One Million Dollar Bounty on Tupac's Godmother Assata Shakur

On May 2, 2005, exactly 32 years after the shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike, authorities posted a reward of one million dollars for the capture of Assata Shakur. The former Black Panther activist, whose legal name is JoAnne Chesimard, was Tupac’s godmother. According to the New Jersey State Police, the U.S. Attorney General had approved the increase from the previous 50,000 dollars on April 28. At the same time, authorities listed her as a domestic terrorist.

Two Perspectives on 1973

During the traffic stop on May 2, 1973, police officer Werner Foerster and Zayd Shakur died. Authorities hold Assata Shakur responsible for Foerster’s death. Her supporters consider her innocent because she was severely injured herself. She was convicted, escaped from prison in 1979, and has lived in Cuba since the eighties. Tupac’s stepfather Mutulu Shakur had been convicted of aiding in this escape.

Rappers on the City Hall Steps

Common told AllHipHop that he had met Assata Shakur on a trip with the Black August project and believed she was innocent. On May 25, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and dead prez stood behind her at a press conference held by City Council member Charles Barron in New York. Barron wanted to introduce a resolution for her pardon, but the City Council speaker rejected it.