It's Notes from America, I'm Kai Wright.

In our show last week, we had a conversation about guns and fear.

There is a recurring theme in stories about anti-black violence, whether it's the kind of police

violence that killed George Floyd or the vigilante violence that was directed at Ralph Yarl.

Over and over, we hear about a deep irrational fear of blackness.

In our conversation last week, we also talked about the fact that at points in our history,

black people have responded to this fear by arming ourselves as well.

For as long as black people have been in these United States, there have been thinkers and leaders

and movements saying, hey, you know, at minimum, we have got to defend ourselves against this madness.

We need guns too. The outcome has been complicated.

And this week, we're thinking about one particularly complicated story in the history of black

self-defense movements. 50 years ago, in May 1973, three black activists were pulled over by

state troopers on the New Jersey turnpike. Tragically, guns were fired and people were killed.

And the aftermath, which we have to say is ongoing, really, one of the black activists involved,

Asada Shakur became a cultural icon to many and and enduring political villain for others.

My WNYC colleagues, Nancy Solomon and Tracy Hunt have been looking at this moment in our history

and at the many unanswered questions it raises. And they're going to share their reporting with us.

Nancy sets the seat.

We start with what we know about that night. On May 2, 1973, Shakur and two other members

of the Black Liberation Army are driving a 65 Pontiac south on the New Jersey turnpike.

State Trooper James Harper stops them for a broken tail light. Another State Trooper,

Warner Forester, backs him up. Shots are fired. The passenger in the back seat is fatally wounded.

...