An Open Letter to Afeni Shakur

January 10, 1947 - May 2, 2016

Afeni Shakur, political activist, philanthropist, and mother of the late rapper Tupac Shakur passed at the age of 69.

The Marin County Sheriff’s Department in California (in North San Francisco Bay Area) confirmed Shakur died late Monday night [May 2, 2016]. Officials have not released a cause of death.

Born Alice Faye Williams in Lumberton, North Carolina in 1947, Shakur lived between New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Georgia and California throughout her life. She changed her name to Afeni Shakur when she joined the Black Panther movement. She and other party members were arrested in 1969 and charged with conspiracy to bomb multiple, busy city landmarks in a case where she defended herself (and was pregnant with Tupac at the time). In May 1971, she was acquitted on all charges and gave birth to ‘Pac just one month later.

After Tupac’s 1996 shooting death, Shakur took over the late rapper’s estate, which reportedly earns about $900,000 each year.

In 2014, Shakur co-produced Holler If Ya Hear Me, a Broadway jukebox musical featuring her son’s music. She released a memoir, Evolution Of A Revolutionary, with Jasmine Guy in 2004.

Jada Pinkett Smith Wrote

“Today I woke up to the news that Afeni had passed. My first thought was of Sekyiwa and the entire clan that loved Afeni. Then I remembered that I was in NY to attend a Mother's Day event named after a song written about Afeni, Dear Mama. My heart tightened and then all kinds of memories flooded in. I quickly remembered how calm Afeni was especially during any crisis. She always had a way of making me believe all would be well. But my fondest memories of Afeni were spending time with her at Jamine Guy’s house as Jasmine was writing Afeni’s book. Tupac had passed, and now I was a business woman, wife, and a mother and we could talk real and I mean really real. I got to see where Pac got his passion, his ideals for equality and justice but most of all his depth of thinking. Afeni was a giant in her own right. Today she is reunited with her son and Sekyiwa has two majestic angels to look after her. One for each shoulder. Rest in peace Afeni, and give Pac a hug and a kiss” from me.