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On May 2, 1973, Black Panther Assata Shakur (aka JoAnne Chesimard) lay in a hospital, close to death, handcuffed to her bed, while local, state, and federal police attempted to question her about the shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike that had claimed the life of a white state trooper. Long a target of J. Edgar Hoover's campaign to defame, infiltrate, and criminalize Black nationalist organizations and their leaders, Shakur was incarcerated for four years prior to her conviction on flimsy evidence in 1977 as an accomplice to murder.
This intensely personal and political autobiography belies the fearsome image of JoAnne Chesimard long projected by the media and the state. With wit and candor, Assata Shakur recounts the experiences that led her to a life of activism and portrays the strengths, weaknesses, and eventual demise of Black and White revolutionary groups at the hand of government officials. The result is a signal contribution to the literature about growing up Black in America that has already taken its place alongside The Autobiography of Malcolm X and the works of Maya Angelou.
Two years after her conviction, Assata Shakur escaped from prison. She was given political asylum by Cuba, where she now resides.
A Companion Journal for Reflection and Renewal This is a self guided journal created to walk alongside Sweetgrass and Soul Food: A Memoir in Poems It invites you to slow down, breathe deeper, and come back to yourself. Moving through four stages — Remember, Reclaim, Restore, and Rise — this journal offers space to reflect, space to grow, and space to just be. You will find thoughtful prompts, breathwork, grounding practices, and moments of stillness that honor your own pace and your own process. There are no rules here. No perfect way to begin. Just pages waiting to hold your truth. Created by Marique B Moss, an Afro Indigenous writer, educator, and enrolled member of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation, Sweetgrass and Soul Work is rooted in cultural healing, ancestral memory, and the belief that we carry medicine within us. This is your space. Take what you need. Leave what you do not. Come back as often as you like.
On May 2, 1973, Black Panther Assata Shakur (aka JoAnne Chesimard) lay in a hospital, close to death, handcuffed to her bed, while local, state, and federal police attempted to question her about the shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike that had claimed the life of a white state trooper. Long a target of J. Edgar Hoover's campaign to defame, infiltrate, and criminalize Black nationalist organizations and their leaders, Shakur was incarcerated for four years prior to her conviction on flimsy evidence in 1977 as an accomplice to murder.
This intensely personal and political autobiography belies the fearsome image of JoAnne Chesimard long projected by the media and the state. With wit and candor, Assata Shakur recounts the experiences that led her to a life of activism and portrays the strengths, weaknesses, and eventual demise of Black and White revolutionary groups at the hand of government officials. The result is a signal contribution to the literature about growing up Black in America that has already taken its place alongside The Autobiography of Malcolm X and the works of Maya Angelou.
Two years after her conviction, Assata Shakur escaped from prison. She was given political asylum by Cuba, where she now resides.
A Companion Journal for Reflection and Renewal This is a self guided journal created to walk alongside Sweetgrass and Soul Food: A Memoir in Poems It invites you to slow down, breathe deeper, and come back to yourself. Moving through four stages — Remember, Reclaim, Restore, and Rise — this journal offers space to reflect, space to grow, and space to just be. You will find thoughtful prompts, breathwork, grounding practices, and moments of stillness that honor your own pace and your own process. There are no rules here. No perfect way to begin. Just pages waiting to hold your truth. Created by Marique B Moss, an Afro Indigenous writer, educator, and enrolled member of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation, Sweetgrass and Soul Work is rooted in cultural healing, ancestral memory, and the belief that we carry medicine within us. This is your space. Take what you need. Leave what you do not. Come back as often as you like.