This quote emphasizes the crucial importance of community and mutual support for survival against oppression. It warns that division and lack of solidarity will lead to collective downfall, urging unity and care among people as a necessary strategy for resistance and enduring strength.
Quote by Assata Shakur: “We must love and support each other, or we will perish.”
We must love and support each other, or we will perish.
Insight
Historical Context
From her autobiography, this statement encapsulates Shakur's revolutionary humanist perspective. Facing state repression and living in exile, she stressed the vital role of solidarity and communal care for oppressed peoples to resist systemic forces and ensure their collective survival and progress.
About the Author
American activist and former member of the Black Liberation Army who was convicted of murdering a New Jersey state trooper in 1973 in a trial widely contested as unjust. She escaped from prison in 1979 and has lived in political asylum in Cuba since 1984. Her 1987 autobiography remains a foundational text in Black radical tradition.
View all quotes by Assata Shakur