I Am a 20th Century Escaped Slave

[portlander23]

I Am a 20th Century Escaped Slave
Although the U.S. government has done everything in its power to criminalize me, I am not a criminal.
Assata Shakur
CounterPunch

My name is Assata Shakur, and I am a 20th century escaped slave. Because of government persecution, I was left with no other choice than to flee from the political repression, racism and violence that dominate the US government’s policy towards people of color. I am an ex-political prisoner, and I have been living in exile in Cuba since 1984.

I have been a political activist most of my life, and although the U.S. government has done everything in its power to criminalize me, I am not a criminal, nor have I ever been one. In the 1960s, I participated in various struggles: the black liberation movement, the student rights movement, and the movement to end the war in Vietnam. I joined the Black Panther Party. By 1969 the Black Panther Party had become the number one organization targeted by the FBI’s COINTELPRO program. Because the Black Panther Party demanded the total liberation of black people, J. Edgar Hoover called it “greatest threat to the internal security of the country” and vowed to destroy it and its leaders and activists.

I was falsely accused in six different “criminal cases” and in all six of these cases I was eventually acquitted or the charges were dismissed. The fact that I was acquitted or that the charges were dismissed, did not mean that I received justice in the courts, that was certainly not the case. It only meant that the “evidence” presented against me was so flimsy and false that my innocence became evident. This political persecution was part and parcel of the government’s policy of eliminating political opponents by charging them with crimes and arresting them with no regard to the factual basis of such charges.

After years of being victimized by the “establishment” media it was naive of me to hope that I might finally get the opportunity to tell “my side of the story.” Instead of an interview with me, what took place was a “staged media event” in three parts, full of distortions, inaccuracies and outright lies. NBC purposely misrepresented the facts. Not only did NBC spend thousands of dollars promoting this “exclusive interview series” on NBC, they also spent a great deal of money advertising this “exclusive interview” on black radio stations and also placed notices in local newspapers.

Like most poor and oppressed people in the United States, I do not have a voice. Black people, poor people in the U.S. have no real freedom of speech, no real freedom of expression and very little freedom of the press. The black press and the progressive media has historically played an essential role in the struggle for social justice. We need to continue and to expand that tradition. We need to create media outlets that help to educate our people and our children, and not annihilate their minds. I am only one woman.

I own no TV stations, or Radio Stations or Newspapers. But I feel that people need to be educated as to what is going on, and to understand the connection between the news media and the instruments of repression in Amerika. All I have is my voice, my spirit and the will to tell the truth. But I sincerely ask, those of you in the Black media, those of you in the progressive media, those of you who believe in true freedom, to publish this statement and to let people know what is happening. We have no voice, so you must be the voice of the voiceless.

[EX500rider]

1. "People in the U.S. have no real freedom of speech, no real freedom of expression and very little...

....freedom of the press"
So she went to Cuba?
HAHAHAHA! Good one!

Censorship in Cuba is the most intense in the western hemisphere. It has been reported on extensively and resulted in European Union sanctions from 2003 to 2008 as well as statements of protest from groups, governments, and noted individuals.

Cuba has ranked low on the Press Freedom Index from Reporters Without Borders from 2002 when the index was established (134th out of 139) to the present (167th out of 179 in 2011-2012). In 2006 the Inter American Press Association reported that "repression against independent journalists, mistreatment of jailed reporters, and very strict government surveillance limiting the people’s access to alternative sources of information are continuing".

Books, newspapers, radio channels, television channels, movies and music are heavily censored. Clandestine printing is also highly restricted. The special permits that are required to use the Internet are only available to selected Cubans and use of the Internet is limited for the vast majority of Cubans. Mobile phones are quite rare, with most citizens not having been allowed to use them until quite recently. Foreign journalists who can work in the country are selected by the government.

Media is operated under the supervision of the Communist Party's Department of Revolutionary Orientation, which "develops and coordinates propaganda strategies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Cuba

[BKH70041]

2. "I am not a criminal, nor have I ever been one."

Werner Foerster could not be reached for comment.

[FLPanhandle]

3. Why did you cut the paragraph about being an shootout with the police?

One that killed one officer and wounded another. She is a criminal and that's why she was in jail, escaped, and ran to Cuba.