Jump to content

Afeni Shakur: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
→‎Activism: It's a religious sect, not a gang.
Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit
Line 31: Line 31:


== Activism ==
== Activism ==
After hearing [[Bobby Seale]] speak, Williams joined the [[Black Panther Party]] when they opened an office in Harlem in 1968.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news|last=Johnson|first=Rudy|date=1970-07-19|title=Joan Bird and Afeni Shakur, Self‐Styled Soldiers in the Panther ‘Class Struggle’|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/07/19/archives/joan-bird-and-afeni-shakur-selfstyledsoldiers-in-the-panther-class.html|access-date=2021-12-19|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> There she met Lumumba Shakur, a member of the [[Sunni Islam|Suni Muslims]], who she married in November 1968.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news|last=Johnson|first=Rudy|date=1970-07-19|title=Joan Bird and Afeni Shakur, Self‐Styled Soldiers in the Panther ‘Class Struggle’|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/07/19/archives/joan-bird-and-afeni-shakur-selfstyledsoldiers-in-the-panther-class.html|access-date=2021-12-19|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Following their marriage, she changed her name to Afeni Shakur.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/afeni-shakur-davis-activist-organizer-leader-remembered-n567296|title=Afeni Shakur, Tupac's Mom, Legacy Remembered by Fellow Panthers|last=Hall|first=Mia|date=May 2, 2016|newspaper=NBC News|access-date=February 22, 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref name="vibe">{{cite news|last1=Thompson|first1=Desire|title=The Black Panther Party Releases Statement On Afeni Shakur's Passing|url=http://www.vibe.com/2016/05/black-panther-party-afeni-shakur-statement/|access-date=February 22, 2017|work=Vibe|date=May 5, 2016}}</ref> She became a section leader of the Harlem chapter and a mentor to new members such as [[Jamal Joseph]].<ref name="vibe" /><ref name=":1" />
After hearing [[Bobby Seale]] speak, Williams joined the [[Black Panther Party]] when they opened an office in Harlem in 1968.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news|last=Johnson|first=Rudy|date=1970-07-19|title=Joan Bird and Afeni Shakur, Self‐Styled Soldiers in the Panther ‘Class Struggle’|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/07/19/archives/joan-bird-and-afeni-shakur-selfstyledsoldiers-in-the-panther-class.html|access-date=2021-12-19|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> There she met Lumumba Shakur, a [[Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslim]], who she married in November 1968.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news|last=Johnson|first=Rudy|date=1970-07-19|title=Joan Bird and Afeni Shakur, Self‐Styled Soldiers in the Panther ‘Class Struggle’|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/07/19/archives/joan-bird-and-afeni-shakur-selfstyledsoldiers-in-the-panther-class.html|access-date=2021-12-19|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Following their marriage, she changed her name to Afeni Shakur.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/afeni-shakur-davis-activist-organizer-leader-remembered-n567296|title=Afeni Shakur, Tupac's Mom, Legacy Remembered by Fellow Panthers|last=Hall|first=Mia|date=May 2, 2016|newspaper=NBC News|access-date=February 22, 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref name="vibe">{{cite news|last1=Thompson|first1=Desire|title=The Black Panther Party Releases Statement On Afeni Shakur's Passing|url=http://www.vibe.com/2016/05/black-panther-party-afeni-shakur-statement/|access-date=February 22, 2017|work=Vibe|date=May 5, 2016}}</ref> She became a section leader of the Harlem chapter and a mentor to new members such as [[Jamal Joseph]].<ref name="vibe" /><ref name=":1" />


