The FBI’s Counterintelligence program (COINTELPRO) sought to neutralize and discredit various organizations deemed politically subversive. Notably, COINTELPRO targeted Black liberation and other civil rights movements through both overt and covert means. Many of the program’s actions were not revealed to the public, but some of COINTELPRO’s actions were revealed through a file leak in 1971 (Frederique 2020). One action leaked was the FBI’s assassination of Black political activist Fred Hampton, a powerful speaker and organizer for the Black Panther Party. Hampton and many other powerful activists have been the victims of COINTELPRO. While there are no official files that document COINTELPRO’s involvement in Assata Shakur’s life, there is significant reason to believe that the FBI initiated concerted attacks on Assata and her legacy. 

          First, consider the portrayal of Assata prior to her arrest in 1973. In his foreword to Assata’s autobiography, Lennox Hinds details the many allegations Assata faced prior to the incident that would eventually lead to her conviction. Hinds notes six previous charges, including charges of robbery, kidnapping, and attempted murder. In all six of these cases, Assata was either acquitted, or the case was dismissed. These repeat allegations and acquittals point to a concerted effort to subdue Assata Shakur. Additionally, Lennox Hinds notes a publicity campaign that associated Assata with these allegations. Hinds explains, “Massive prejudicial publicity had been generated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Police Department to create an image of dangerousness and to convict her in every aspect of the mass media before any trial” (Hinds 1987, xiii). These allegations attempted to create fear surrounding Assata Shakur, pointing to the FBI’s desire to subdue Assata’s activism. 

          Secondly, take the mass surveillance of Assata for example. In her autobiography, Assata details the significant monitoring she faced after parting with the Black Panther Party. She describes, “Everywhere i went it seemed like i would turn around to find two detectives following behind me. I would look out my window and there, in the middle of Harlem, in front of my house, would be two white men sitting and reading the newspaper” (Shakur, 232). She also says that she was “scared to death to talk” in her own house for fear that her house was bugged (Shakur, 232). Such surveillance likely served the FBI’s interest in keeping tabs on Assata’s activism that they deemed politically subversive.

          Finally, Lennox Hinds shows that the FBI likely could have influenced the New Jersey Turnpike Incident that left Zayd Malik Shakur and trooper Werner Foerster dead, leading to Assata’s conviction of murder. The incident purportedly started during a routine traffic stop, in which Assata, Zayd Shakur, and Sundiata Scoli were pulled over. Hinds explains, "They were stopped by New Jersey state trooper James Harper for reasons consistent with the FBI COINTELPRO guidelines, which directed that activists be arrested for minor traffic violations. The Pontiac allegedly had defective taillights. Harper’s testimony, however, leaves open the suggestion that the Pontiac was simply a target” (Hinds, xiv). Here, Hinds’s analysis shows the significant possibility that the New Jersey Turnpike Incident was coordinated by or otherwise influenced by the FBI.

          These examples display the significant likelihood that Assata was another one of COINTELPRO’s victims.

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Sources​

• Hinds, Lennox S. “Foreword.” Assata: An Autobiography. Lawrence Hill, 1987.

• Nadine Frederique. “COINTELPRO.” Encyclopædia Britannica Online, Encyclopædia Britannica Inc, 2020.

• Shakur, Assata. Assata: An Autobiography. Lawrence Hill, 1987.