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Award-winning journalist Santi Elijah Holley brings us a long overdue look at the Shakur family, who, for over fifty years, have inspired generations of activists, scholars, and music fans. An Amerikan Family is the history of the fight for Black liberation in the United States, as experienced by the Shakurs. From Assata Shakur, the popular author and thinker living for three decades in Cuban exile, to the late, great rapper Tupac to roots in the Black Panther movement and beyond, the Shakurs have been at the forefront of fighting for racial justice in the United States.
Holley was in conversation with American academic, civic leader, and founder of the Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter, Dr. Melina Abdullah.
Santi Elijah Holley is an award-winning journalist and the author of An Amerikan Family: The Shakurs and the Nation They Created. His writing has appeared in numerous national and international outlets, including The Guardian, The Atlantic, The New Republic, Time, and The Washington Post. He lives in Los Angeles.
Melina Abdullah is a Professor of Pan-African Studies at Cal State LA, Co-Founder of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, Director of Black Lives Matter Grassroots, a leader in the California Faculty Association (the faculty union), and mama of three children. Dr. Abdullah earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from USC and her B.A. in African-American Studies from Howard University. Abdullah has authored numerous articles and book chapters and is the creator, host, and producer of the radio programs Move the Crowd on KPFK 90.7 FM and This Is Not a Drill! on KBLA Talk 1580 and is a recognized expert on race, gender, class, and social movements.
