From Assata Shakur, Havana
Cuba – August
29, 2003:
It is with much sadness that i say my last goodbye to Safiya Bukhari.
She was my sister, my comrade and my friend. We met nearly
thirty-five years ago, when we were both members of the Black Panther
Party in Harlem. Even then, i was impressed by her sincerity, her
commitment and her burning energy.
She was a descendent of slaves and
she inherited the legacy of neo-slavery. She believed that struggle
was the only way that African people in America could rid ourselves
of oppression. As a Black woman struggling in America she experienced
the most vicious forms of racism, sexism, cruelty and indifference.
As a political activist she was targeted, persecuted, hounded and
harassed. Because of her political activities she became a political
prisoner and spent many years in prison. But she continued to believe
in
freedom, and she continued to fight for it. In spite of her personal
suffering, in spite of chronic, life-threatening illnesses, she
continued to struggle.
She gave the best that she had to give to our
people. She devoted her life, her love and her best energies to
fighting for the liberation of oppressed people. She struggled
selflessly, she could be trusted, she was consistent, and she could
always be counted to do what needed to be done. She was a soldier, a
warrior-woman who did everything she could to free her people and to
free political prisoners.
Her absence will be felt. She will be
sincerely missed. I have faith that the Ancestors will welcome her,
cherish her, and treat her with more love and more kindness that she
ever received here on this earth. I pray that her sisters and
brothers, who continue to walk on this planet, will honor her memory
by continuing her work, by continuing her struggle,
and refusing to quit until all oppressed people and all Political
Prisoners are free.
– Assata Shakur
From Nehanda Abiodun, Havana
Cuba – August 29, 2003:
I never had the honor of meeting our Sister Safiya, but her history
of courage, commitment to our struggle and love for freedom has been
an inspiration to me that on a many a day has given me the strength
to carry on. As we gather to honor her, let us truly give her the
recognition she deserves by continuing the work she dedicated her
life to.
Let us remember that she was a Sister who despite many
adversities in her life never relented to those obstacles, but used
them as weapons against our enemies.It is unfortunate that now that she has made the
transition we come
to say thank you for your sacrifices, we love you; we should have
taken the time and effort to say these things while she was with us,
especially since she never stopped loving us. Her daily actions were
proof of the love she carried in her heart for our people and our
freedom. She gave us all she had and then some.
I send my prayers and condolences to all
that loved her, I ask that
the ancestors give you some comfort in knowing that Safiya's work is
part of the history of resistance of women warriors that has allowed
for some victories in our battle for liberation. In honor of our Sister before all of
you I renew my commitment and
dedication to our collective freedom and carrying on her tradition of
ending oppression where ever it exists.
– With Love and Respect,
Nehanda Abiodun
From WBAI
news, New York – August 24, 2003
Safiya Bukhari died in the early hours of the morning from
complications due to prolonged illness. She was 53.
Safiya joined the Black Panther party
in 1969 after witnessing a vicious police beating of another Panther standing on a
Harlem street
corner selling the Party's
newspaper. "I tell people straight up that it was the New York Police
Department that made me decide to join the Black Panther Party." She
said, "In college I supported the war in Vietnam. I was so far to the
right it was ridiculous. But by the time the summer of 1969 was over,
in November, I was in the Party." A disciplined and dedicated revolutionary Safiya
went on to join the Black Liberation Army. She spent close to nine years in prison
for
clandestine actions on behalf of the BLA.
After her release, Safiya dedicated her
life to the freedom of her comrades she left behind and used every means at her disposal.
She wrote prolifically about individual cases, designed and made
political prisoner t-shirts, buttons, bumper stickers, mouse pads, wrote
fact sheets on each individual case and in 1991 co-founded the New York Free Mumia Abu
Jamal Coalition which she co-Chaired until
her death.
She also served as Vice President
in the Provisional Government of the Republic of New Africa – an organization working
towards the formation of a separate Black nation comprised of five
steps - South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana– states
built on the backs of enslaved Africans. In 1998, Safiya became the Co-Chair of the
JERICHO MOVEMENT TO FREE
US POLITICAL PRISONERS AND PRISONERS OF WAR. She established a
website and traveled throughout the country organizing people to the
cause of those behind the walls.
Coming from a strong family spiritual tradition, Safiya came to
embrace Islam.
Safiya Asia Bukhari-Alston, Revolutionary,
Mother, Grandmother, singer, writer, comrade, sister and friend. Our loss reverberates
throughout the ages.
– For the WBAI Sunday News, I'm
Sally O'Brien
More: