Professor Jamal Joseph to Produce Afeni Shakur Biopic

Professor of Professional Practice Jamal Joseph is set to produce an upcoming biopic of Afeni Shakur, a prominent member of the Black Panther party, and late mother of legendary rapper Tupac.

The film, titled, Peace, Love & Respect, the Afeni Shakur/Panther 21 Story, is the first to have the full backing and approval of the Shakur estate. The film will span a pivotal two-year period––from April 2, 1969, when Shakur and 20 other Black Panthers were arrested and charged with conspiracy to bomb police stations in New York, through June 16, 1971, the day Tupac was born.

Professor Joseph has a personal connection with the project as he was one of the “Panther 21” arrested with Shakur, in 1969. Joseph has chronicled his involvement with the party in his gripping memoir, Panther Baby (Algonquin Books, 2012), set to be adapted into a drama with Starz. He is also the author of Tupac, Legacy (Simon & Schuster, 2006).

Jamal Joseph has written and directed for Black Starz, HBO, Fox TV, New Line Cinema, Warner Bros., and A&E. His produced screenplays include Ali: An American Hero (Fox), New York Undercover (Fox), Knights of the South Bronx (A&E), and The Many Trials of Tammy B. (Nickelodeon). He wrote and directed Drive By: A Love Story, Da Zone, and the docudrama Hughes Dreams Harlem for  Starz.  Joseph is currently co-executive producing and writing a dramatic musical for BET.  He is adapting his memoir, Panther Baby, into a feature screenplay which he will direct. Joseph is the author of Tupac, Legacy. He has also written the script for a Broadway musical based on the life of Tupac Shakur. He is the founder and artistic director of IMPACT, a Harlem-based youth theatre company, and executive director of New Heritage Films, a not-for-profit organization that provides training and opportunities for minority filmmakers.