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The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) mourned the death of a convicted murderer on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list in an X post Friday.
“Rest in Power, Rest in Peace, Assata Shakur,” the CTU’s post read. “Today we honor the life and legacy of a revolutionary fighter, a fierce writer, a revered elder of Black liberation, and a leader of freedom whose spirit continues to live in our struggle.”
The post added, “Assata refused to be silenced. She taught us that ‘It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.’”
Cuban officials announced Friday that Shakur, who was born JoAnne Deborah Byron and was also known as Joanne Chesimard, died in Havana decades after escaping prison and fleeing to the communist nation.
In 1977, Shakur was convicted of the murder of State Trooper Werner Foerster during a 1973 shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike. Foerster left behind a wife and 3-year-old son. She escaped from prison in 1979 and lived underground before surfacing in Cuba in 1984.
The FBI and the New Jersey attorney general each offered a $1 million reward for her capture.
Corey DeAngelis, a senior fellow at the American Culture Project and a visiting fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research, responded to the post with a single sentence on Shakur’s history.
“It’s almost like the Chicago Teachers Union is trying to alienate reasonable members and win an award for the most unhinged organization on Earth,” DeAngelis told Fox News Digital on Saturday. “This post should be a wake-up call to Chicago teachers who don’t feel like their values are accurately represented by the union.”
“It’s beyond parody. The Chicago Teachers Union, which is supposed to be responsible for educating kids, is honoring a convicted murderer using its official social media account,” DeAngelis added.
The CTU has a history of taking controversial stances and issuing strongly worded statements. The union has voiced its opposition to increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity, as well as the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard troops to U.S. cities.
Earlier this month, the CTU participated in a boycott of Target. The union said the retailer rolled back “its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion” and was complicit “with white supremacy.”
“As President Davis Gates reminds us: this retreat by Target sends a dangerous signal to those who seek to erase the dignity and safety of our students, families, and classrooms,” CTU wrote in a post on X.
In June, while delivering a speech at the City Club of Chicago, CTU President Stacy Davis Gates said the union “thinks your children are its children.”
When speaking to Fox News Digital, DeAngelis urged “rational educators who just want to do their job” to “stop giving union bosses like Stacy Davis Gates their hard-earned paychecks by opting out.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the CTU for comment on Saturday but did not immediately hear back.
Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace and Andrew Murray contributed to this report.
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