MLK Book Club: Assata

Program Type:

Arts, Culture, & Literature

Age Group:

Adult (18+)
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This event is part of a combined series. If you register for this event, you will be automatically registered for all of the following events in the series.
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Event Details

In partnership with the Juanita Craft House and South Dallas Cultural Center, the MLK Book Club is a space to share, connect and learn through a selected book. For this series we will be reading Assata: An Autobiography by Assata Shakur (ISBN: 9781556520747).

We are offering free copies to the first 20 people who register for the book club! Registration is not required to attend.

About the book

On May 2, 1973, Black Panther Assata Shakur (aka JoAnne Chesimard) lay in a hospital, close to death, handcuffed to her bed, while local, state, and federal police attempted to question her about the shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike that had claimed the life of a white state trooper. Long a target of J. Edgar Hoover's campaign to defame, infiltrate, and criminalize Black nationalist organizations and their leaders, Shakur was incarcerated for four years prior to her conviction on flimsy evidence in 1977 as an accomplice to murder.

This intensely personal and political autobiography belies the fearsome image of JoAnne Chesimard long projected by the media and the state. With wit and candor, Assata Shakur recounts the experiences that led her to a life of activism and portrays the strengths, weaknesses, and eventual demise of Black and White revolutionary groups at the hand of government officials. The result is a signal contribution to the literature about growing up Black in America that has already taken its place alongside The Autobiography of Malcolm X and the works of Maya Angelou.

Two years after her conviction, Assata Shakur escaped from prison. She was given political asylum by Cuba, where she now resides.

How to get the book

We are offering free copies to the first 20 people who register for this event.

The Dallas Public Library has limited copies in catalog for check out. The current availability can be found here

New and used copies can be purchased online from various outlets.

The e-book version is free through Hoopla. You will need an active library card as well as an email address. More information at: https://www.hoopladigital.com/

Series Schedule

We will focus on topics within the following page ranges which can serve as a guide to complete the book.  Feel free to go at any pace you like!

February 25: Chapter 1-3

March 11: Chapter 4-7

March 25: Chapter 8-11

April 1: Chapter 12-15

April 22: Chapter 16-21