of Black liberation Los Angeles TimesThe long overdue story of the Shakurs persistent fighters in the US struggle for racial justice and one of the most prominent influential and fiercely creative families in recent historyFor over fifty years the Shakurs have inspired generations of activists scholars and music fans Many people are only familiar with Assata Shakur the popular author and thinker living for three decades in Cuban exile or the late rapper Tupac But the branches of the Shakur family tree extend widely and the roots reach into the most furtive and hidden depths of the underground Whether founding one of the most notorious Black Panther chapters in the country spearheading communitybased healthcare or engaging in armed struggle with systemic oppression the Shakurs were at the forefrontThey have been celebrated glorified and mythologized They have been hailed as heroes liberators and freedom fighters They have been condemned pursued imprisoned exiled and killed But the true and complete story of the Shakur familyone of the most famous names in contemporary Black American historyhas never been toldAn Amerikan Familynbspis a history of the fight for Black liberation in the United States as experienced and shaped by the Shakurs It is a story of hope and betrayal addiction and murder persecution and revolution Drawing from hundreds of hours of personal interviews historical archives court records transcripts and other rare documentsnbspAn Amerikan Familynbsptells the complete and often devastating story of Black Americas long struggle for racial justice and the nations covert and repressive tactics to defeat that struggle It is the story of a small but determined community taking extreme unconventional and often perilous measures in the quest for freedomIn short the story of the Shakurs is the story of America