Assata Shakur
they would like us to forget
the likes of her sacrifices.
one dark woman
well dressed
in plaid shadows
called afro freedom.
fighting. yelling. teaching.
staying alive
on the front line.
bloodied still living.
what worker
really likes
to strike.
what tenant
really likes
to find
their clothes
under the
street light.
all of those
layoffs
just weren’t
right.
shot in the head.
shot in the back.
shot forty-one times.
they say that kid
shot himself
with handcuffs on
in the back
of a squad car.
you believe that.
Lamont Lilly is a writer, poet and organizer. He is a member of the Durham branch of Workers World Party. In “unbelievable,”
“41 shots” refers to the murder of African immigrant, Amadou Diallo, by New York police in 1999. The “kid with handcuffs” refers to Chavis Carter, a Black youth killed on July 29, 2012, in Jonesboro, Ark. Assata refers to Black freedom fighter, Assata Shakur, forced to exile to Cuba in 1979.
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