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<a href="http://www.assatashakur.org/sistas.htm" eudora="autourl">http://www.assatashakur.org/sistas.htm<br>
</a>A Message to My Sistas <br>
by Assata Shakur<br><br>
At this time I'd like to say a few words especially to my sisters:
SISTERS. BLACK PEOPLE WILL NEVER BE FREE UNLESS BLACK WOMEN PARTICIPATE
IN EVERY ASPECT OF OUR STRUGGLE, ON EVERY LEVEL OF OUR STRUGGLE. I think
that Black women, more than anybody on the face of the earth, recognize
the urgency of our situation. Because it is We who come face to face
daily with the institutions of our oppression. And because it is We who
have borne the major responsibility of raising our children. And it is We
who have to deal with the welfare systems that do not care about the
welfare of our children. And it is We who have to deal with the school
systems that do not educate our children. It is We who have to deal with
the racist teachers who teach our children to hate themselves. It is We
who have seen the terrible effects of racism on our children. I JUST WANT
TO TAKE A MOMENT OUT TO EXPRESS MY LOVE TO ALL OF YOU WHO RISK YOUR LIVES
DAILY STRUGGLING OUT HERE ON THE FRONT LINES. We who have watched our
young grow too old, too soon. We who have watched our children come home
angry and frustrated and seen them grow more bitter, more disillusioned
with the passing of each day. And We who have seen the sick, trapped look
on the faces of our children when they come to fully realize what it
means to be Black in Amerikkka. And we know what deprivation is. How many
times have We run out of bus fare, rent money, food money and how many
times have our children gone to school in hand-me-down clothes, with
holes in their shoes. We know what a hell-hole Amerikkka is. We're afraid
to let our children go out and play. We're afraid to walk the streets at
night. We sisters, We have seen our young, the babies that We brought
into this world with such great hopes for, We have seen their bodies
bloated and aching from drugs, scarred and deformed by bullet holes. We
know what oppression is. We have been abused in every way imaginable. We
have been abused economically, politically. We have been abused
physically, and We have been abused sexually. And sisters, We have a long
and glorious history of struggle on this land/planet. Afrikan women were
strong and courageous warriors long before We came to this country in
chains. And here in Amerikkka, our sisters have been on the front lines.
Sister Harriet Tubman led the underground railroad. And sisters like Rosa
Parks, Fannie Lou Hammer, Sandra Pratt and our Queen Mother Moore have
carried it on. Sisters, We have been the backbone of our communities, and
We have got to be the backbone of our nation. We have got to build strong
family units, based on love and struggle. We don't have no time to play
around. <br><br>
A REVOLUTIONARY WOMAN CAN'T HAVE NO REACTIONARY MAN. <br><br>
If he's not about liberation, if he's not about struggle, if he ain't
about building a strong Black nation then he ain't about nothing. We know
how to struggle. We know how to struggle and finagle to survive. We know
what it means, sisters, to struggle tooth and nail. We know what it means
to struggle with love. We know what unity is. We know what sisterhood is.
We have always been kind to each other, brought each other hot soup and
biscuits. We have always helped each other through the hard times.
Sisters, We must celebrate Afrikan womanhood. We don't want to be like
Miss Ann. She can keep her false eyelashes and her false, despoiled image
of womanhood. She can keep her mink stole and her French provincial
furniture. We will define for ourselves what womanhood is. And We will
create our own style and our own ways of dress. We can't have no white
man in France telling Afrikan women what to look like. We will create our
own New Afrikan way of living. We will create our own way of being and
living our own New Afrikan culture, taking the best of the old and mixing
it with the new. <br><br>
SISTERS WE HAVE GOT TO TAKE CONTROL OF OUR LIVES AND OUR FUTURE WHEREVER
WE ARE. AND WE HAVE GOT TO ORGANIZE OURSELVES INTO A STRONG BODY OF
AFRIKAN WOMEN<br><br>
<br>
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The Freedom Archives<br>
522 Valencia Street<br>
San Francisco, CA 94110<br>
(415) 863-9977<br>
<a href="http://www.freedomarchives.org/" eudora="autourl">www.freedomarchives.org</a></font></body>
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