Tupac Revealed: "Dear Mama"
Before watching “Dear Mama,” FX’s five-part series about Tupac Amaru Shakur (known as 2Pac), and his mother, Afeni Shakur, a former Black Panther, I knew as much (or as little) about them as the average music-lover.
To my surprise, the tragic, but uncompromising, lives of these remarkable activists deeply affected me.
Tupac’s short life embodied the lost brilliance and unfulfilled potential of too many young, Black males trapped in American’s economic ghettoes, trying, by any means, to get out.
Afeni’s turbulent life epitomized the struggles of Black single mothers to elevate their circumstances— despite the odds against them-- by any means necessary.
The documentary includes a video clip of Tupac, age 17, filmed at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley; in the brief segment, Tupac, age 17, conveys magnetism and an innate intelligence, qualities predictive of his future mass appeal.
Self-assured and articulate, the future rapper critiques the school’s curriculum as not relevant for “a boy from the slums … We’re not being taught to deal with the world as it is ... My mother taught me to analyze society, and not be quiet. If there’s something on my mind, speak it.”
At the height of his career, mainstream media, the public, and thousands of white and Black youths were fascinated by his various personas: “gangsta rapper,” hedonistic celebrity, and outspoken revolutionist.
Government and law enforcement, however, viewed Tupac as dangerous, anti-law enforcement, a provocateur, and an “uppity nigga.”
It was Afeni, however, who challenged the criminal justice system.
Brilliant and strong-willed, she was a highly respected member of the New York chapter of the Black Panthers. Held in jail throughout her pregnancy, Afeni successfully defended herself against a criminal charge of “conspiracy to destroy elements of society” in New York City along with 21 other Panthers.
On June 29, 1970, one month after the acquittal, Afeni gave birth to Tupac (neé Leshane Parish Crooks). “Tupac stayed in my womb through hell.”
The Panthers did want to destroy aspects of American society, namely, racial oppression, economic inequality, and generational poverty. They promoted armed self-defense against police brutality, provided food and medical care for the community, and advocated for jobs, decent housing, and reparations “as restitution for slave labor and mass murder of Black people.”
For Tupac and Afeni—and thousands trapped in urban wastelands--talent and determination do not shield one from psychic scarring caused by years living in undeveloped and neglected neighborhoods, poverty, and marginalization.
Afeni turned to crack.
Tupac turned to music.
Although wealth and fame enabled Tupac to provide generously for family and friends, success exposed him to the envy and treachery of rivals in the music industry as well as accusations of glorifying gangs and violence in his lyrics.
Throughout “Dear Mama,” those closest to Tupac attest to his warmth and sensitivity. Nonetheless, allegations of misogyny and sexual abuse; campaigns against his music and message; imprisonment, and a near-fatal shooting stripped away his naiveté and hardened his spirit. Consequently, when he felt disrespected, Tupac’s volatile, impulsive side would erupt, and no one could talk him down from a confrontation.
Social conditions that Tupac railed against throughout his career haven’t improved significantly since his death in 1996. According to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, “Gun suicide increases—and the racial disparities in these increases—are particularly pronounced for Black youth. From 2018 to 2021, the firearm suicide rate for Black people ages 10 to 24 rose 58%.”
The JED Foundation, a nonprofit that “protects mental health and prevents suicides for teens and young adults,” reports, “In early January, (2023) Tyre Nichols was killed by police officers. Later that month, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis banned an AP African American Studies class statewide.
“At school, on social media, and in the world at large, young people are surrounded by reminders that they will encounter discrimination based on the color of their skin.”
The Equal Justice Initiative, located in Montgomery, Alabama, reports that research conducted by Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. indicates “… Black children were six times more likely to be shot by police officers than white children. Hispanic children’s risk of death was almost three times higher than that of white children.”
Tupac’s story reminded me of the struggles faced by the young, Black males in my family, whose lives have been impacted by absentee fathers, unstable family lives, a current or past incarceration, or fear of police violence, manifested in alcohol and drug use, aggressive behavior, heightened anxiety, and mental health issues.
Without adequate financial resources, mentors or role models, economic opportunities, or positive support systems, dreams and ambition wither and die.
Tupac describes the feeling best:
“I got a head with no screws in it, what can I do?
One life to live, I got nothin to lose
Just me and you on a one-way tript to prison, sellin’ drugs,
We all wrapped up in this livin’ life as thugs!”
During his brief lifetime, Tupac articulated the angst and bitterness of his generation; ones can only imagine what he might have accomplished had his life not been cut short.
Despite Tupac’s artistry and worldwide fame, “Dear Mama” lays bare a dynamic family’s personal flaws and virtues, strengths and frailties, and triumphs and failures.
It also exposes the structural violence imbedded in and bolstered by American laws, institutions, economic policies, and discriminatory practices that likely will produce future Tupacs.
2023 Wista Johnson (Reprint by permission only.) Photo: Mali Maeder (pexels.com)