The Indianapolis branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation and many of our fellow member-organizations in the Indianapolis Liberation Center—like ANSWER Indiana and Indy Hope Packages—send our deepest solidarity and condolences to Kwame Shakur’s family, friends, community, and the movement at large. On December 15, Katrina Overstreet, Kwame’s wife, went public about his transition to the ancestors.
It’s no exaggeration to say we lost a powerful organizer who still had enormous potential to advance the causes of all oppressed and exploited people.
Kwame served 20 years in prison, an experience that radicalized him politically. Kwame used this state-imposed traumatic experience and transformed it into a love and solidarity for the people. After experiencing the atrocities of the U.S. mass-incarceration system firsthand for so long, when he was released from prison he immediately dedicated himself to fighting for those still behind bars.
Kwame advocated for the exoneration of Leon Benson, who was unjustly convicted and served over 20 years in prison, 13 of them in solitary confinement. When Benson was liberated from prison in March 2023, Kwame was there to greet him with open arms. Kwame even dedicated his autobiography, My Search for Answers, Truth and Meaning: The Autobiography of Kwame Shakur, to Benson. We encourage everyone to read the raw reality articulated in that book.
Kwame with PSL members from Indiana and Florida
Kwame was never a member of the PSL and we naturally had our ideological and political differences. Neither entity saw these as deficits. Instead, Kwame recognized these as natural and even necessary the development of any movement. He regularly put this into practice not only with the PSL, but with all member-organizations of the Indianapolis Liberation Center, showing the revolutionary grace he epitomized and practiced.
PSL Indianapolis first encountered Kwame during the fall of 2018 struggle against the anti-homeless sit lie ordinance. Yet it was at our August 2019 Liberation Forum he attended that we started developing a genuine political relationship and a beautiful camaraderie.
Organization plus spontaneity
Kwame was a leading figure in the 2020 response to the IMPD’s 8-hour killing spree in which they took the lives of Dreasjon Reed, McHale Rose, and Ashlynn Lisby. While the protests that erupted were certainly spontaneous, they were not entirely so. In Kwame’s assessment, the spontaneity was enhanced by the existence of an already-organized grouping: the “Free Them All Coalition.” That Coalition, which led numerous car protests outside of Indiana prisons to denounce the callous disregard of our incarcerated neighbors, raised consciousness, held a People’s Press Conference, and more, was already well organized by the time early May rolled around.
As soon as we heard of Dreasjon’s callous killing, organizer Sam James was on the scene. They spoke with the people, ran into Kwame, and didn’t leave for hours (with Dreasjon Reed’s body lying lifeless on the ground the entire time). The mood was intense and it was clear the people wanted action. We offered our sound system and, together with Kwame, made plans to meet back up the next day as it approached midnight.
The first major rallies that followed the IMPD killing spree were both on Saturday, one being downtown and one being where Dreasjon was killed. The downtown protest was mainly organized by activist groups and attended by movement people. The Michigan St. protest was organized by people in the neighborhood, family members and friends of Reed and Rose were in attendance. While two simultaneous demonstrations in our city is a positive development, which one to support was not a question for Kwame or the PSL. We would be with the people, who were out there not just for the “good victim” but the “bad victim” and even the “white victim,” too.
Comrades, not “allies”
At the time, a liberal form of identity politics (where one’s identity determined their politics) dominated the local scene. While white comrades comprised about 50 percent of the Indianapolis branch of the PSL, Kwame cared for the people, not their nationality, skin color, or any other identity. What mattered was whether or not any individual or organization could advance the struggle. Kwame knew the PSL shared the same values, and he showed this in practice when he called up one of our white comrades to speak during the rally for Dreasjon on Michigan St.
Kwame and Derek speaking at 62nd and Michigan
Kwame and the family of McHale Rose
Kwame interviewed at a “Free Them All Coalition” event
“Boots on the ground!”
Despite Kwame’s constant traveling, he continued to work closely with the Party; working with comrades in Indianapolis and across the country. Standing up for police brutality, homelessness, and the overall dignity of all working-class people. The Indianapolis Liberation Center was even honored to host the inaugural induction for the Black Liberation Party, a new formation Kwame helped found. At that event, we met new Indianapolis organizers like Devon Rush and Daniel Brooks.
The formation of the Black Liberation Party
Kwame with PSL Indianapolis members
Kwame behind several new leading members
Kwame’s introductory speech
Kwame always had one foot in the streets and the other in politics. If you saw him in action you knew his favorite chant was the call-and-response “Boots on the Ground!” This is another way of saying that theory without action–without people in the streets–only led the movement to a dead-end.
He is a fallen soldier, but we will be sure he will not be a forgotten one. We’ll work to keep his words, spirit, and almost inconceivable energy alive. Rest in Power, comrade Kwame!
Featured photo: Kwame Shakur speaks at an August 2019 Liberation Forum on gun violence. Credit: PSL Indianapolis.