We as a community aspire to freedom. Freedom and equality are what we all want in our respective communities, and we have been fighting for them together for decades. However, we have yet to achieve equality and justice in the world, and more specifically in the United States. People have gone to prison for fighting for justice and equality and expressing their political beliefs, including freedom fighters like Marcus Garvey and Assata Shakur. Shakur gave a speech about the difficulties faced by the black community during his trials, called the “Opening Statement.” Likewise, Garvey wrote a letter to his community, speaking of the sacrifices he had made for them. Garvey's "Letter from Atlanta Prison" and Shakur's "Opening Statement" are both similar because they discuss the unjustified treatment of people of color, particularly discrimination. While the focus of Shakur's statement is the political hardship that the black community faced in his time, Garvey talks about his fight for equality and his personal sacrifice for the black community. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Social activist Marcus Garvey was born on August 17, 1887 in St. Jamaica, Ann's Bay. Historians consider him one of the founders of the black nationalist movement. Garvey was a public speaker for black nationalism and pan-Africanism. Garvey believed that the black community would never achieve equality until it gained independence. In 1922 he was accused of mail fraud involving the Black Star Line. He was sentenced to five years in prison. In 1927 he was released from prison and deported to Jamaica. Garvey continued his political activism and UNIA work in Jamaica. As is evident, talking about freedom and justice was discouraged in the politically charged environment of the time and people who dared to do so were arrested and jailed.” While in prison, Garvey wrote a letter to his fellow members of the black community. He spoke of his sacrifice and the dangers he faced in the fight for equality. Assata Shakur is a New York-born freedom fighter and activist. She became a student activist and took part in rent strikes, anti-war demonstrations, and protested racial inequality. As a black radical and member of the Black Liberation Army, Shakur was targeted by the U.S. government and charged with three bank robberies and the kidnapping and murder of two drug dealers. Due to government mistreatment, she fled political persecution and was granted refuge in Cuba. Due to the US government's racism towards people of color, she was sentenced to prison for participating in the Black Liberation Movement, the student rights movement and the movement to end the Vietnam War. The government did everything in its power to criminalize it. She had been accused of a crime she didn't commit. During the trial, he read an opening statement on behalf of those who spoke out about the lack of justice and hardships the poor and black community faced. For starters, the similarities between Assata Shakur's “Opening Statement” and Marcus Garvey's “Letter From Atlanta Prison” both mentioned the prejudice and injustice that society treated people of color. In Shakur's transcript, she mentions sitting next to a pregnant woman while watching TV and seeing Nixon pardoned for thecrime committed. He declared: “the pardon of a president who had stolen a million dollars and who had been responsible for the deaths of thousands of human beings. For that? For peace with honor?" In other words, Nixon was pardoned without ever knowing prison. Nixon had been pardoned by President Gerald Ford to leave behind a tragic and earth-shattering scandal. After all, what about those people who are behind? bars for doing nothing? Are they pardoned? No. If you have money and a connection to power you can do anything, you can even buy people. Likewise, Garvey wrote, “today's civilization has gone mad with its power and thereby seeks through injustice, fraud and lies to crush the unfortunate.” For example, the people who hold state power are the ones who corrupt justice. They are the ones who have violated the law, making them suffer others commit crimes without even having to go to trial. Garvey and Shakur both indicate this in their statement and letter: the greater the power, the greater the crime, the greater the injustice, they corrupt the power of the people. Along the same lines, both sought to end discrimination and segregation against people of color, Shakur participated in the Black Liberation Movement and the student rights movement. Likewise, Garvey participated in the black nationalist movement. Both fought for what we call “equality”. Furthermore, another similarity between Assata Shakur's "Opening Statement" and Marcus Garvey's "Letter from Atlanta Jail" is that Garvey writes that he never gives up fighting for black freedom and independence even if he is been incarcerated. Similarly, Shakur spoke out about the government's mistreatment and abuse against black communities against racism, even though he was in prison, he had never stopped fighting for equality. Garvey addressed his letter to all blacks and vowed that once he was released from prison, he would continue to fight for freedom and equality, even his enemy would not be able to stop him. Similarly, Shakur also mentioned how the government, police, FBI, and CIA waged all-out war against individuals they considered activists or dissidents and especially against individuals they considered militants. An untold number of people were murdered or detained. Similarly, Shakur's “Opening Statement” and Garvey's letter spoke to what people think of black militancy. For example, some believed that the Black Liberation Army was an extremist organization, even though it was not. The Black Liberation movement was about fighting for equality and justice. People had lost their lives to racism and treated people of color as inferior. Comparing Assata Shakur's "Opening Statement" and Marcus Garvey's "Letter from Atlanta Jail," it becomes clear that Shakur focuses on what black communities were going through. when they express their political ideals while Garvey focuses on the good deed he personally did for the black community. For example, Shakur believed that there was justice in this country even though there wasn't and he also talked about people throughout American history who have been detained because of their political beliefs and accused of criminal acts. Those who challenged spoke out against the injustices committed in this nation, for the same reason the government jailed all those who spoke out for justice. While still, Garvey talked about everything he had to go through to fight for freedom: “Everything I have I gave to you. I sacrificed my home and.