Afeni Shakur

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Afeni Shakur (born Alice Faye Williams) (born January 10, 1947, in Lumberton, North Carolina) is the mother of the famous American rapper Tupac Shakur and was an important member of the Black Panther Party.

She led a series of chapters during the "break down" of the Black Panther party. Her intellect and ability enabled her to edit and write columns for the Panther Post with such strategic craftiness that it misled the FBI to believe that the Black Panther Party was no longer in existence, while in fact they were multiplying rapidly.^{[citation needed]}

While pregnant with her son, Afeni Shakur was incarcerated for withholding information that could have led to the arrest of leading members of "Panther 21". While in prison, Afeni Shakur reportedly obtained a court order to have one boiled egg per day because the food within the jail was unfit for an expecting mother ^[1]. She defended herself in court during a bomb conspiracy trial and was acquitted of 156 counts against her and other members of the Black Panther Party. No evidence was found to support the charges. After her son was born, she married Mutulu Shakur (who later became her son's step-father) and converted to Islam.

Since her son's death, Afeni Shakur oversaw Tupac's unreleased material. By bringing in the best producers to work with her son's unreleased material Afeni allowed Tupac to sell millions of albums. Afeni is largely credited for her ability to sell Tupac's work and to add to his legacy. A year after Tupac's death, Afeni founded the Georgia-based Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation, which provides art programs for young people. She has also since launched a fashion clothing line, Makaveli Branded; all proceeds go to his charity, the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation.

[edit] Sidenote

• Tupac, her son, once said that because of his mom’s ties with the Black Panthers, the FBI was always after him and his family.

• She was named after Alice Faye, the actress^[2].

[edit] References

1. ^ Washington Post Features Afeni Shakur. tupac-online.com.
2. ^ Afeni Shakur: Evolution of a Revolutionary, Afeni's memoirs, by Jasmine Guy

[edit] External links

• Tupac Legacy, biography of Tupac Shakur