Activist Assata Shakur, born Joanne Deborah Byron, died at 78 years old on Thursday. She was living in Havana, Cuba, when she died of health conditions and old age, according to the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

“On September 25, 2025, American citizen Joanne Deborah Byron, ‘Assata Shakur,’ died in Havana, Cuba, due to health ailments and her advanced age,” a statement read on the Cuban news site CubaMinRex.

Assata Shakur’s family ties

Kakuya Shakur, her daughter, took to social media to also share the news as well as her grief: “At approximately 1:15 PM on September 25th, my mother, Assata Shakur, took her last earthly breath. Words cannot describe the depth of loss that I am feeling at this time,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “I want to thank you for your loving prayers that continue to anchor me in the strength that I need in this moment. My spirit is overflowing in unison with all of you who are grieving with me at this time.”

Shakur was born on July 16, 1947 in the neighborhood of Flushing in Queens, New York. She was the sister of Mutulu Shakur, who was also part of the Black liberation movement, and the step-aunt of Tupac Shakur, according to NewsOne.

Assata Shakur’s activism

Shakur, who grew up in the 1960s, joined several Black liberation efforts including the Black Panther Party and then the Black Liberation Army, which advocated for armed resistance against systemic racism and state violence.

She became known in 1973 following a shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike that left two dead — State Trooper Werner Foerster and Black Liberation Army member Zayd Malik Shakur,  according to BET. Arrested and convicted for murder, Shakur pleaded her innocence throughout the trial. She escaped from New Jersey’s Clinton Correctional Facility for Women in 1979 and relocated to Cuba.

Over the years, the state attempted to extradite her without success, according to ABC News. In 2013, she became the first woman to be included on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list. A $2 million reward was offered for information leading to her arrest.

Shakur became a symbol of resistance against racial injustice and government oppression. In 1987, she recounted her life story in an autobiography titled after her.