“We are hungry please let us in, we are hungry please let us in,” a quote from Tupac Shakur poignantly explains the birth of more radical revolutionary movements. The U.S. Department of Justice defines The Black Liberation Army (BLA) as an urban guerrilla group closely patterned after the principles of Carlos Marighella. The BLA emerged in the 1970s as one of the most radical and uncompromising forces in the Black freedom struggle. Born from the repression of the Black Panther Party, the BLA was a direct response to police violence, systemic racism, and the unyielding war the U.S. government waged against Black revolutionaries. Emerging from the repression of the Black Panther Party – After the FBI’s COINTELPRO program waged war on the Panthers, assassinating leaders like Fred Hampton and forcing others into exile or imprisonment, some members refused to surrender. The BLA took the fight underground. The U.S. government responded with ruthless repression. The BLA was labeled a terrorist organization, and law enforcement dedicated entire task forces to dismantling its cells. Many members were killed or arrested. From Assata Shakur, Mutulu Shakur, to Sundiata Acoli to Jalil Muntaqim. Dead or in jail. Again in the poignant words of Tupac Shakur, "You're hungry. You reached your level…we was asking with The Panthers...now those people that were all asking they're dead or in jail. Now what do you think we're gonna do?...Ask?"