Mutulu Shakur
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Mutulu Shakur (born Jeral Wayne Williams; August 8, 1950) is an American
activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
and former member of the
Black Liberation Army The Black Liberation Army (BLA) was a far-left, black nationalist, underground Black Power revolutionary paramilitary organization that operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981. Composed of former Black Panthers (BPP) and Republic of Ne ...
, sentenced to sixty years in prison for his involvement in a 1981 robbery of a Brinks armored truck in which a guard and two police officers were murdered. Shakur was politically active as a teen with the
Revolutionary Action Movement (RAM) Revolutionary Action Movement (RAM) was a US-based revolutionary black nationalist group in operation from 1962 to 1969. They were the first group to apply the philosophy of Maoism to conditions of black people in the United States and informed ...
and later the
black separatist Black separatism is a Separatism, separatist political movement that seeks separate economic and cultural development for those of African descent in societies, particularly in the United States. Black separatism stems from the idea of racial sol ...
movement the
Republic of New Afrika The Republic of New Afrika (RNA), founded in 1968 as the Republic of New Africa (RNA), is a black nationalist organization and black separatist movement in the United States popularized by black militant groups. The larger New Afrika movement ...
. He was the stepfather of slain actor and rap artist
Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...
. On November 10, 2022, the
United States Parole Commission The United States Parole Commission is the parole board responsible for granting or denying parole to, and supervising the parole releases of, incarcerated individuals who fall under its jurisdiction. It is part of the United States Department of Ju ...
granted Shakur's release on parole, effective December 16, 2022. The Commission noted that Shakur's terminal illness ensured that he was not a threat to commit another crime.


Life


Early life

Shakur was born in
Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, on 8 August 1950, as Jeral Wayne Williams. At age seven he moved to Jamaica, Queens, New York City with his mother, who was blind, and younger sister.


Activism

By his late teens, Shakur was politically active with the
Revolutionary Action Movement (RAM) Revolutionary Action Movement (RAM) was a US-based revolutionary black nationalist group in operation from 1962 to 1969. They were the first group to apply the philosophy of Maoism to conditions of black people in the United States and informed ...
and later joined the
Republic of New Afrika The Republic of New Afrika (RNA), founded in 1968 as the Republic of New Africa (RNA), is a black nationalist organization and black separatist movement in the United States popularized by black militant groups. The larger New Afrika movement ...
. In 1970, Shakur began working with the Lincoln Detox program, which offered
drug rehabilitation Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. The general inte ...
to
heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...
addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...
using
acupuncture Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientifi ...
— instead of the FDA-approved drug
methadone Methadone, sold under the brand names Dolophine and Methadose among others, is a synthetic opioid agonist used for chronic pain and also for opioid dependence. It is used to treat chronic pain, and it is also used to treat addiction to heroin ...
. Brooklyn benefit for Dr. Mutulu Shakur
''
Amsterdam News The ''Amsterdam News'' (also known as ''New York Amsterdam News'') is a weekly Black-owned newspaper serving New York City. It is one of the oldest newspapers geared toward African Americans in the United States and has published columns by s ...
'', 1st September, 2020.
Eventually he became the program's assistant director and remained associated with the program until 1978. He became certified and licensed to practice acupuncture in the
State of California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
in 1979. He went on to help found and direct the Black Acupuncture Advisory Association of North America (BAAANA) and the Harlem Institute of Acupuncture.


