The
New York City Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG-NYC) denounces
the renewed attacks on Assata Shakur (s/n Joanne Chesimard) by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation and law enforcement authorities in the
State of New Jersey. The FBI has designated the 65-year old former
Black Panther Party member a “terrorist” and increased the bounty for
her capture to $2 million.
Assata Shakur
is a former member of the Black Panther Party in New York City. That
organization, which advocated community control and self-determination
in the Black community, was the chief target of the FBI’s infamous
counterintelligence program known as “COINTELPRO”. According to
documents released in the 1970’s, COINTELPRO’s stated goal was to
“expose, misdirect, destroy and neutralize” Black political
organizations and their leadership. The illegal and unconstitutional
program resulted in the police murder of scores of BPP members,
including Fred Hampton and Mark Clark in Chicago, and the frame-ups and
wrongful convictions of many others, such as Geronimo Pratt and Dhoruba
Bin Wahad, both of whom spent two decades in prison before their
frame-ups were exposed. Many former Panthers remain in prison today.
Labelled by law
enforcement as a leader of the Black Liberation Army (BLA), by 1973
Assata was listed as a suspect in virtually dozens of acts where a Black
woman was thought to have been involved. After her May 2, 1973 arrest,
she was tried repeatedly for armed robberies and assaults, and each
time was either acquitted or the charges were dismissed.
Her May 2, 1973
arrest and conviction were the product of a New Jersey State Police
“stop” for an alleged traffic infraction. Police opened fire, killing
Panther leader Zayd Malik Shakur. As trial evidence showed, Assata
raised her hands but was shot once in the front and again in the
back. She was left to die on the road. Another Panther in the car,
Sundiata Acoli, was wounded, was able to escape, but was captured a few
days later. Assata was charged with felony murder on Trooper Forrester,
who also died in the shootout. She was convicted by an all-white jury
and sentenced to life. She escaped custody in 1979 and thereafter went
to Cuba. In the 1980’s that government, after concluding that Assata
faced political persecution in the United States, granted her full
asylum in accordance with international law.
The determining
factor in labeling Assata Shakur a “terrorist” was the FBI’s assertion
that she continues to espouse radical, revolutionary and “anti-U.S.”
ideology. This candid observation by the FBI is in accordance with its
continuing COINTELPRO operation. According to a 1969 FBI document, one
of COINTELPRO’s goals was to insure that “the Negro youth and moderate
must be made to understand that if they succumb to revolutionary
teaching, they will be dead revolutionaries.” The FBI’s action is an
attack on Assata Shakur. But it is also an attack on all those who
believe in and advocate for fundamental change in the social order in
the United States. Advocating for freedom, human rights and
self-determination and against racist police attacks is not
terrorism. It is a fundamental right guaranteed by the First Amendment
and international law.
We call on the
U.S. government and State of New Jersey to rescind its bounty on Assata
Shakur. We further demand that all efforts to secure her extradition
cease and that her political asylum be respected. We further urge that
Sundiata Acoli (s/n Clark Squire), who is over 70 years old and who has
been incarcerated for over 40 years, be released to parole supervision.
The National
Lawyers Guild is the oldest and largest public interest/human rights bar
organization in the United States. Its headquarters are in New York and
it has members in every state.
Susan Howard
Chapter Coordinator
New York City Chapter
National Lawyers Guild
113 University Place, 8th fl.
New York, NY 10003
(212) 679-6018
nlgnyc@igc.org
WHY: TO DEMAND THAT THE U.S. GOVERNMENT & STATE OF NEW JERSEY RESCIND IT'S $2 MILLION "DEAD OR ALIVE" BOUNTY ON ASSATA SHAKUR AND THAT ALL EFFORTS TO SECURE HER CAPTURE BY ARMED MERCENARIES AND/OR EXTRADITION CEASE. WE FURTHER DEMAND THAT HER POLITICAL ASYLUM IN CUBA BE RESPECTED AND THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT IMMEDIATELY END THEIR OWN TERRORISM, HARASSMENT & DEFAMATION OF ASSATA'S NAME, FAMILY, FRIENDS, COMRADES & SUPPORTERS. ASSATA SHAKUR WAS FRAMED, NEARLY MURDERED AND RAILROADED BY THE GOVERNMENTS ILLEGAL 1970'S COINTELPRO WAR ON THE BLACK COMMUNITY AND SHE MUST REMAIN FREE!
WHAT: PRESS CONFERENCE & COMMUNITY/STUDENT RALLY IN HARLEM
WHEN: THURSDAY, MAY 9, 2013 @ 11:00AM -12:00 NOON
WHERE: ASSATA SHAKUR-GUILLERMO MORALES COMMUNITY & STUDENT CENTER @ CCNY - ROOM 3-201 (NAC BUILDING)
USE AMSTERDAM AVENUE ENTRANCE (BET.137TH & 138TH)
WHO: Casa de Las Americas, Sekou Odinga Defense Committee, July 26 Coalition,
Uhuru Movement, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, The Black Souljahz, Ban The N-Word,
United Muslim Alliance, Free Mumia Coalition, Students For Educational Rights/CCNY,
Black Student Union/CCNY, New Black Panther Party, N-COBRA, NYC-Jericho Movement,
Malcolm X Commemoration Committee, The Healing Drum Collective, Nosotros Los Polores,
Black Panther Commemoration Committee, Radical Women, Community Vision Council, NYC-Peoples Survival Program, Safiya Bukhari-Albert Nuh Washington Foundation,
International Concerned Family & Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, People's Power Movement,
National Lawyers Guild-NYC Chapter,