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Afeni Shakur

Afeni Shakur (born January 10, 1947) is the mother of late American rapper Tupac Shakur, and was a member of the Black Panther Party.

Shakur was born Alice Faye Williams in Lumberton, North Carolina to Rosa Belle and Walter Williams, Jr.^[1] She led a series of chapters during the "break down" of the Black Panther party. She wrote columns for the Panther Post.

While pregnant with her son, Afeni Shakur was arrested for withholding information that could have led to the arrest of leading members of "Panther 21". While in prison, Afeni Shakur reportedly obtained a court order to have three boiled eggs per day because the food within the jail was unfit for an expecting mother.^[2] She defended herself in court during a bomb conspiracy trial and was acquitted of 156 counts against her and other members of the Black Panther Party. No evidence was found to support the charges. After her son was born, she married Mutulu Shakur (who later became her son's stepfather). Afeni and Mutulu had a daughter they named Sekyiwa.

Since her son's death, Afeni Shakur oversaw Tupac's unreleased material. She brought in producers to work with her son's unreleased material which led to the sales of millions of albums. Afeni is credited for her ability to sell Tupac's work. A year after Tupac's death, Afeni founded the Georgia-based Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation, which provides art programs for young people. She has also since launched a fashion clothing line, Makaveli Branded; all proceeds go to his charity, the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation.

Injunction

Shakur was reportedly in Federal Court on July 20, 2007 to file an injunction to prevent Death Row Records from selling any unreleased material from 2Pac after the company failed to prove that the unreleased songs were not part of its bankruptcy settlement. The courts are going to decide over the next month if they will allow Death Row Records to release an album with 2Pac’s unreleased tracks to pay off its major debts.

Sidenote

• Tupac once said that because of his mother's ties with the Black Panthers, the FBI was always after him and his family.

• Tupac is quoted saying, "My Mama used to tell me if you can't find something to live for, you best find something to die for" on the album Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z..

• She was named after Alice Faye, the actress.^[3]

References

1. ^ Ancestry of Tupac Shakur
2. ^ Washington Post Features Afeni Shakur. tupac-online.com.
3. ^ Afeni Shakur: Evolution of a Revolutionary, Afeni's memoirs, by Jasmine Guy

External links

• Tupac Legacy, biography of Tupac Shakur
• QD3 broadband player featuring Tupac clips (QD3, QDIII or Quincy Jones III, producer of Tupac incl. "To Live & Die In LA", "Lost Souls", "Letter To The President", "Teardrops & Closed Caskets", "Soon As I Get Home", "Thug Nature" and the Thug Angel DVD etc.)