News of February 10, 2002
Afeni Shakur Speaks at Guilford College on Addiction, Roots, and Tupac's Legacy
On February 10, 2002, Afeni Shakur spoke at Guilford College's Dana Auditorium in North Carolina about her roots, addiction, and her son's work.
On Sunday evening, February 10, 2002, Afeni Shakur appeared at the Dana Auditorium of Guilford College in North Carolina. She was invited by the college’s African American Cultural Society. Its president, student Neena Robertson, introduced the then 55-year-old as an “activist, mother, woman” and read an original poem for her. The student newspaper The Guilfordian reported this on February 15.
Lumberton, Prison, Addiction
Afeni Shakur spoke about her childhood as the daughter of poor farmers in Lumberton and called her younger self “arrogant” and “angry”. She spoke openly about her drug addiction, stating that she was an addict in recovery. She spent a large part of her pregnancy with Tupac in prison. She expressed gratitude that she had remained clean in the five years before his death and ever since.
More Than Most in Three Lives
Speaking about her son, she said that in 25 years he accomplished more than most people do in three lives. According to The Guilfordian, she listed how she carries on his legacy: through speeches, previously unreleased recordings, an arts center in Georgia, and a planned MTV documentary. When asked by an audience member about the state of the music industry, she called much of it garbage. “Tupac never gave you any garbage,” she said of her son’s music.