Cop killer Assata Shakur ‘survived white supremacy,’ professor says

OPINION

Two professors recently praised convicted cop killer Assata Shakur for her opposition to capitalism and for having “survived white supremacy.”

Shakur, real name Joanne Chesimard, died in Cuba last week, having fled there in 1984 after her fellow criminals in the Black Liberation Army helped her break out of prison. Essence magazine shares this history but does not mention why she was in prison – for killing New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster in 1973.

“Assata’s story is rare because she not only survived white supremacy—she escaped it,” Trinity Washington University Professor Kimberly Monroe told Essence.

Escaping to Cuba and continuing her life makes Shakur a “model” for others, Professor Monroe said.

“That survival, and her ability to narrate it, is a model for young organizers and Black women today,” Monroe told the magazine aimed at black women. “It’s why she remained a threat in the eyes of the U.S. government—because a free Black woman, telling her truth, and fighting for others to be free, is the most powerful story of all.”

Counter point – she remained a threat because she killed a police officer and was affiliated with a terrorist group that killed around 10 police officers.

Monroe’s comments drew praise on LinkedIn from the president of Trinity Washington University, a low-performing Catholic university in D.C. “Dr. Monroe, your research is powerful, thank you for being a wonderful teacher, scholar and inspiration for our students at Trinity!” Patricia McGuire wrote in response. “Awesome, Dr. Monroe!” Provost Carlota Ocampo wrote.

Oberlin College Professor Meredith Gadsby also praised Shakur for her activism.

“Assata understood that Africans were exploited for their value as the original human machines after devastating and failed attempts at destroying First Nations people in the process of consolidating empire in the West,” the associate professor of Africana Studies and Comparative American Studies told the magazine.

“She had a clear critique of how this exploitation resulted in the construction of the racial and gender inequalities that persist in the U.S., and how those systems have hampered our ability to enjoy the same financial success as white Americans, and even other communities of color,” the professor said.

Gadsby is quoted later in the article praising Shakur’s commitment to “freedom” and how it must include economic mobility.

“It is the freedom to breathe clean air; walk safely in our neighborhoods; protect our children; survive childbirth with dignity; and ensure all young people—girls, boys, and nonbinary families—can grow up safe, healthy, and supported,” she said.

But due to Shakur, a police officer’s wife and son grew up without their husband and father. They were left unsupported when Shakur murdered their dad.

However, the praise for a convicted murdered from two professors should not be surprising. As recently detailed in The College Fix, a campus death cult exists which praises the assassination of conservatives while working to eliminate human-embryonic children because they *may* develop gout or glaucoma decades into the future.

Better to toss them in the trash and violate their human dignity then have to take some medicine or drink less beer, the campus death cult argues.

Thankfully, the condemnation of violent murderer Shakur has been bipartisan, with New Jersey Democratic Governor Phil Murphy criticizing her upon her death.

“We mourn Trooper Foerster’s loss every day and extend our deepest sympathies to his widow, Rosie, their son, Eric, and the entire NJSP family,” the liberal governor wrote last week after Shakur’s death. “Unlike his killer, Trooper Foerster never had a chance to live out his days in peace. We are committed to honoring his memory and sacrifice.”

Likewise, former Republican Governor Chris Christie questioned why Cuba would not extradite Shakur back to the United States to finish out her prison sentence after President Barack Obama supposedly normalized relations with the Communist country.

“Justice must be served,” Governor Christie wrote in 2015.

Indeed, Shakur can never truly be considered an advocate for justice, despite what a fawning profile in Essence argues. She worked against justice, by refusing to follow the civil authorities when they duly convicted her and sentenced her to prison.

She also worked against justice, which is giving to everyone what they are due, when she murdered Werner Foerster and stole his life away from him and his family.

Shakur is no hero – she was a terrorist murdered who violated the law several times over and should have remained in jail if she really believed in justice.

MORE: Stanford dean cites Shakur’s quote in memo to students