Afeni Shakur (actually born Alice Faye Williams) was from Lumberton, North Carolina. She was the daughter of a homemaker and a trucker. Afeni and her sister had a troubled childhood. Her mom was constantly abused by her father. Afeni, her mother, and her sister ended up moving to New York where she attended the Bronx High School of Science. Afeni started using cocaine at about fifteen years old and struggled with drug addiction for most of her life. In 1964, Afeni joined the Black Panther movement after meeting an associate of Malcolm Xs’ who was recruiting among the youth in the Bronx. Afeni told a biographer that the Black Panthers helped her channel her rage and channel it in a better way. They helped educate her mind and give her direction. While in the movement she began to write articles for the party’s newsletter called the Panther Post, which ended up being very successful, but it also led the FBI to believe that the Black Panthers Party was coming to end. In 1968 Shakur moved in with a fellow Panther named Lumumba Abdul Shakur; this is when she changed her name to Afeni Shakur. Afeni and many other Panthers were arrested on April 2, 1969 and charged with several counts of conspiracy to bomb police stations, department stores, and other public places in New York City. Afeni was released on bail in the fall of 1970 and became pregnant with truck driver William Garland’s child. Shortly after, Afeni’s bail was revoked and she ended up back in jail waiting for a trial. Afeni and the other defendants went to trial in 1971, which came to be known as the Panther 21 trial. The case lasted for more than five months. In her cross-examination of undercover detective Ralph White, Afeni performed like an attorney and won her freedom in May of 1971. On June 16, 1971, Afeni gave birth to her son, whom she reportedly named Lesane Parish Crooks, but later named Tupac Amaru Shakur. After that, Afeni never returned to the Black Panther movement but she remained proud of that period in her life.
Afeni Shakur (actually born Alice Faye Williams) was from Lumberton, North Carolina. She was the daughter of a homemaker and a trucker. Afeni and her sister had a troubled childhood. Her mom was constantly abused by her father. Afeni, her mother, and her sister ended up moving to New York where she attended the Bronx High School of Science. Afeni started using cocaine at about fifteen years old and struggled with drug addiction for most of her life. In 1964, Afeni joined the Black Panther movement after meeting an associate of Malcolm Xs’ who was recruiting among the youth in the Bronx. Afeni told a biographer that the Black Panthers helped her channel her rage and channel it in a better way. They helped educate her mind and give her direction. While in the movement she began to write articles for the party’s newsletter called the Panther Post, which ended up being very successful, but it also led the FBI to believe that the Black Panthers Party was coming to end. In 1968 Shakur moved in with a fellow Panther named Lumumba Abdul Shakur; this is when she changed her name to Afeni Shakur. Afeni and many other Panthers were arrested on April 2, 1969 and charged with several counts of conspiracy to bomb police stations, department stores, and other public places in New York City. Afeni was released on bail in the fall of 1970 and became pregnant with truck driver William Garland’s child. Shortly after, Afeni’s bail was revoked and she ended up back in jail waiting for a trial. Afeni and the other defendants went to trial in 1971, which came to be known as the Panther 21 trial. The case lasted for more than five months. In her cross-examination of undercover detective Ralph White, Afeni performed like an attorney and won her freedom in May of 1971. On June 16, 1971, Afeni gave birth to her son, whom she reportedly named Lesane Parish Crooks, but later named Tupac Amaru Shakur. After that, Afeni never returned to the Black Panther movement but she remained proud of that period in her life.
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