Afeni Shakur, Mother Of Harlem Legend Tupac, Passes

May 4, 2016

afeni and tupac in harlemAfeni Shakur, the activist and protector of slain East Harlemite son Tupac Shakur‘s legacy, died Monday in Nothern California. She was 69.

The Marin County Sheriff’s Department confirmed her passing via Twitter, adding that deputies responded to a possible cardiac arrest situation at 9:34 p.m. PT Monday at her Sausalito home and transported her to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead almost one hour later.

Born Alice Faye Williams in 1947 in North Carolina, she became politically active in her 20s, joining the Black Panthers. She served 11 months in prison, during which time she was pregnant with Tupac, named for the last Incan emperor, who led a rebellion against Spanish conquistadors. She served as her own defense attorney and was acquitted of multiple counts, earning release from prison in 1971, shortly before giving birth to Tupac.

Although she battled drug addiction while raising her three children alone in East Harlem, New York, Baltimore and California, she saw one thing clearly: “Arts can save children, no matter what’s going on in their homes,” she told The Associated Press in a 2005 interview.

Afeni enrolled Tupac in arts programs wherever they lived, allowing him to build the foundation for his future as an iconic rapper and promising actor. “I wasn’t available to do the right things for my son. If not for the arts, my child would’ve been lost,” she acknowledged.

He praised her for this farsightedness in his 1995 song Dear Mama:

“Ain’t a woman alive that could take my mama’s place.”

In 1996, Tupac was shot to death in a still-unsolved case, when he was just 25. From that point on, Afeni safeguarded his musical legacy, overseeing his unreleased material and creating a foundation in his name that champions youth arts programs. She was not interested in fomenting conspiracy theories about his murder.


“We decided to deal with the living. This is justice for me,” she said in 2005. “I need to do what God has put in front of me to do, and it ain’t trying to figure out who killed Tupac.”

Via USA Today and contributing: The Associated Press


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Harlem World Magazine, 2521 1/2 west 42nd street, Los Angeles, CA, 90008, https://www.harlemworldmagazine.com. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact
We're your source for local coverage, we count on your support. SUPPORT US!
Your support is crucial in maintaining a healthy democracy and quality journalism. With your contribution, we can continue to provide engaging news and free access to all.
accepted credit cards

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Articles