assata olugbala shakur (born july 16, 1947 as joanne deborah byron) is an african-american activist. she was a member of the black panther party and the black liberation army. she was put into prison, but in 1984 she managed to escape. she now lives in havana, cuba, as a fugitive. she was the first woman to be put on the fbi's most wanted terrorists list. shakur is the step-aunt of tupac shakur, a rapper who died in 1996.