The Prison Break That Embarrassed an Entire Country
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Assata Shakur was a revolutionary. They called her Joanne Chesimard, her “slave name,” deemed her an enemy of the state and one of the FBI’s Most Wanted. But that wasn’t the full story.
In this episode, I talk to journalist and author Santi Elijah Holley who helps us dive into Assata’s story. Weaving in Assata’s own poetry (read by Lynae Vanee), we tell the story of how Assata became a symbol for something she never was, the lengths the government took to paint her a terrorist, and how she boldly reclaimed her own story and taught us what it means to be free.
Who’s a defiant person you think we should feature on the show? Or do you have a story about someone who inspired you to be “about that life”? Leave us a voicemail at 814-326-2866.
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Huge shoutout to
Santi Elijah Holley: https://www.santielijahholley.com/about
Lynae Vanee: https://www.instagram.com/lynaevanee/?hl=en
Read Assata’s biography: https://bookshop.org/a/21557/9781556520747
Read Santi’s book: https://bookshop.org/a/21557/9780063312647
I’m on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garrisonh
I’m on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@garrisonhayes
@GarrisonHayes
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
"They can't harm you, if can't find" Use code garrisonhayes at https://incogni.com/garrisonhayes to get an exclusive 60% off.
@kerrmahnke
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
Hell yeah! Keep the bangers coming. Looking forward to a Fred Hampton epi
@mangalisotyuluba1377
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
So the state troopers are the original I.C.E
@rg8772-n3z
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
Reading her book now
@iamcourtneymonique
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
This is so well done!!! Rest in dignity and power, Assata
@mikegriffonll3
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
Shakur is like the IRL will of D, 😮
@tirsden
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
I so wish I could have been learning about amazing people like this during high school history back in the mid-90s, instead of "the soldiers didn't even have proper shoes at Valley Forge!" on endless repeat.
@Zbeastie
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
I wonder what happened to her only child, her daughter.
She's only a bit older than myself.
@youngking317
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
I wish I could’ve met her
@jus_sayin2u
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
Thank you. Enjoyed it immensely
@randycarrier3401
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
👍 well done, thank you
Leonard Peltier was another person railroaded by the FBI of the 60s and 70s
😁🐕🪶
@apsuaha
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
Thank you for posting this. ❤
@motorphina
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
Finding out Assata Shakur was raised in my hometown 😮
@dwight4800
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
Brilliant ❤
@twizzum5
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
✊🏾 Assata Shakur forever
@Kowmaini
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
Rest in Jannah Assata Shakur ameriKKKa will answer for its Sins against Humanity ❤🎉
Release the Epstein files NOW
@cwlsn1
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
Great show and historical journey.
@catini108
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
Thanks for this! I hyped to try to get it out there….i saw your plea, Garrison!
@anonymouslakernerd7214
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
I met her at a party in Havana in 2004. I'd waited all night to ask her to dance and when I finally got up my nerve to walk over to her… the salsa band hit the outro and started taking bows. You talk about heartbreak! I walked up anyway and Sister said to me, "I saw you looking all night and was wondering if you were ever gonna come over." Lol. Then she said, "Maybe next time, brother." I never made it back to Cuba. There never was a next time.
@EaglesTatted
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
Rest In Power Assata !!!
@staticshock1997ge
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
Dope content
@varickclay8733
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
Notice how Malcolm, MLK, and Stokely Carmichael are mentioned as potential Messiahs by the elites. They know we are the Chosen of the Most High. Continue to wake up to who you truly are my people. This brave blk woman was truly a great part of our true determination for total liberation from our oppressors.
@ladystrick2010
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
Love this feature! Thanks to 🇨🇺
@ladystrick2010
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
❤
@shootingstar335
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
Love Assata! ♥️♥️♥️
@ApolloSuns
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
Her Autobiography along with Malcolms and Revolutionary Suicide changed my life
@Serenclippity
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
The GOAT!!
@1989snb
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
Why would they put her in a ALL MALE prison 😒 intentionally place her in danger.
@Darth_Man_X
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
Her book is amazing
@rhodabaruch4
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
Her autobiography radicalized me in high school. Thanks for this retelling of her life. Black Power! ❤
@tialy1401
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
Thank you for giving us the real on this amazing Black woman. Subscribed.
@gqfiend
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
This video leaves me inspired and infuriated. Mission accomplished.
@dannythompson1149
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
I want you all to do a feature on the Harlem Rens, the first professional basketball champions, and the Black Fives
@janedoe1229
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
This was fantastic. Obama should have pardoned her. Instead, he showed us what a coward he is then and now.
@heru8588
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
All hail the "mother hen" of the revolution. It was under Obama's watch that the FBI put her on the 10 most wanted terrorists list.
@roepowell2121
October 26, 2026 at 8:58 pm
Great information. For those who do not know who they are. Nonetheless, why do you feature a non-Black American, to "tell" OUR Black American experiences??