Assata Shakur, the Black Liberation Army member whose 1979 prison escape and decades-long exile in Cuba made her a lightning rod for debate over race, justice, and U.S.-Cuban relations, died Thursday in Havana at age 78, Cuban officials and her family confirmed. The news, first announced by Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and later by her daughter, Kakuya Shakur, closes a chapter on one of the most controversial figures in the history of American activism and law enforcement.
Born JoAnne Deborah Byron in July 1947 in Flushing, Queens, Shakur’s early life was marked by the turbulence of the civil rights era. She became politically active while attending Borough of Manhattan Community College and City College of New York, eventually joining the Black Panther Party and later the Black Liberation Army (BLA), organizations that, in the 1960s and 70s, advocated for Black empowerment and, in the case of the BLA, armed resistance against systemic racism. According to CBS News, the FBI would later describe the BLA as "one of the most violent militant organizations of the 1970s."
Shakur’s notoriety stems from a single, violent night on the New Jersey Turnpike in May 1973. Pulled over by state troopers for a broken taillight, Shakur and her two companions—both BLA members—were involved in a shootout that left Trooper Werner Foerster dead, another officer wounded, and one of Shakur’s companions, Zayd Malik Shakur, also killed. Shakur herself was wounded and arrested at the scene. She was subsequently convicted in 1977 of first-degree murder, armed robbery, and related charges, and sentenced to life in prison. Trooper Foerster was 34 at the time, leaving behind a wife and young son, as noted by Fox News and ABC News.
But Shakur’s story didn’t end behind bars. In November 1979, just two years into her sentence at the Clinton Correctional Facility for Women in New Jersey, she escaped in a daring plot orchestrated by BLA members, who took guards hostage and commandeered a prison van. Shakur disappeared from public view, only to resurface five years later in Cuba, where Fidel Castro granted her political asylum. According to the Associated Press, Cuba’s support for Shakur was emblematic of its broader alignment with left-wing and anti-colonial movements around the world, seeing the Black liberation struggle in the U.S. as part of a global revolutionary cause.
Her escape and subsequent life in Cuba would fuel decades of diplomatic tension between the U.S. and Cuban governments. Multiple U.S. administrations, including that of President Donald Trump, demanded her extradition, but Cuba steadfastly refused. The FBI placed Shakur on its Most Wanted Terrorists List in 2013—the first woman ever to receive that designation—and offered a $2 million reward for her capture. Despite these efforts, Shakur lived openly in Havana, teaching at universities and publishing her autobiography, Assata: An Autobiography, in 1987.
Shakur’s case divided public opinion sharply. To law enforcement and many public officials, she was a convicted cop-killer who evaded justice. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and State Police Superintendent Colonel Patrick Callahan stated, “For years, we have worked with the State Department to bring Chesimard back to New Jersey, so she could face justice for the cold-blooded murder of an American hero. Sadly, it appears she has passed without being held fully accountable for her heinous crimes.” They added, “Unlike his killer, Trooper Foerster never had a chance to live out his days in peace. But we remain fully committed to honoring his memory and sacrifice. We will vigorously oppose any attempt to repatriate Chesimard’s remains to the United States.”
Trooper Foerster’s family and the law enforcement community expressed ongoing grief and anger. According to Fox News, the labor union representing New Jersey officers dismissed Shakur “for her crime and cowardice,” while state officials lamented that “justice was never served.” The U.S. State Department, in a statement to Fox News Digital, said, “On behalf of her victims, we regret that the Cuban dictatorship for decades protected this fugitive and prevented her from facing justice in our nation.”
Yet, among activists and segments of the Black community, Shakur became a symbol of resistance to racial injustice and government repression. Her writings, especially the lines, “It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains,” from her autobiography, were adopted as rallying cries by the Black Lives Matter movement. Malkia Amala Cyril, an early BLM organizer, told the Associated Press, “The world in this era needs the kind of courage and radical love she practiced if we are going to survive it.” Black Lives Matter Grassroots Inc. vowed to “fight in her honor and memory.”
Shakur herself never admitted to shooting anyone. In a 2001 interview with BET, she said, “I was convicted by—I don’t even want to call it a trial, it was lynching, by an all-white jury. I had nothing but contempt for the system of justice under which I was tried.” Over the years, she maintained that her prosecution was politically motivated, and her supporters argued that she was targeted for her activism and beliefs rather than her actions.
Her influence extended into culture and music. Shakur was the godmother and step-aunt of the late rapper Tupac Shakur, whose work often referenced themes of social justice and resistance. The political hip-hop group Public Enemy referenced her in their 1988 song “Rebel Without a Pause,” and rapper Common recounted her story in his 2000 track “A Song for Assata.” When Common was invited to a White House poetry event in 2011, his inclusion sparked outrage from law enforcement groups and conservatives, highlighting the enduring controversy surrounding Shakur’s legacy.
Despite the passage of time, Shakur remained a flashpoint for debates about race, policing, and justice in America. She was indicted multiple times in the early 1970s in connection with robberies and the deaths of police officers, but most charges were dismissed or ended in acquittal. Only the 1973 shootout led to her conviction and lifelong notoriety.
Shakur’s death in Havana, attributed by Cuban authorities to health complications and advanced age, was marked by both mourning and unresolved anger. As reported by multiple outlets including ABC News, CBS News, and Fox News, she lived out her final decades as a fugitive, teacher, and writer—revered by some, reviled by others, and never far from the crosscurrents of American history and politics.
Her passing leaves behind a legacy as complicated as the era that produced her—a testament to the enduring questions of justice, power, and the meaning of freedom.
