"One Hundred Twenty Pounds of Money": An Organizational History of the Hands off Assata Movement and its Opposition to the War on Terror
This study examines the efforts of the Hands off Assata Movement (HOA) to free Assata Shakur, a former member of the Black Panther Party (BPP) and Black Liberation Army (BLA) who now lives in Cuba, and to counter the "War on Terror." In 2005, the United States (U.S.) Justice Department placed a one million dollar bounty on Shakur. The Justice Department also labeled her a "domestic terrorist." In response to this move, a coalition of activists formed HOA in 2003 to mobilize mass support across the country to protect Shakur from the government and potential bounty hunters. The New York-based HOA relies heavily on the internet for publicizing the case and in galvanizing mass support for Shakur linking it to broader struggles for Black Freedom. The group also views Shakur's case as critical component for advancing black equality. A critical analysis of HOA's work contains broader implications for appreciating the benefits and the shortcomings of using the internet as an organizational strategy for promoting racial and social justice and in challenging the government's "War on Terror."
School:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Department:
Anthropology
Research Advisor:
Erik S. McDuffie
Department of Research Advisor:
African American Studies
Year of Publication:
2007