Brink's robbery, arrest and incarceration

Shakur was one of several
Black Liberation Army The Black Liberation Army (BLA) was a far-left, black nationalist, underground Black Power revolutionary paramilitary organization that operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981. Composed of former Black Panthers (BPP) and Republic of Ne ...
members to carry out the 1981 robbery of an armored car. Aided by the
May 19 Communist Organization The May 19th Communist Organization (also variously referred to as the May 19 Coalition, May 19 Communist Coalition or M19CO) was a US-based far-left armed terrorist group formed by members of the Weather Underground Organization. The group was ...
and former members of the
Weather Underground The Weather Underground was a Far-left politics, far-left militant organization first active in 1969, founded on the Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ann Arbor campus of the University of Michigan. Originally known as the Weathermen, the group was organiz ...
, the BLA crew stole $1.6 million in cash from a
Brink's The Brink's Company is an American private security and protection company headquartered outside Richmond, Virginia. Its core business is Brink's Inc.; its sister brand Brink's Home Security company operates separately and is headquartered in ...
armored car at the Nanuet Mall, in
Nanuet, New York Nanuet is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Clarkstown, Rockland County, New York, United States. The third largest hamlet in Clarkstown, it is located north of Pearl River, south of New City, east of Spring Valley, and west o ...
, killing a Brink's guard, Peter Paige, seriously wounding another Brinks guard, Joseph Trombino, and subsequently killing two Nyack police officers,
Edward O'Grady Edward O'Grady is an champion Irish National Hunt racehorse trainer. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, O'Grady was the leading Irish trainer at Cheltenham (after Vincent O'Brien) by number of winners. He was played by Pierce Brosnan in the 1980 ...
and
Waverly Brown The 1981 Brink's robbery was an armed robbery and three related murders committed on October 20, 1981, by several Black Liberation Army members and four former members of the Weather Underground, now associated with the May 19th Communist Organiz ...
(the first black member of the Nyack, New York, police department). Trombino recovered from the wounds he received in this incident, but was killed in 2001 in the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
. Shakur, the alleged ringleader of the group, evaded capture for six years and thus was the last one to go on trial on charges related to the robbery. In the 1980s, Shakur and
Marilyn Buck Marilyn Jean Buck (December 13, 1947 – August 3, 2010) was an American Marxist and feminist poet who was imprisoned for her participation in the 1979 prison escape of Assata Shakur, the 1981 Brink's robbery and the 1983 U.S. Senate bombi ...
were indicted on
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was en ...
(RICO) charges. While at large, on July 23, 1982, he became the 380th person added to the
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives The FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives is a most wanted list maintained by the United States's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The list arose from a conversation held in late 1949 between J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the FBI, and William Kin ...
list. He was arrested on February 12, 1986, in California by the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
. Shakur and Buck were tried in 1987 and convicted on May 11, 1988. Although federal
parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
was abolished pursuant to the
Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 The Sentencing Reform Act, part of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, was a U.S. federal statute intended to increase consistency in United States federal sentencing. It established the United States Sentencing Commission. It also abol ...
, Shakur's convictions were exempt because the Act's provisions did not take effect until 1987. Thus, under the rules in effect at the time of his conviction, he was due for a
mandatory Mandate most often refers to: * League of Nations mandates, quasi-colonial territories established under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, 28 June 1919 * Mandate (politics) In representative democracies, a mandate (or seat) ...
parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
determination after serving thirty of his original sixty-year sentence, which came in 2016. However, the
United States Parole Commission The United States Parole Commission is the parole board responsible for granting or denying parole to, and supervising the parole releases of, incarcerated individuals who fall under its jurisdiction. It is part of the United States Department of Ju ...
denied his release in 2016, 2018, and early 2022. On November 10, 2022, the Commission reconsidered and granted Shakur release on parole effective December 16, 2022, in light of his declining health. Shakur was in fact released on December 16, 2022. During his incarceration, Shakur founded a New York-based organization named Dare 2 Struggle which released a tenth-anniversary tribute album for Tupac Shakur called '' A 2Pac Tribute: Dare 2 Struggle'' in 2006 through music industry veteran Morey Alexander's First Kut Records and Canadian activist Deejay Ra's Lyrical Knockout Entertainment. The album features artists such as
Mopreme Shakur Maurice Harding (born August 16, 1967), better known by his stage name Mopreme Shakur, originally known as Wycked, is an American rapper. He was a member of the hip-hop group Thug Life and is the stepbrother of Tupac Shakur. He was also a member o ...
,
Outlawz Outlawz (formerly known as Outlaw Immortalz) are an American hip hop group founded by rapper Tupac Shakur in late 1995 after Shakur's release from prison. Collectively, they were best known for their association with Shakur. Most of the group m ...
, and
Imaan Faith Iman, Imann, Imaan, Eman, Emaan, or Imman may refer to: Places * Iman, Iran, a village in Kalashi District, Kermanshah Province * The Iman River, the former name of the Bolshaya Ussurka River, a tributary of the Ussuri River in Russia's Primo ...
. As Shakur explains it, the CD was created in order to motivate, inspire, and challenge black people to struggle against their obstacles. He also recorded a radio PSA for Deejay Ra's "Hip-Hop Literacy" campaign, encouraging reading of books about Tupac. Shakur was interviewed in the
Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...
-nominated documentary ''Tupac: Resurrection'', in which he described how he wrote a "
Thug Life Thug Life was an American hip hop group that consisted of Tupac, Big Syke, Mopreme, Macadoshis, and The Rated R. They released one album, 1994's '' Thug Life: Volume 1'', before disbanding in 1995. Etymology According to Tupac, the name orig ...
Handbook" with Tupac, expressing an anti-drug and anti-violence message.


Personal life

Shakur is the father of
Mopreme Maurice Harding (born August 16, 1967), better known by his stage name Mopreme Shakur, originally known as Wycked, is an American rapper. He was a member of the hip-hop group Thug Life and is the stepbrother of Tupac Shakur. He was also a member o ...
, Nzingha, Chinua, and Ayize Shakur. In 1975, he married
Afeni Shakur Afeni Shakur Davis (born Alice Faye Williams; January 10, 1947 – May 2, 2016) was an American political activist and member of the Black Panther Party. Shakur was the mother of rapper Tupac Shakur and the executor of his estate. She founded t ...
— mother of
Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...
. They had a daughter, Sekyiwa. They divorced in 1982. In October 2019, he renewed the motion for a reduction of sentence, by applying for
compassionate release Compassionate release is a process by which inmates in criminal justice systems may be eligible for immediate early release on grounds of "particularly extraordinary or compelling circumstances which could not reasonably have been foreseen by t ...
but it was once again denied. In June 2022, it was revealed that Shakur has terminal bone marrow cancer with "six months to live".


See also

*
Assata Shakur Assata Olugbala Shakur (born JoAnne Deborah Byron; July 16, 1947; also married name, JoAnne Chesimard) is an American political activist who was a member of the Black Liberation Army (BLA). In 1977, she was convicted in the first-degree murder ...


References


External links


''Dope Is Death''
(79'), by
Mia Donovan Mia Donovan is a Canadian photographer and filmmaker. She is best known for her documentary '' Inside Lara Roxx'' released through EyeSteelFilm about 21-year-old Canadian Lara Roxx who in the spring of 2004, left her hometown Montreal heading to ...
, a film about the legacy of a 1970s coalition of New York community activists and revolutionaries, including the now-imprisoned Mutulu Shakur, and how they created North America's first acupuncture detox clinic.
"Dare to Struggle" music compilation's websiteFamily and Friends of Mutulu Shakur's websiteThugLifeArmy.com interview with ShakurVIBE news articleJericho Movement's "Children of Political Prisoners Speak Out," Recorded June 13, 2020 and posted on YouTube on August 24, 2020.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shakur, Mutulu 1950 births American Black separatist activists African-American people American bank robbers American people convicted of robbery American people convicted of murdering police officers Black Liberation Army Fugitives Inmates of ADX Florence Living people Members of the Black Liberation Army People convicted of racketeering People from Baltimore Shakur family