‘I have seen the kind become the blind
and the blind become the bind
in one easy lesson.
I have walked on cut glass.
I have eaten cow and blunder bread
and breathed the stench of indifference.
I have been locked by the lawless.
Handcuffed by the haters.
Gagged by the greedy.
And, if i know anything at all,
it’s that a wall is just a wall
and nothing more at all.
It can be broken down.’
Our second Reading Group session was centred around ASSATA: An Autobiography. We discussed themes of the themes race, oppression, and womanism present in Assata Shakur’s written story and our own lives, and how the book had broadened and deepened our understanding of the liberation struggle. We drew connections to the modern day and conflation with Marvel’s Black Panther franchise – what is the reality of liberation fighters like Assata Shakur in 2018?