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Assata Shakur, Icon of Resistance, Dies in Cuba

9/28/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Assata Shakur, born JoAnne Deborah Byron, died in Havana, Cuba, on September 25, 2025, at 78.
She belonged to the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army.
In 1977 she was convicted for the 1973 murder of New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster.
She escaped prison in 1979 and sought asylum in Cuba, living there over four decades.

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Story summary

Assata Shakur, born JoAnne Deborah Byron, died in Havana, Cuba, on September 25, 2025, at 78.
She belonged to the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army.
In 1977 she was convicted for the 1973 murder of New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster.
She escaped prison in 1979 and sought asylum in Cuba, living there over four decades.