Mutulu Shakur

Activist, convicted murderer, and stepfather of Tupac Shakur.

Mutulu Shakur (born Jeral Wayne Williams; August 8, 1950 – July 7, 2023) was an American activist, convicted murderer, and a member of the Black Liberation Army who was sentenced to sixty years in prison for his involvement in a 1981 robbery of a Brinks armored truck in which a guard and two police officers were murdered. He was the stepfather of rapper Tupac Shakur.

Quick Facts

Birth name: Jeral Wayne Williams
Born: 8 August 1950
Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Died: 7 July 2023
Place of death: Mercer Island, Washington, U.S.
Occupation: Acupuncturist
Children: 7, including Ayize Jama-Everett, Mopreme Shakur and; Tupac Shakur (stepson)
Criminal penalty: 60 years' imprisonment

Lore & Background

Shakur was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on August 8, 1950. At age seven, he moved to Jamaica, Queens, New York City, with his mother and younger sister. By his late teens, he was politically active with the Revolutionary Action Movement (RAM) and later joined the Republic of New Afrika. In 1970, he began working with the Lincoln Detox program, eventually becoming assistant director.

He became certified and licensed to practice acupuncture in California in 1979 and helped found the Black Acupuncture Advisory Association of North America (BAAANA) and the Harlem Institute of Acupuncture. He was one of several Black Liberation Army members to carry out the October 1981 Brink's robbery in Nanuet, New York, in which a guard and two police officers were killed. He evaded capture for over five years, was added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted list on July 23, 1982, and was arrested on February 12, 1986.

He was convicted on May 11, 1988, and received a 60-year sentence. He was paroled on December 16, 2022, and died approximately eight months later.

Reader's Guide

Mutulu Shakur was paroled on December 16, 2022, and died on July 7, 2023, about eight months after being paroled.

Did You Know?

He was the 380th person added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.
He helped found North America's first acupuncture detox clinic through the Lincoln Detox program.