BOSSIP can confirm that Assata Shakur, the revolutionary whose name has become a rallying cry for freedom fighters across generations, has passed away at 78.

Born JoAnne Deborah Byron on July 16, 1947, in Queens, New York, the godmother and step-aunt of Tupac Shakur transformed herself into one of the most influential figures of the Black Liberation Movement. She was a member of the Black Panther Party before joining the Black Liberation Army, where she fought fiercely against white supremacy, capitalism, and state violence.

NewsOne reports that her activism came with a heavy price. On May 2, 1973, along the New Jersey Turnpike, Shakur was traveling with fellow organizers Zayd Shakur and Sundiata Acoli when their car was stopped by two state troopers. Accounts of the stop differed: some

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