===The Panther 21===
===The Panther 21===
Line 39: Line 39:
One of the people Shakur cross-examined was Ralph White, a "suspect" who was in fact an undercover policeman who had infiltrated the Black Panthers.<ref name="nyt_1971">{{Cite web |last=Evans Asbury |first=Edith |date=1971-02-03 |title=Detective Joined Panthers in 1968 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/02/03/archives/detective-joined-panthers-in-1968-says-membership-preceded.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814062517/https://www.nytimes.com/1971/02/03/archives/detective-joined-panthers-in-1968-says-membership-preceded.html |archive-date=2021-08-14 |access-date=2021-09-13 |website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> Shakur had repeatedly denounced White as a cop because he was "a hothead ... too arrogant for a Panther."{{Sfn|Guy|2004|p=103}} White testified it was retaliation for refusing to hire her to work in the Harlem Panther office.<ref name="nyt_1971" /> Shakur got White to admit under oath that he and the other two agents had organized most of the unlawful activities. "She asked him if he'd ever seen her carry a gun or kill anyone or bomb anything and he answered no, no, no. Then she asked if he'd seen her doing Panther organizing in a school and a hospital and on the streets and he answered, yes, yes, yes."<ref name=":11">{{Cite news|last=Carlson|first=Peter|date=2003-09-23|title=The Gangsta Rapper's Radical Mama|language=en-US|work=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2003/09/23/the-gangsta-rappers-radical-mama/df809d90-c96b-4699-8cd3-245c7cf6a7c2/|access-date=2021-12-19|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>
One of the people Shakur cross-examined was Ralph White, a "suspect" who was in fact an undercover policeman who had infiltrated the Black Panthers.<ref name="nyt_1971">{{Cite web |last=Evans Asbury |first=Edith |date=1971-02-03 |title=Detective Joined Panthers in 1968 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/02/03/archives/detective-joined-panthers-in-1968-says-membership-preceded.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814062517/https://www.nytimes.com/1971/02/03/archives/detective-joined-panthers-in-1968-says-membership-preceded.html |archive-date=2021-08-14 |access-date=2021-09-13 |website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> Shakur had repeatedly denounced White as a cop because he was "a hothead ... too arrogant for a Panther."{{Sfn|Guy|2004|p=103}} White testified it was retaliation for refusing to hire her to work in the Harlem Panther office.<ref name="nyt_1971" /> Shakur got White to admit under oath that he and the other two agents had organized most of the unlawful activities. "She asked him if he'd ever seen her carry a gun or kill anyone or bomb anything and he answered no, no, no. Then she asked if he'd seen her doing Panther organizing in a school and a hospital and on the streets and he answered, yes, yes, yes."<ref name=":11">{{Cite news|last=Carlson|first=Peter|date=2003-09-23|title=The Gangsta Rapper's Radical Mama|language=en-US|work=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2003/09/23/the-gangsta-rappers-radical-mama/df809d90-c96b-4699-8cd3-245c7cf6a7c2/|access-date=2021-12-19|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>


She and the others in the "[[Panther 21]]" were acquitted in May 1971 after an eight-month trial.<ref name=":3" /> Altogether, Afeni Shakur spent two years in jail before being acquitted.<ref name=":4" />
She and the others in the "[[Panther 21]]" were acquitted in May 1971 after an eight-month trial.<ref name=":3" /> Altogether, Afeni Shakur spent two years in jail before being acquitted.<ref name=":4" />


== Later life and death ==
== Later life and death ==

Revision as of 04:43, 21 January 2022

Afeni Shakur
Shakur giving a speech in 2009
Born
Alice Faye Williams

(1947-01-10)January 10, 1947
Lumberton, North Carolina, U.S.
DiedMay 2, 2016(2016-05-02) (aged 69)
Sausalito, California, U.S.
OccupationActivist
Years active1968–1971
Political partyBlack Panther Party
Spouse
Lumumba Shaku
​
​
(m. 1968; div. 1971)​
​
​
(m. 1975; div. 1982)​
Gust Davis
​
(m. 2004)​
Children2, including Tupac Shakur

Afeni Shakur Davis (born Alice Faye Williams; January 10, 1947 – May 2, 2016)[1] was an American political activist and former member of the Black Panther Party.[2] Shakur was the mother of rapper Tupac Shakur and the executor of his estate. She founded the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation and also served as the CEO of Amaru Entertainment, Inc., a record and film production company she founded.

