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Quote by Assata Shakur

“Once you’re in prison, there are plenty of jobs, and, if you don’t want to work, they beat you up and throw you in the hole. If every state had to pay workers to do the jobs prisoners are forced to do, the salaries would amount to billions.”

Quote by Assata Shakur

Work

Assata: An Autobiography

Assata Shakur's autobiography offers a personal account of her life, focusing on her involvement with the Black Panther Party and her subsequent escape from prison. The narrative delves into her political beliefs, the events that led to her fugitive status, and her ongoing activism. more

Author

Assata Shakur
Assata Shakur

Assata Shakur, born on July 16, 1947, is a renowned American activist. She is known for her involvement in the Black Power Movement, particularly for her association with the Black Panther Party. Shakur became a fugitive from justice after escaping from a New York state prison in 1979 and seeking refuge in Cuba. more

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“Instead of a mass movement saying 'No, we don't want [police],' the mass movement is saying 'How do we reform them? How do we hold a couple of them accountable?' The conversation should be: 'Why are they even here?' There are obviously many of us who have had that conversation, but it hasn't been the popular dialogue. Why do the police even exist? What are their origins? Many of us understand that their original task was to patrol slaves. Many of us understand that the first sheriff's department patrolled the US-Mexico border. That's not the public discourse. This has everything to do with the position that they've played in the last thirty years. It's also deeply rooted in anti-Black racism. The idea of not having police scares people. People say, 'What are we going to do with criminals?' by which they mean 'What are we going to do with Black people?' I believe we should abolish the police. I think they are extremely dangerous and will continue to be. That doesn't mean I don't believe in police reform...We do have to deal with the current crisis in the short term. That's important. We have to have solutions for people's real-life problems, and we have to allow people to decide what those solutions are. We also have to create a vision that's much bigger than the one we have right now. I was talking to one of the organizers in Ferguson. I said to her, this work is bigger than us. It's bigger than Black people. It's bigger than humans. This is a planetary crisis. If we don't solve it or at least set up a system that can help solve it, I don't think we'll survive.”

“Jeremy Bentham argued that 'even in the best of times the great mass of citizens will most probably possess few resources other than their daily labour and, consequently, be always near indigence'. As long as working man was near indigence, hunger would remain an effective tool to goad him to labour. Bentham argued that an important task of government was to ensure conditions of deprivation, thereby guaranteeing that hunger would [be a constant motivation to work].”

“Ujanja wote ulimwisha Murphy. Ilimbidi kutoboa siri ili adui asizidi kumuumiza. Alilaumu mno kufa wakati alishakula ng’ombe mzima. Alifikiri Mogens na Yehuda walishauwawa kulingana na hasira nyingi za magaidi. Walihakikisha hawafanyi makosa hata kidogo. Alivyomaliza kumhoji, yule adui alizunguka nyuma katika mgongo wa Murphy na kwenda katika dirisha lililokuwa wazi – la mashariki – ambapo aliegemea na kuvuta sigara. Alichungulia kidogo nje kisha akageuka na kuendelea kupata upepo mdogo wa baridi.”

“Murphy hakupenda kupoteza muda. Alinyanyuka na kumimina risasi, Mungu akamsaidia akadondosha wawili huku wengine wakipotea kwa kuruka vibaya na kukwepa. Kwa kasi Murphy alikimbia huku ameinama mpaka katika milango mikubwa ya nje, ambayo sasa ilikuwa wazi. Hapo akasita. Chochote kingeweza kumpata kwa nje kama hangekuwa mwangalifu. Bunduki yake ilishakwisha risasi. Aliitupa na kuchungulia nje akaona adui mmoja akikatisha kwenda nyuma ambako ndiko mashambulizi yalikokuwa yakisikika sasa. Murphy hakumtaka huyo. Aligeukia ndani kuona kama kulikuwa na bunduki aichukue lakini hata kisu hakikuwepo. Akiwa bado anashangaa, ghafla alitokea adui – kwa ndani – na kurusha risasi, bahati nzuri akamkosa Murphy. Murphy, kama mbayuwayu, aliruka na kusafiri hewani hapohapo akadondoka nyuma ya tangi la gesi karibu na milango ya nje. Alipoona vile, adui alidhani Murphy alidondoka mbali. Alibung’aa asijue la kufanya. Wasiwasi ulipomzidi alishindwa kuvumilia. Alishika bunduki kwa nguvu na kupiga kelele, "Yuko hukuuu!" Halafu akajificha ili Murphy asimwone. Lakini Murphy alikuwa akimwona.”