Assata's Daughters facts for kids
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| Founded | 2015 |
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| Founder | Page May |
| Type | Youth Organisation |
| Location |
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| Website | assatasdaughters.org |
Assata's Daughters is a group for young African-American women and girls in Chicago. They focus on teaching about important issues, organizing events, and helping their community. They work from a perspective that celebrates Black identity, includes all genders, and supports women's rights.
The group is inspired by Assata Shakur, a well-known activist. Assata's Daughters has adopted and expanded upon the ideas of the Ten-Point Program. This program was first written by Huey Newton for the Black Panther Party, another Black Power group he helped start. Assata's Daughters is also part of the Police abolition movement, which aims to rethink public safety.
The group was founded in March 2015. It is part of a larger group of Black activist organizations called the Movement for Black Lives. In 2016, Assata's Daughters had 68 active members.
Contents
How Assata's Daughters Started
Assata's Daughters was founded in 2015. It is one of many groups that began protesting against police actions, especially in Chicago. The group formed after the death of Eric Garner and the protests that followed. They use protest methods similar to those of the Black Youth Project 100. Their goal is to get people's attention and raise awareness for their cause.
The group was started by Page May, an African-American woman. May grew up in Virginia and later moved to Chicago. She had worked with the Black Youth Project 100. She says this experience helped create a space for all-Black, radical groups like Assata's Daughters.
What Assata's Daughters Aims For
Assata's Daughters has taken the Ten-Point Program from the Black Panther Party and added an 11th point. The original Ten-Point Program included goals like:
- We want freedom and power for our Black Community.
- We want full employment for our people.
- We want an end to unfair financial practices in our Black Community.
- We want good housing for everyone.
- We want education that teaches our true history and role in society.
- We want Black men to be exempt from military service.
- We want an immediate end to police actions against Black people.
- We want freedom for all Black people in prisons and jails.
- We want all Black people to be tried by a jury of their peers.
- We want land, food, housing, education, clothing, justice, and peace.
Assata's Daughters added their 11th point:
- The right to self-determination for gender. This means people should have the right to decide their own gender identity.
Key Events and Protests
2015 Activities
- In March 2015, Assata's Daughters was founded by Page May, Caira Conner, and Ariel Perkins. They started the group to protest the lack of action after Eric Garner's death.
- In October 2015, the group helped plan and joined a protest at a police conference in Chicago. They wanted to highlight violence by authorities.
- In November 2015, Assata's Daughters spoke out against police militarization. They wrote a letter with other groups like We Charge Genocide and BYP100.
2016 Activities
- On February 16, Assata's Daughters joined other groups to block a street in front of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Chicago.
- On February 24, they took part in #ByeAnita protests. These protests criticized State's Attorney Anita Alvarez for taking a long time to act on the murder of Laquan McDonald.
- In March, Assata's Daughters protested a rally by Donald Trump in Chicago. They said his words were racist. The rally was later cancelled.
- On April 20, they protested outside Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office. They demanded that police officer Dante Servin be fired and that Chicago State University receive funding.
- In July, Assata's Daughters supported Indigenous protesters against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
2017 and 2018 Donations
In 2017, American Football player Colin Kaepernick donated $25,000 to Assata's Daughters. He gave another $20,000 in 2018. Comedian Hannibal Buress and actress Yara Shahidi also donated $10,000 each.
2019 Headquarters Demolition
In 2019, the Assata's Daughters Headquarters building in Chicago was taken down by the city. The city said the building was unsafe after two fires had damaged the area.
Major Protests
Protesting Eric Garner's Death
In July 2014, Eric Garner died during an encounter with police officers in Staten Island, New York. Protests began soon after his death.
Assata's Daughters was founded eight months later. According to co-founder Page May, the first protest she organized about Eric Garner's death in January 2015 had about 20 people. This protest took place on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It grew to include about 700 participants, many of whom were children. Soon after, the group named themselves Assata's Daughters and started meeting regularly.
The #ByeAnita Protests
Anita Alvarez was the top prosecutor for Cook County, Illinois, from 2008 to 2016. Assata's Daughters and other groups protested against her during her re-election campaign. They criticized her for not prosecuting police officers in cases of misconduct.
Protesters mentioned the 2012 death of Rekia Boyd, a 22-year-old African-American woman. She was killed by Chicago police officer Dante Servin. Alvarez was the prosecutor at the time.
Assata's Daughters also protested Alvarez because her office received video footage of Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke shooting Laquan MacDonald. She received the video soon after the shooting but did not press charges against Van Dyke until 13 months later. During Alvarez's re-election campaign, Assata's Daughters hung 16 banners around Chicago. These banners had slogans like "#ByeAnita" and "#AdiosAnita 16 shots and a cover up."
Images for kids
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Assata's Daughters Logo
See also
In Spanish: Assata's Daughters para niños
