Revolutionary Fighter For Black Liberation Assata Shakur Dies At 78

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September 26, 2025

Zack Linly, NewsOne

Black Liberation Party member Assata Shakur, born JoAnne Deborah Byron, has died at the age of 78, according to family members.

Activist, revolutionary, Black Panther Party leader and member of the Black Liberation Army (BLA), Assata Olugbala Shakur, has died at age 78, according to her daughter, Kakuya Shakur, meaning the ancestors have gained a fierce warrior in the fight against white supremacy.

Shakur, born JoAnne Deborah Byron on July 16, 1947, in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens, New York, was the sister of fellow Black liberation movement icon Mutulu Shakur, who died in 2023 at 72, and the godmother and step-aunt of late legendary rapper and actor Tupac Shakur, whose mother, Afeni, was Mutulu’s wife.

Assata represents one of the most iconic names associated with the Black Panthers and the fight to truly liberate Black people from white overseers.

That is how Black American people see and celebrate her.

Read on about the legacy of Assata Shakur.

Explore Portraits of Resistance and more stories about lesser-known moments and heroes in the fight for justice.

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