I am not one to usually get very emotional when public figures pass away. But today, I find myself overwhelmed at the news that Assata Shakur is finally free.

If you are not familiar with Assata, first of all shame on you. (kidding). But let's fix that real quick before we move on. Assata was a part of the Black Liberation Army, which was a militant activist group fighting for the liberation and autonomy of Black people in the United States of America. In the early 70s, she was arrested during a shootout with state troopers, which she was eventually convicted for, despite the evidence exonerating her. After being sentenced to life in prison, she was able to escape with the help of the Black Liberation Army, and she fled to Cuba, where she received political asylum and spent the rest of her life protected from the retribution of the Unites States. (I have attached her autobiography below if you want to read more about her.)

Today, her family is preparing to lay her to rest after nearly forty years of hoping and advocating for her to be able to come home. And I can't help but think about how many of the elders and ancestors that fought for our freedoms had to lay down their own in order to build a future for us. For forty years, she was unable to step foot on the land she was born on, all because she dared to fight for a future for the rest of us.

It's devastating.

But also, it inspires me. And terrifies me. Because truthfully, we are so close to not only losing many of the freedoms our elders won for us, but to facing the full weight of white America's anger over those freedoms. And that terrifies me, not just because of the horrors of what we are facing, but because I know that this moment calls for more Assata Shakurs. It calls for people who will stand in white America's line of fire and refuse to back down. It calls for people who will choose the future over their own future. People who will fight for change, knowing that they may never see it, and that even if they do, they will see it from a scarred and broken body and soul. Which is wrong, unfair, evil and...unavoidable.

Assata spent her entire adult life paying the price for freedoms that are now looking for fresh blood. And the truth is, our generation is going to have to pay up.

I will always be grateful that she was given a place to call her own. A place to run to, to hide in, and to live free in. But I will never forgive our country for denying her the freedom to come home. Nor will I forgive them for forcing us to keep paying for freedom. She fought hard for American freedom, and never tasted it. And that is bullshit.

But as I said... I am also inspired. I am inspired to fight for change and to accept that change always demands a price. Will that price be a shootout with the police that force us to escape prison and flee the country? Probably not. I am under no delusions here. Assata was one of one. She was a hero who spent her life branded a terrorist. She was strong, brave, powerful, and a revolutionary who has no equals. But I am inspired to be as unwilling to compromise my mission as she was.

Change. That is what I am after. And nothing is going to get me to change my mind.

And that is the kind of determination and courage I wish for all of us. The courage to believe what we say and to be uncompromising in our effort to chase what we believe in.

For me, as you know, that looks like fighting for the voices of Black and brown authors. I believe that a publishing industry that centers Black and brown voices would be an unbelievably powerful tool in the push for a freerer society. But that is not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about what standing on your principles means for YOU. What are you refusing to back down on? What fight are you throwing yourself into? What push for change are you willing to give everything to? What are you channeling the strength of our ancestors to accomplish?

Tell me what matters to you in the comments and let this moment of community be a strength to you. Something you can come back to in order to remind yourself of what matters, and how much you're willing to pay for it.

Assata, may you rest in power, Queen. And may we find the strength to continue the fight you gave your future for. We love you and we will see you on the other side of this.

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