Angela Yvonne Davis is an activist, a face of feminism, and an advocate for American political reforms. She constructs her political opinions from Marxism (political thought created by philosopher Karl Marx, which focused on fixing the unjust labor society brought by capitalism) and Socialism (which focuses on equal opportunity and opposes private property ownership). Angela was born on January 26, 1944, in Birmingham, Alabama. From a very young age, she was exposed to activism and racism due to her living on “Dynamite Hill,” a middle-class black neighborhood marked as a bombing site to drive out the African-American population by white supremacists. Even though her early life might have been rough, it shaped her into who she was.
Davis was a woman of many different traits and interests. She critiqued systemic issues within the female community along with the LGBTQ+ community. She was an avid member of multiple abolition movements, including the Black Panthers Party, the communist party USA, and others. She tried her best to inform the public about racial equality, equality of capitalism, and prison reformation. She called the prison system the “prison-industrial complex” and was the founder of the Critical Resistance and National Grassroots Foundation, which both aimed to abolish the US prison system. Her outspoken criticism and origination efforts attracted harsh criticism and firm support, resulting in her becoming a nationalist.
Davis was accused of taking part in an escape attempt during George Jackson’s trial. Media and rumors surrounded her, saying she was in love with Jackson, which was false. She later came out as a lesbian after being released from jail and faced oppression from the media against the LGBTQ, black, and female communities. After she was put in prison due to her involvement with the shooting during the trial, the media transformed her profile from a “noble scholar to an international symbol of resistance” (George 1). The portraits or photos of her during the 70s show a stern, challenging look. She represented wisdom and revolution.
Richard Nixon, the then President of our nation, announced to the public after Angela’s arrest that “the dangerous terrorist Angela Davis” had been detained. The President of the United States, the leading political figure in our country, openly called Angela Davis a terrorist. President Nixon had always been vocal about his dislike of Davis, and the same was true of Davis to Nixon. Davis called any black citizen who voted for Nixon “a traitor,” instead telling her audience to vote for the Communist party, which was quickly on the rise during that time. Many hated her because media and personal opinion prevented anyone from seeing the truth of her words, but Nixon’s thoughts on her were not the only problem. He had a significant impact on her public image, but aside from that, her being a vocal member of the Communist and CCDS parties made her a suspect in the eyes of almost all US government. Even with the hate from government officials, Davis still had a large citizen base. She was able to get out of jail due to protests from both her parties rallying forces together to rebel against her arrest and have her released.
