William "Billy" Garland (born August 5, 1949) is an American former member of the Marxist–Leninist and

black power Black power is a list of political slogans, political slogan and a name which is given to various associated ideologies which aim to achieve self-determination for black people. It is primarily, but not exclusively, used in the United States b ...

political organization

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newto ...

(BPP) and the biological father of rap icon

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

Biography

Garland was born in New Jersey, the second oldest of six kids to his mother, Eloise Marie Barnes Garland, who died when Garland was only six years of age. During his childhood he lived in various cities around

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

and in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

before settling in

Somerville Somerville may refer to: Places Australia *Somerville, Victoria, a town **Somerville railway station * Somerville, Western Australia, a suburb of Kalgoorlie, Australia New Zealand * Somerville, New Zealand, a suburb of Manukau City, New Zea ...

. While attending Somerville High School, he became a star athlete on the school's basketball team. Garland would later enroll in community college but dropped out to join the newly established Jersey City chapter of the

after the assassination of

Martin Luther King Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights movement from 1955 until his a ...

Role in the Black Panther Party

In 1970,

Bashir Hameed Bashir Hameed (born James Dixon York on December 1, 1940; died August 30, 2008) was a member of the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army. York was born December 1, 1940, in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth, New Jersey. It was in 196 ...

appointed Garland as the defense captain for the

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

chapter of the

. His role was to check-in with other east coast chapters and organize meetings.

Relationship with Afeni Shakur and Tupac

Shortly after moving up the ranks in the BPP, he met

Afeni Shakur Afeni Shakur Davis (born Alice Faye Williams; January 10, 1947 – May 2, 2016) was an American political activist and member of the Black Panther Party. Shakur was the mother of rapper Tupac Shakur and the executor of his estate. She founded th ...

, who was also a high-ranking member in the party in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The two dated for a while and eventually broke up. Garland later found out she was pregnant with

during the

Panther 21 The Panther 21 is a group of twenty-one Black Panther Party, Black Panther members who were arrested and accused of planned coordinated bombing and long-range rifle attacks on two police stations and an education office in New York City in 1969, ...

trial. Garland then learned he was the biological father after Tupac was born in 1971. He remained in Tupac's life until 1976; at that time, he lost contact with Afeni completely. For the next three years he tried to track down Afeni but gave up. Afterwards Garland would get married and distance himself from the party to raise his family in

. In 1991 Garland would notice Tupac after seeing him on a poster for the movie ''

Juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or Cold-pressed juice, pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat ...

''. It was the first time seeing Tupac in 15 years. However, Garland would reconnect with Tupac following the 1994 Quad Studios shooting while Tupac was at

Bellevue Hospital Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States ...

. The two's relationship would build with Garland being by his side during his recovery up until he was sent to prison. While Shakur was incarcerated at Clinton Prison in Dannemora, Garland made frequent visits, where they formed a close bond with Tupac meeting Garland's wife. When Tupac was released, the two kept in contact but could not get the time to spend with each other due to Tupac's busy work schedule. After Tupac was shot on September 7, 1996, Garland flew out the next morning from New Jersey to

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

to be there for him. Tupac died on the September 13, 6 days after the shooting. Afeni listed Garland as deceased, which left her in charge of Tupac's estate. In 1997, Garland would sue Afeni over Tupac's estate but was denied a share, with Afeni claiming that Garland was an absentee father who contributed little to Tupac's upbringing. She then ordered a DNA test, which proved that Garland was indeed the biological father of Tupac. In 2023, Garland was featured in Hulu's ''

Dear Mama "Dear Mama" is a song by American rapper 2Pac from his third studio album, '' Me Against the World'' (1995). It was released on February 21, 1995, as the lead single from the album. The song is a tribute to his mother, Afeni Shakur. In the song ...

'' docuseries directed by Allen Hughes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garland, Billy 1949 births African-American activists American activists Members of the Black Panther Party Shakur family Living people