Afeni Shakur has been recognized as 'a tenacious and deeply committed figure of the Black Power movement—a legacy that laid so much of the groundwork for Black liberation in America today.' 📝 Santi Elijah Holley
as a tenacious and deeply committed figure to the Black Power movement—a legacy that laid so much of the groundwork for Black liberation in America today.After being held for ten months at the Women’s House of Detention in Manhattan, Afeni was freed on bail on January 30, 1970. Her $100,000 bond was provided by female supporters in the labor movement and members of Presbyterian and Episcopal churches, who’d raised $66,000 in cash and used church assets as collateral on the remainder.
Against the advice of her Panther colleagues, Afeni chose to act as her own attorney, while the others were represented by activist attorney Gerald B. Lefcourt. Afeni had had no prior law experience, no training whatsoever, and she came to her decision only after determining that the attorney she’d been assigned, Carol H. Lefcourt, possessed “a tiny, squeaky voice” that wouldn’t command respect in the courtroom.
As her child continued to grow inside her, Afeni became more and more appalled by the conditions of the penitentiary. “I would like to bring to the attention of the court what I am sure the court doesn’t know about,” she told Justice John Murtagh, “and that’s the situation that exists with Miss Bird and myself and for the other women that are being held in the house of detention. The boilers are broken there. There is no hot water.
The journalist Murray Kempton, observing these proceedings from the gallery, reported how Afeni rose before the judge and spoke “as though she were bearing a Prince.” Despite the fact that her infidelity was now evident to all, Afeni stood in front of the court like Athena, single-handedly staring down the twin pillars of imperialism and patriarchy.
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