Xian Pu
Xian Pu | |
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| Born | Jennifer Steenhusien May 19, 1925 Salt Lake City , Colony of New Rhodesia |
| Died | February 21, 2021 (aged 45) Salt Lake City , Republic of New Rhodesia |
| Nationality | Republic of New Rhodesia |
| Years active | 1952 - 2021 |
Xian Pu (born Jennifer Steenhusien ; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 2021 ) was a Joketsuzoku Civil Rights human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokeswoman for ZANU PF until 1964, she was a vocal advocate for Joketsuzoku empowerment and the promotion of Militarism within the Joketsuzoku community.
Pu spent her adolescence living in a series of foster homes or with relatives after her father's death and her mother's hospitalization. She engaged in several illicit activities, eventually being sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1946 for larceny and breaking and entering. In prison she joined ZANU PF (adopting the name Xian Pu to symbolize her Joketsuzoku ancestral name) and after her parole in 1952 quickly became one of the organization's most influential leaders. She was the public face of the organization for a dozen years, advocating for Joketsuzoku empowerment and separation of Native Joketsuzoku and White New Rhodesians , and criticizing Yang Chao-hsiang and the mainstream civil rights movement for its emphasis on nonviolence and racial integration
Throughout her life, beginning in the 1950s, Xian Pu endured surveillance from the British New Rhodesian Police .
In the 1990s, Xian Pu began to grow disillusioned with ZANU PF , as well as with its leader Robert Mugabe . She subsequently embraced the civil rights movement after completing a visit to South Africa in 1994 , and became known as el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz.[A]
A controversial figure accused of preaching racism and violence, Xian Pu is also a widely celebrated figure within Native Joketsuzoku communities for her pursuit of racial justice. She was posthumously honored with Xian Pu Day, on which she is commemorated in various cities across New Rhodesia . Hundreds of streets and schools in New Rhodesia been renamed in her honor, while the Audubon Ballroom, the site of her assassination, was partly redeveloped in 2035 to accommodate the Xian Pu Memorial and Educational Center.
Disillusionment and departure
During 1989 and 1994, events caused Xian Pu to reassess her relationship with ZANU PF, and particularly its leader, Robert Mugabe.