[CRIME & PUNISHMENT]. SHAKUR, ASSATA (b. 1947). Wanted by FBI / Joanne Deborah Chesimard. Washington, DC: Federal Bureau of Investigation, 10 February 1972.

8 x 8 in. printed poster (2 double holes punched along upper edge, toning to left and bottom edges, original postal adhesive attached on verso).

This poster, mailed to the Danville Hotel in Danville, VA, includes photographs taken of Shakur in 1971, and cites a federal warrant issued on 17 January 1872 charging her with bank robbery.

Assata Shakur, born JoAnne Deborah Byron, joined the Black Panthers in 1970, leading the Harlem chapter and coordinating the Free Breakfast Program for children, free clinics, and community outreach. She became disillusioned and joined the militant offshoot Black Liberation Army which used violent tactics to engage in an armed struggle with the United States government. She began using the name Assata Olugbala Shakur in 1971 stating that her birth name was a "slave name." Between 1971 and 1973, the Black Liberation Army is believed to have robbed several banks, kidnapped, and attempted murder of police officers. Shakur was personally charged with several of these crimes, notably the murder of a New Jersey state trooper on 2 May 1973. Although she pled not guilty and many viewed the prosecution as political, she was convicted in 1977. She escaped prison in 1979 and fled to Cuba. She was included on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list since 2013, notably the first woman to be included on the list, making her the most wanted woman in America. Appiah and Gates, Africana pp. 1697-1698.

This lot is located in Cincinnati.

[CRIME & PUNISHMENT]. SHAKUR, ASSATA (b. 1947). Wanted by FBI / Joanne Deborah Chesimard. Washington, DC: Federal Bureau of Investigation, 10 February 1972.