*According to reports, Afeni Shakur-Davis the mother of Tupac Shakur died Monday night at age 69.
Shakur-Davis’s death was confirmed by the Marin County, Calif., Sheriff’s Office.
The Sheriff’s department says deputies responded to a report of possible cardiac arrest at 9:34 p.m. at Shakur-Davis’ home in Sausalto. Davis-Shakur was taken to a local hospital, where she died at 10:28 p.m.
Shakur-Davis vowed to keep her son’s memory alive after he was gunned down in the late 1990s.
Shakur, born Alice Faye Williams, changed her name when she moved to New York City and joined the Black Panther movement. She and other party members were arrested in 1969 and charged with conspiracy to bomb multiple, busy city landmarks.
In May 1971, she was acquitted on all charges — and she gave birth to Tupac just one month later.
She was the subject of his 1995 song “Dear Mama,” in which Tupac detailed his childhood struggles and respect for his mother.
“There’s no way I can pay you back/But the plan is to show you that I understand/You are appreciated,” he rapped.
In 2005, she opened the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation Center for the Arts on Memorial Drive in DeKalb County, an institution she hoped would include a performing arts theater, museum, art gallery, community meeting space and classrooms.
Shakur-Davis decided to locate the arts center in DeKalb because her son bought his first home here, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in 2005.
This is a developing story. Keep checking back for updates.
