The women represented in this chapter have amazing stories of surviving in the face of obstacles, and perseverance despite roadblocks of every sort. They have moved through the challenges they encountered to live enviable lives of success and service, each in her own way and according to her own gifts. When one considers the challenges that African American women in the United States have faced in previous generations, it becomes obvious that the ability to set one’s jaw and push through whatever obstacles are in her path is a birthright, and has become inherent in her character.
Being a Survivor does not mean that a woman should simply endure hardships and endlessly “take it.” But, it does mean that this strength can be called upon to move through difficulties a day at a time, with perseverance and determination. She can rely on the memory of her ancestors and their dogged strength and resolve when she falters or feels disheartened.
During the “midnight hour,” when it feels as though it is time to give up, this strength can carry a woman through. The question becomes, how to illuminate that darkest hour and follow the light.
In this chapter, you will have an opportunity to meet four women whose life stories illustrate this valuable character strength. They demonstrate endurance, persistence, and grit, and have survived in the face of many challenges to achieve their goals. They demonstrate a wonderful blend of courage, ingenuity, and stamina.
Sekyiwa Shakur
“When a person is depressed, there is just a feeling of nowhere to go. This is a worldwide problem that needs to be addressed. So, my best advice is to do something to improve your mental health.”
Of all the women featured in this book, I have known Sekyiwa Shakur the longest, and so it is appropriate to begin these chronicles with her story. Had it not been for her inspiration, this book would probably not have been written.
Set, as she is known to her friends, reached out to me on the recommendation of Sierra Tucson Hospital in Tucson, AZ, where she had been treated for depression and trauma. When she left Sierra Tucson, she decided to move onto a houseboat in Sausalito, CA. She had her two young children with her, and she told me that she had come to Sausalito to learn about gentleness. That was the word she used. Here she would begin the process of creating a new life for herself and continue her recovery from the depression and post-traumatic stress disorder that had stalked her.
Set’s courage and determination were amazing to me! She knew only a handful of people in the area and was essentially alone. She was only twenty-four years old.
I was changed by Set. She was inspirational and challenging all at once. I think she was relieved as well as surprised to learn that I had little knowledge of her famous brother, Tupac, and therefore no judgments or preconceived ideas, and no awe about his fame. Hers was a world largely unknown to me. At the time, I thought this might be a problem, but Set was quite clear in her intention to take time out, albeit temporarily, from the life she had known, to expand her worldview and reinvent herself.
Set is enormously funny and she made me laugh all the time. In addition to her amazing courage and forthrightness, she was completely willing to learn everything she could. If I made a suggestion, whether it was about how to think about something differently or how to approach a particular situation or challenge, she was willing to try it out. At the same time, she was not afraid to tell me when she thought I was off base or simply did not understand her or her situation. And, I often did not. But, I was open to learning, too.
Several years later, when Set told me she was getting ready to return home to Atlanta, I was very sad. We had shared many deep experiences. We were both in very different places from where we had begun. Each of our worldviews had been expanded.
Some time later, it was a joy to attend her wedding and to come to know her family. My life has certainly been blessed by knowing Set.
Sekyiwa is an African name, which means “determined.” It is a perfect name for the baby girl born to Dr. Mutulu and Afeni Shakur in New York City, NY. Set says that she does not remember her parents being together, but she imagines that they were a cute couple. She is told that when she came into the family, they had a hand-made crib and a rocking chair waiting for her. Her brother, Tupac, was four years old by then and happy to have a baby sister. She says that her mother was “big on babies” and sang lullabies to her at night.
Set’s parents were part of the Black Panther Party, an African American organization established in the 1960’s, to promote Black Power and self-defense through acts of social agitation. They instituted a variety of community programs to alleviate poverty and improve health among communities deemed most needful of aid. To that end, Set’s father, Dr. Shakur, practiced acupuncture. He established the Bana Clinic in the basement of his Brownstone in Harlem, and was especially known for successfully treating addicts with the techniques he had learned during his training in China. He supervised a staff of people and also had a clinic at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx.
Set’s mother, Afeni, and her aunt and Godmother worked in the community at the Harlem Legal Services as paralegals for an attorney working in the area of fair housing.
The Panthers were a community within the larger community. They had dedicated their lives to the transformation of the United States in order to eliminate the injustices of prejudice. They helped each other in the true spirit of community, and there were frequent ceremonies and celebrations, such as Kwanza and naming ceremonies. During a naming ceremony, the baby or young child was anointed with spices, including honey, sugar and cayenne, and then passed among the community as each person made wishes and promises for the child being named. In the year that Set was born, the group had begun honoring children as heroes.
Set was the youngest girl of a small group of children, which she describes as much like The Little Rascals of television reruns. Their mothers, with the idea that the older children would keep track of the younger ones, sent the group off to school. They rode four trains and a bus by themselves to get to the special school their parents had chosen for them. Needless to say, these little rascals did some exploring in New York City without their mother’s knowledge. From time to time, Set would get separated from the group and be lost. The group would frantically search for her and swear each other to secrecy so that they wouldn’t be in trouble for shirking their duties of keeping track of each other. Set is giggling as she says that she was the one who was mischievous and always getting the others in trouble for some minor infraction.
This happy time came to an abrupt end when the FBI began investigating the Panthers. The homes of most of the Panther families were systematically raided, and agents who were searching for her father kicked in the Shakur’s front door. Dr. Shakur became a fugitive from the FBI when Set was five years old. She says that because she was a naïve and trusting child, she didn’t understand how scary the police and FBI agents could be or that anyone would be trying to avoid them. “This was just my life,” she says. “When the police came to our apartment building asking which apartment was ours, I pointed it out and welcomed them! The authorities dusted our apartment for fingerprints and I remember having to help everyone clean the dusting medium from the banisters, the children’s toys, and everything after they left.” Many of the men were arrested on various charges, one after the other. The women in the community tried to carry on as normally as possible, maintaining the ceremonies and celebrations as well as they could. But, life had changed dramatically.
When Dr. Shakur disappeared, Set’s mother tried to maintain her job and financial security; but within a short time, she, too, was in danger of being arrested and was losing ground financially. By the time Set was eight, her family could no longer hang on in New York, and they moved to Baltimore, where they had family connections. They had been plunged into poverty. While they had lived a life full of culture, pride, and community in New York, what awaited them in Baltimore was quite different. “It was barren in Baltimore,” Set says. “The people were ignorant, mean, and small minded. I had dark skin, short hair, and dressed in African-style clothes. They