Early life

Afeni Shakur was born Alice Faye Williams on January 10, 1947, in Lumberton, North Carolina.[1] She had an older sister, Gloria "Glo" Jean.[3] She had a troubled beginning and grew up resenting her father, a truck driver, because he was abusive towards her mother.[4] At the age of eleven in 1958, Williams and her sister moved to the South Bronx with their mother, a factory worker.[5][6]

Williams attended Benjamin Franklin Junior High School in the Bronx, where she demonstrated above average reading ability and her grades qualified her for honors.[6] She wrote for the school newspaper, The Franklin Flash, and in the ninth grade won a journalism award for which she received congratulations from Mayor Robert F. Wagner.[6] In 1962, Williams passed the qualifying examinations for the Bronx High School of Science and High School of Performing Arts in Manhattan.[7][6] She chose the latter because she felt performers and actors were free spirited.[8] However, Williams couldn't afford the school supplies and she felt like an outcast at the school, so she dropped out after one term.[6] She began drifting and became member of a Bronx street gang called the Disciples.[6]

She briefly worked a postal job, becoming one of the first women mail carriers in New York.[6]

Activism

After hearing Bobby Seale speak, Williams joined the Black Panther Party when they opened an office in Harlem in 1968.[6] There she met Lumumba Shakur, a Sunni Muslim, who she married in November 1968.[6] Following their marriage, she changed her name to Afeni Shakur.[9][10] She became a section leader of the Harlem chapter and a mentor to new members such as Jamal Joseph.[10][9]

The Panther 21

Main article: Panther 21

In April 1969, she and twenty other Black Panthers were arrested and charged with several counts of conspiracy to bomb police stations and other public places in New York.[2] With bail set at $100,000 each for the 21 suspects, the Black Panthers decided to raise bail money first for Joseph and Shakur so that those two could work on raising bail for the others.[9][11] The pre-trial started in February 1970 and the actual trial on September 8, 1970.[12] Charges brought against her and the other members of the Black Panther Party were attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to bomb buildings and conspiracy.[12] Shakur represented herself at trial, interviewing several witnesses and arguing in court.[9]

One of the people Shakur cross-examined was Ralph White, a "suspect" who was in fact an undercover policeman who had infiltrated the Black Panthers.[13] Shakur had repeatedly denounced White as a cop because he was "a hothead ... too arrogant for a Panther."[14] White testified it was retaliation for refusing to hire her to work in the Harlem Panther office.[13] Shakur got White to admit under oath that he and the other two agents had organized most of the unlawful activities. "She asked him if he'd ever seen her carry a gun or kill anyone or bomb anything and he answered no, no, no. Then she asked if he'd seen her doing Panther organizing in a school and a hospital and on the streets and he answered, yes, yes, yes."[15]

She and the others in the "Panther 21" were acquitted in May 1971 after an eight-month trial.[11] Altogether, Afeni Shakur spent two years in jail before being acquitted.[12]

Later life and death

After Shakur was acquitted, she did not return to the Black Panther Party. On June 16, 1971, she gave birth to her son, Lesane Parish Crooks, who was later renamed Tupac Amaru Shakur.[11][16] Shakur's marriage fell apart when it was discovered that Lumumba was not the biological father of her son. His biological father is Billy Garland, who Shakur had worked with in the Black Panther Party.[11] Black Panther Party member Geronimo Pratt was her son's godfather.[11]

In 1975, Shakur married Mutulu Shakur and had their daughter, Sekyiwa Shakur. They got divorced in 1982. Shakur worked as a paralegal for a decade before descending into a crack cocaine addiction in the early 1980s.[17][15]

Shakur moved her family to Baltimore, Maryland in 1984. She raised her children through welfare because she could not keep a job.[18] She relocated to Marin County in California to manage her drug use.[18] In 1989, her son left home because of her. The two later reconciled.[19] She overcame her addiction after she moved back to New York in 1991 and started Narcotics Anonymous meetings.[20] Nine months into her recovery program, Tupac sent her $5,000 even though their relationship was strained.[21]

Although Tupac struggled in his relationship with his mother, he paid tribute to her in his song "Dear Mama".[19] In the song, he reflects on his childhood, acknowledges Afeni's troubles with addiction, and expresses his love for her: "You always was committed, A poor single mother on welfare, tell me how you did it. There's no way I can pay you back, But the plan is to show you that I understand: you are appreciated."[22]

