Assata Shakur, born on this day in 1947, is a revolutionary socialist and former member of the Black Liberation Army (BLA) who became the first woman to be added to the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list in 2013.

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Shakur grew up in New York City and Wilmington, North Carolina. She became involved in political activism at Borough of Manhattan Community College and City College of New York, participating in sit-ins and civil rights protests.

After graduating from college, Shakur briefly joined the Black Panther Party, leading its Harlem chapter. She left the Panthers and joined the Black Liberation Army, a black power group that was inspired by the Viet Cong and Algerian resistance movements and waged guerrilla warfare against the U.S. government from 1970 to 1981. Shakur was one of the targets of the FBI’s COINTELPRO program.

After being involved in a shootout with New Jersey police officers, Shakur was convicted on multiple counts of assault and murder and sentenced to life in prison. In 1979, BLA members freed her in a bloodless prison escape.

Shakur successfully sought political asylum in Cuba, where she died on September 25, 2025, at the age of 78

“I didn’t know what a fool they had made out of me until I grew up and started to read real history.”

  • Assata Shakur

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  • HexaSnoot [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
    10·
    13 days ago

    blob-help I basically asked a question about why racism seems to always correlate race fetisism, and I hope some of you go answer it. Thanks. I barely understand why this happens. My people have some socialist history so you can guess shit has gotten scary for me in the past on the US’s dating scene. (Don’t worry too much, I’m lucky to be with a safe boyfriend nowadays.)

    • Angel [any]@hexbear.netEnglish
      13·
      13 days ago

      I replied:

      Honestly, if I have to be frank, it’s because race fetishism is racism.

      People too often get in this mentality that “benevolent racism” is not a form of racism, but it is.

      It may manifest differently than how people perceive a Klansman’s racism, but it is still racism.

      It stems from the same objectifying mentality that dehumanizes people, strips them of their characteristics as individuals, and reifies pseudoscientific tropes that get packaged into categories we know as “races.”

      Also, some answers here center right-wingers specifically, but to be clear, race fetishism is not an issue specific to right-wingers. Not even close. If anything, it is one of the most common forms of racism for leftists to engage in because it is a lot more socially acceptable, especially since we have many unconscious POC who see no issue with it and lean into it, so pushback is too damn rare.

      That last bit is important to me because some of the most egregious racial fetishism I’ve experienced personally is absolutely not from self-proclaimed right-wingers/conservatives/MAGA/alt-right types. I feel like it’s not helpful for people to flatten just how broadly racial fetishization can manifest. This isn’t simply about edgy white boys on 4chan thinking about racial cuckolding too much. The performative “leftist” white woman who makes all of these exoticizing remarks towards men of color is included in this shit, too, and they do not receive even close to enough pushback. Racial fetishism is something I’m hyper-conscious about, so I definitely would never frame this as a “right-wing” issue. If anything, it’s overwhelmingly just a cracKKKer issue, but even then, too many POC fetishize whiteness or whatever, too, so it’s not entirely the case. But in this particular context of honkies doing it? Certainly not just chuds.

      • HexaSnoot [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
        11·
        13 days ago

        I know not to call black people names of foods, like chocolate toffee caramel etc… I think it can be positive if someone calls their own skin that, but it seems wrong somehow if anyone else does it. I feel it’s exoticizing because youre reducing them to their skin color. Whereas calling your own skin a shade seems fine.

        Somehow saying “black” feels okay enough, but not quite, and I don’t know exactly why.

        In the past, up the year I graduated highschool, I’d say “African American” and multiple people awkwardly looked at me and told me “just say black.” So I did to avoid social awkwardness. I was later told some people don’t like being called “black” and to say African American, so now saying “black” to describe race and culture feels strange again. It seems like not everyone wants to reclaim the word “black.” I’m not sure what to do about my phrasing here. Do I change how I refer to African Americans and their culture on a person by person basis?

        • Angel [any]@hexbear.netEnglish
          12·
          13 days ago

          Yeah, it can be case-by-case, but for me personally:

          I’m not a huge fan of calling myself “African American” because:

          1. I don’t hold an “American” identity. I prefer to say I’m an African who just so happens to be living in such an empire if anything. I may use the term New Afrikan as well.
          2. Since I am of an Afro-Caribbean origin, some people might think I’m better off not being called “African American,” as they may believe that it should be reserved for “ADOS” folks specifically. However, I find that these types are usually divisive bozos who love perpetuating diaspora wars, which I definitely don’t personally approve of. Still, it helps for me to avoid BS.
          3. “Black” works just fine in an overwhelming majority of cases. On this note, if someone is referring to my phenotype, I much prefer “dark-skinned” over any food terms or something that tries to exoticize it. “Dark-skinned” is enough of a statement, I find.