consistently maintained her innocence, arguing that she was a victim of a broader campaign against Black radical movements in the 1960s and 1970s. In her writings and public statements from exile, Shakur insisted she did not shoot anyone and that her prosecution was politically motivated. “It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win,” she wrote in her 1988 memoir, Assata: An Autobiography. “We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.” Her words, cited by the Associated Press, became a rallying cry for later generations of activists, especially during the Black Lives Matter movement.
Her life in Cuba was marked by continued activism. Shakur wrote memoirs, participated in documentary projects, and became a vocal critic of U.S. extradition efforts. According to CNN, her asylum became a recurring point of contention in U.S.-Cuba relations, with both sides using her case to underscore broader disagreements over justice, sovereignty, and the legacy of radical politics. The Associated Press noted that Cuba’s refusal to extradite Shakur remains one of the most famous examples of the island’s support for anti-colonial and left-wing movements worldwide.
Shakur’s influence extended far beyond politics. She was the godmother and aunt-by-marriage to the late rapper Tupac Shakur, and her story was immortalized in music by artists such as Public Enemy and Common. The 1988 Public Enemy track “Rebel Without a Pause” referenced her, and Common’s 2000 song “A Song for Assata” recounted her journey. Her legacy in hip-hop and popular culture has been the subject of both celebration and controversy. When Common was invited to perform at a White House poetry event in 2011, law enforcement groups and some conservatives protested, viewing it as an affront to police and the memory of Trooper Foerster.
Official reactions to her death were predictably polarized. New Jersey State Assemblyman Michael Inganamort, who had sponsored legislation urging Cuba to extradite Shakur, lamented that “justice was never served” in Foerster’s death. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and State Police Superintendent Patrick Callahan issued a joint statement, declaring, “Sadly, it appears she has passed without being held fully accountable for her heinous crimes. Unlike his killer, Trooper Foerster never had a chance to live out his days in peace.” They further pledged to “vigorously oppose” any attempt to repatriate her remains to the United States.
Yet for many activists, Shakur’s death marks the passing of a symbol of Black resistance. Black Lives Matter Grassroots Inc. paid tribute, saying, “May her courage, wisdom, and deep, abiding love permeate through every dimension and guide us. May our work be righteous and brave as we fight in her honor and memory.” Her supporters continue to view her as a political refugee, persecuted for her beliefs and activism rather than her actions.
Shakur’s story is not unique in Cuba. According to reporting from Article 2, more than 70 American fugitives—some accused of serious crimes and terrorism—are believed to reside in Cuba, including William “Guillermo” Morales, implicated in the 1975 Fraunces Tavern bombing. The presence of these fugitives continues to complicate U.S.-Cuba relations, serving as a reminder of the Cold War legacies and ideological divides that still shape the two countries’ interactions.
In the end, Assata Shakur’s life defies easy categorization. To some, she was a dangerous criminal; to others, a freedom fighter and enduring icon of resistance. Her death in Havana closes a chapter on a life that encapsulated the hopes, contradictions, and unresolved tensions of America’s long struggle with race, justice, and political dissent.