On May 2, 1973, Black Panther Assata Shakur 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 Assata long projected by the media and the state. With wit and candor, 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.

1973年5月2日，黑豹阿萨塔-沙库尔躺在医院里，接近死亡，被铐在床上，而当地、州和联邦警察试图询问她关于新泽西州高速公路上的枪击事件，该事件夺去了一名白人州警的生命。长期以来，胡佛(J. Edgar Hoover)对黑人民族主义组织及其领导人进行诽谤、渗透和定罪，沙库尔在1977年因证据不足被判定为谋杀共犯之前被监禁了四年。

这本强烈的个人和政治自传掩盖了媒体和国家长期以来对阿萨塔的可怕印象。夏库尔以诙谐和坦率的口吻，讲述了导致她走上行动主义道路的经历，并描述了黑人和白人革命团体在政府官员手中的优势、弱点和最终的消亡。其结果是对有关美国黑人成长的文学的一个重要贡献，它已经与《马尔科姆-X自传》和玛雅-安吉洛的作品并列。

被定罪两年后，阿萨塔-沙库尔逃出了监狱。她得到了古巴的政治庇护，现在她住在那里。