After Tupac died in Las Vegas on September 13, 1996, she had him cremated the next day.[23] His close friends, actresses Jada Pinkett and Jasmine Guy, provided emotional support for Shakur and advised her to hire lawyers to sort out Tupac's assets.[24] Before Tupac died, he arranged for her to receive $16,000 monthly and purchased a home for her in Stone Mountain, Georgia.[20]

In 2004, Shakur released her biography, Afeni Shakur: Evolution of a Revolutionary.[25] In her biography, which was written by Jasmine Guy, Shakur reflected in her childhood experiences and her upbringing as well as her involvement in the Black Panther Party. In the book, she stated that the party educated and directed her to channel her anger.[26] She described her experiences in jail and how together with other inmates, they organized a bail fund to get some of the women out of jail.[12]

Shakur traveled across the U.S., making guest appearances and delivering lectures. On February 6, 2009, she gave the keynote address for Vanderbilt University's Commemoration for Black History Month.[27] She shared with people her experiences and ways in which to overcome loss.[28]

In 2010, Shakur was arrested for possessing marijuana in Lumberton, North Carolina.[29]

Shakur was later married to Gust Davis.[17]

Shakur died at a hospital in Greenbrae, California, at around 10:28 p.m. on May 2, 2016, after going into cardiac arrest at her home earlier in the evening; she was 69.[30][18][31][32] Her body was cremated.[33]

The Estate of Tupac Shakur

Following Tupac's death, his biological father Billy Garland attempted to inherit half of his estate, but Shakur opposed because Garland was an "absentee father who contributed little to Tupac's upbringing."[34] A judge denied his claim.[34]

Exactly one year after Tupac's death, with revenue from his albums released posthumously, Shakur founded the Georgia-based Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation to provide art programs for young people and the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts in Stone Mountain, Georgia.[35]

In 1997, she founded Amaru Entertainment, a holding company for all of Tupac's unreleased material.[36] She also launched a fashion clothing line, Makaveli Branded in 2003.[37]

Shakur was reportedly in federal court on July 20, 2007, to file an injunction to prevent Death Row Records from selling any unreleased material from Tupac after the company failed to prove that the unreleased songs were not part of its bankruptcy settlement.[38]

In 2013, Shakur sued Entertainment One claiming they failed to pay Tupac's estate royalties worth seven figures for 2007’s Beginnings: The Lost Tapes. The estate also sued for the ownership of the master recordings for all of Tupac’s unreleased music. A court ruled Entertainment One must pay over six figures for royalties from Shakur's posthumous releases and all the unreleased recordings will go back to the estate. Death Row Records initially owned the rights to his music, which was purchased by Entertainment One in 2006.[39]

In 2014, Shakur helped create Broadway musical Holler If Ya Hear Me, which featured the Tupac's music.[18]

Shakur was not involved in the production of All Eyez on Me, a film based on Tupac's life, stating she felt betrayed by her lawyer, who made the deal with the production company Morgan Creek against her wishes. When she learned of the deal, she fired her lawyer, hired new ones, and fought against the contract and production company. She went to court several times, spending millions of dollars, which she stated led to her selling the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts, eventually settling for an undisclosed amount of money.[32]

