In a June 1st email to all Stanford University students, Mona Hicks, senior associate vice provost and dean of students, addressed the nationwide protests following George Floyd’s death, quoting a “loving refrain” from fugitive cop-killer Assata Shakur.
“As a Black woman, I am also struggling to make meaning in our world today, but your humanity gives me hope — your energy, your education, your truth, and your purpose,” Hicks wrote. “This loving refrain from Assata Shakur still rings true as I shelter-in-place: ‘It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.’”
Domestic terrorist Shakur, also known as Joanne Chesimard, was convicted for the 1973 murder of a New Jersey state trooper when she was in the Black Liberation Army. She escaped prison in 1979 and fled to Cuba, which granted her asylum.
Stephen Sills, president of the Stanford College Republicans, told Fox News, “If people like Mona Hicks think they can get away with this praising terrorists, the acceptance of violence as a legitimate form of political activity will continue.”