Shakur died earlier this year in Cuba. Is anyone surprised that Jones admires her?
The College Fix reports:
‘1619 Project’ professor Nikole Hannah-Jones pens tribute to convicted cop killerHoward University professor and “1619 Project” creator Nikole Hannah-Jones is facing criticism for a tribute she wrote recently for the late Assata Shakur, a convicted murderer and terrorist.In the piece published Dec. 16 in The New York Times, Hannah-Jones said Shakur compared herself to “Black freedom fighters” such as Nat Turner and Harriet Tubman.“Shakur was lionized in rap songs and taught in college classes, and her likeness could be found in classrooms and community centers in Black neighborhoods across the nation,” she wrote, adding that the activist’s history was actually quite “complicated.”Before fleeing the country, Shakur was a member of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army, a domestic terrorist group that one scholar linked to “at least 20 fatalities.”An “all-white” jury found Shakur to be responsible for one of those 20, a New Jersey police officer, in 1977, according to the piece. She later escaped prison and fled to Cuba, seeking political asylum.In 2005, the FBI labeled Shakur a domestic terrorist, and, eight years later, added her to the “most wanted” list. As a result, she “was forced back into hiding,” and lost contact with her only child, according to the tribute.“Liberation came with unbearable costs. But Shakur, who saw herself as an escaped slave, died free,” Hannah-Jones concluded.However, Hannah-Jones’ portrayal of the activist, much like her claims about America’s supposedly racist founding in the “1619 Project,” were met with swift criticism.
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