Shakur set up a trust to control all of Tupac's music rights which assigned music executive Tom Whalley as the executor of his estate following her death in 2016.[40]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Kaufman, Gil (May 3, 2016). "Tupac's Mother, Afeni Shakur, Dead at 69". Billboard. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Tupac's Mother, Afeni Shakur, Dead at 50". Billboard. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  3. ^ Guy 2004, p. 6.
  4. ^ Guy 2004, p. 17.
  5. ^ Guy 2004, p. 30-32.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Johnson, Rudy (July 19, 1970). "Joan Bird and Afeni Shakur, Self‐Styled Soldiers in the Panther 'Class Struggle'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  7. ^ Guy 2004, p. 43.
  8. ^ Guy 2004, p. 44.
  9. ^ a b c d Hall, Mia (May 2, 2016). "Afeni Shakur, Tupac's Mom, Legacy Remembered by Fellow Panthers". NBC News. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  10. ^ a b Thompson, Desire (May 5, 2016). "The Black Panther Party Releases Statement On Afeni Shakur's Passing". Vibe. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  11. ^ a b c d e Kreps, Daniel (May 3, 2016). "Afeni Shakur, Activist and Tupac Shakur's Mother, Dead at 69". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  12. ^ a b c d Cribb, Arielle G. Stories Of Gender And Injustices In The Cases Of Afeni Shakur, Angela Davis And Assata Shakur. Arielle Garden Cribb. Aug. 2009. https://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/handle/1813/13786/Cribb%2c%20Arielle.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
  13. ^ a b Evans Asbury, Edith (February 3, 1971). "Detective Joined Panthers in 1968". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 14, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  14. ^ Guy 2004, p. 103.
  15. ^ a b Carlson, Peter (September 23, 2003). "The Gangsta Rapper's Radical Mama". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  16. ^ Afeni Shakur, mother of rapper Tupac, dies at 69, RichmondFreePress.com; accessed May 15, 2016.
  17. ^ a b Langer, Emily (May 3, 2016). "Afeni Shakur, mother of rapper Tupac Shakur, dies at 69". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  18. ^ a b c d Kimble, Lindsay (May 3, 2016). "Tupac Shakur's Mother Afeni Shakur Davis Dies at 69: Police". People Magazine. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  19. ^ a b Ellis, Tanya (May 3, 2016). "5 Things You Should Know About Afeni Shakur". Tvone. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  20. ^ a b Castro, Peter (December 1, 1997). "All Eyes On Her". People. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  21. ^ Alemoru, Kemi (May 4, 2016). "The colourful life of Tupac's mother Afeni Shakur". Dazed. Retrieved December 19, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. ^ Romi, Ezzo. "Dear Mama Lyrics". Genius. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  23. ^ Guy 2004, p. 186.
  24. ^ Guy 2004, p. 186-188.
  25. ^ "Afeni Shakur: Evolution of a Revolutionary". Publishers Weekly.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  26. ^ Guy 2004, p. 62.
  27. ^ "Lecture: Afeni Shakur delivers keynote address of Vanderbilt University's Black History Month Commemoration". Discoverer Archive. Jean and Alexander Heard Library. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  28. ^ MTV News (May 3, 2016), Tupac's Mother, Afeni Shakur, Talks Faith & God | MTV News, retrieved June 2, 2019
  29. ^ Archive-Mawuse-Ziegbe (April 27, 2010). "Tupac's Mom, Afeni Shakur, Arrested For Drug Possession". MTV News. Retrieved December 19, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  30. ^ McLaughlin, Eliott (May 3, 2016). "Afeni Shakur Davis, Tupac's mother, dies at 69". CNN Entertainment. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  31. ^ Dillion, Nancy; Niemietz, Brian; Wagner, Meg (May 4, 2016). "Afeni Shakur, mother of hip-hop legend Tupac, dead at 69". New York Daily News. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  32. ^ a b McGee, Robyn (May 4, 2016). "Remembering Afeni Shakur, Racial Justice Activist and Mother". Bitch Media. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  33. ^ Anthony, Flo; Dillon, Nancy (May 14, 2016). "Private memorial for Tupac's mom Afeni Shakur to be held in N.C." Daily News. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  34. ^ a b O'Neill, Ann W.; Philips, Chuck (December 10, 1997). "Father of Tupac Shakur is denied share of estate". Los Angeles Times.
  35. ^ Lee, Christina (July 6, 2016). "What Happened to the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts?". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  36. ^ Phillips, Chuck (October 30, 1997). "Amaru Label to Release Shakur CDs". Los Angeles Times.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  37. ^ "5 things to remember about Afeni and Tupac Shakur". Rolling Out. May 3, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  38. ^ Moscow-Pullman Daily News (July 26, 2007) "Tupac's mother tries to stop Death Row sale of unreleased tracks"; retrieved May 17, 2010.
  39. ^ "Tupac's Estate Regains Ownership Of Unreleased Music | WHUR 96.3 FM". whur.com. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  40. ^ Hyman, Dan (May 4, 2016). "Tupac's Estate After His Mother's Death: Wishes Will 'Be Honored,' Lawyer Says". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2021.

Read Further

  • Guy, Jasmine (2004). Afeni Shakur: Evolution of a Revolutionary. New York: Atria. ISBN 978-0-7434-7053-7.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Afeni_Shakur&oldid=1066991438"