It’s often said God will know His own. So too do Americans leftists, including Democrats, politicians, revolutionaries, idiots, criminals and teacher unions know their own. There is, of course, no reason all those accolades cannot reside in a single human body. Among those they know and venerate was Joanne Chesimard, AKA Assata Shakur. “Was” because she’s dead. She had long earned a place on the FBI’s Most Wanted list:

Graphic: X Post

“Joanne Chesimard is wanted for escaping from prison in Clinton, New Jersey, while serving a life sentence for murder. On May 2, 1973, Chesimard, who was part of a revolutionary extremist organization known as the Black Liberation Army, and two accomplices were stopped for a motor vehicle violation on the New Jersey Turnpike by two troopers with the New Jersey State Police. At the time, Chesimard was wanted for her involvement in several felonies, including bank robbery. Chesimard and her accomplices opened fire on the troopers. One trooper was wounded and the other was shot and killed execution-style at point-blank range. Chesimard fled the scene, but was subsequently apprehended. One of her accomplices was killed in the shoot-out and the other was also apprehended and remains in jail. In 1977, Chesimard was found guilty of first degree murder, assault and battery of a police officer, assault with a dangerous weapon, assault with intent to kill, illegal possession of a weapon, and armed robbery. She was sentenced to life in prison. On November 2, 1979, Chesimard escaped from prison and lived underground before being located in Cuba in 1984. She is thought to currently still be living in Cuba.”

And so she was until she died in Cuba on 09-25-25.

Democrats have long demonstrated their anti-America, anti-law and order sympathies by praising the most depraved among us. Joanne Chesimard and other black “revolutionaries” were early social justice saints before social justice was cool. She was followed by unholy social justice martyrs like Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and George Floyd. And now we live in a time when one can no longer assume our fellow citizens see themselves as Americans, nor that they believe murder, particularly political assassination, is a bad thing.

And why, pray tell, would a teacher union involve itself with anything other than education policy? It’s an inevitable progression. Begin with advocating for the rights of teachers with the assumption that what’s good for them is of necessity good for their students. As that assumption fades all that matters is less accountability for teachers and ever-increasing money and power for teacher union executives. Combine that with urban Democrat politics where Democrats give the unions whatever they want and in return, unions fill their campaign coffers and unions become extensions of the farthest left reaches of the Party—Democrat and Communist.

Graphic: X Post

Chicago is a perfect fit for union corruption and crime, so of course a murderer like Chesimard would be a Chicago Teacher Union saint. Rather than modeling the essential virtues of western civilization for children, Chicago’s Teacher Union does the opposite. Its teachers apparently don’t show their charges honesty, responsibility, decency, civic virtue, kindness and tolerance of others. Instead, they’re the barbarians inside the gates, exalting drug addicts, petty thugs, violent criminals and murderers. They’re angry, eternally aggrieved and prickly, ready to strike out—figuratively and actually—at real or imagined slights. Their results show it:

Graphic: X Post

Teachers used to be focused on educating kids, on ensuring they had the social graces, common civic understanding and intellectual capacity to become productive, taxpaying citizens. By “remembering the life & legacy of Assata Shakur,” the CTU has conclusively demonstrated its priorities and mission are focused on destruction, not building children’s lives and their nation.

Become a subscriber and get our weekly, Friday newsletter with unique content from our editors. These essays alone are worth the cost of the subscription. 

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.