Jada Pinkett-Smith Remembers Afeni Shakur

Tupac and Jada Pinkett-Smith were close friends, so it only made sense that she was fond of the rapper’s mother as well. In the wake of Afeni Shakur‘s sudden passing, Jada wrote an open letter in commemoration. Read it below:

“Today I woke up to the news that Afeni had passed. My first thought was of Sekyiwa and the entire clan that loved Afeni. Then I remembered that I was in NY to attend a Mother’s Day event named after a song written about Afeni, Dear Mama. My heart tightened and then all kinds of memories flooded in. I quickly remembered how calm Afeni was especially during any crisis. She always had a way of making me believe all would be well.

But my fondest memories of Afeni was spending time with her at Jasmine Guy’s house as Jasmine was writing Afeni’s book. Tupac had passed, and now I was a business woman, wife, and a mother and we could talk real and I mean really real. I got to see where Pac got his passion, his ideals for equality and justice but most of all his depth of thinking. Afeni was a giant in her own right. Today she is reunited with her son and Sekyiwa has two majestic angels to look after her. One for each shoulder. Rest in peace Afeni, and give Pac a hug and a kiss from me.”