The Tale of the Panther and the Dove

by Assata Shakur, Leila Khaled

102 pages, Paperback

Published December 25, 2024

About the author

Assata Olugbala Shakur was a Black civil rights activist who was a member of the Black Panther Party (BPP) and Black Liberation Army (BLA).

Between 1971 and 1973, Shakur was accused of several crimes, none of which had sufficient evidence to back them. However, knowing that she would not be able to prove her innocence, she escaped prison and fled to Cuba where she resided in political asylum. She is listed on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorist list.

For more information, do your own extensive research, bearing in mind that America is still very racist, bigoted, and micro-aggressive; therefore, not all sources are trustworthy. One of her most famous quotes is: “No one is going to give you the education you need to overthrow them. Nobody is going to teach you your true history, teach you your true heroes, if they know that that knowledge will help set you free.” Follow that example.

Reviews

[Lo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The crossover of Assata Shakur and Leila Khaled needed to happen. Two revolutionaries that sacrificed everything for their people. This collection of interviews and stories is an important crossover of the PFLP and Black Liberation Army’s struggle against imperialism and the West.

A quote that sticks from this collection is Leila Khaled saying, “This is the biggest defeat that the Israelis have brought on themselves by their military victories. They brought a whole new generation of Palestinians into the battle who believe only in the armed struggle against Israel.” What Huey Newton would call a negation of a negation, in which their genocide is just causing more to revolt, take arms, and make the resistance stronger and more principled. Or Jose Maria Sison’s poetry where in one instance he goes, “The threat to crush the revolution/ Through the terrorism of the state/
Is sheer boasting by the monsters/
Who actually inflame the revolution/
Until it can crush the enemy in his last lair.” No matter how pyrrhic a victory or strategic of a retreat, revolutionaries know that this oppression just refines, sharpens, and resolves the causes for revolution.

There are issues with this collection. Mainly just editorial things that could easily be fixed but are understandable from a small press.

[your worst nightmare · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5! epic collab!! a collection of interviews, stories, and quotes from two of my favorite revolutionaries. i have read both biographies from leila and assata (a must if you haven’t read). this was a short concise collection if you don’t want to take on the full books. only complaint is some errors but to be expected for an independent small press. glad this exists regardless and i’m glad i have a copy in my hands.

[eve is reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

two revolutionary women and their moving words! the content is amazing- however the numerous errors within the book were frustrating to deal with (spelling, repeated paragraphs, etc). i wanted to feel the flow of these speeches and letters but the abruptions of copy errors were distracting. i also don't find a listing of quotes particularly valuable as there was a section for each woman that felt unnecessary. i am glad there are people eager to continue to preserve and distribute both assata shakur and leila khaled's words as both have faced censorship for decades.

[hayden · Rating 5 out of 5]

two epic women. rest in power, assata shakur. and leila khaled, i hope you can see your homeland free in your lifetime.