History UsefulNotes / AngelaDavis

Angela Davis is seen by many to represent the spirit of the '60s and '70s.[[note]]Due in no small part to her distinctive natural hairstyle and her fashion sense, much to her chagrin.[[/note]] Her iconic status is due primarily to her embodiment of the ideal of a scholar-activist, a living example of Karl Marx's dictum "philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it." For Davis, her scholarship informed her political activism and vice versa. This naturally drew the ire of more conservative critics, many of whom believe that academia is no place for social activism (or ''activists'', for that matter).

Davis' most famous works include ''Women, Race, and Class'' and ''Are Prisons Obsolete?''. The former is a magisterial work on the racial and class-based biases that permeated the Women's Rights Movement. The latter is a collection of essays arguing for a full-scale abolition of the American prison system in favor of alternative forms of criminal punishment. Davis' latest work is ''Freedom is a Constant Struggle'', a study linking the movement against police brutality in Fergueson, Missouri and the Palestinian liberation movement.

Angela Davis' is seen by many to represent the spirit of the 60s and 70s.[[note]]Due in no small part to her distinctive natural hairstyle and her fashion sense, much to her chagrin.[[/note]] Her iconic status is due primarily to her embodiment of the ideal of a scholar-activist, a living example of Karl Marx's dictum "philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it." For Davis, her scholarship informed her political activism and vice versa. This naturally drew the ire of more conservative critics, many of whom believe that academia is no place for social activism (or ''activists'', for that matter).

After finishing her doctoral studies under Marcuse in San Diego, Davis was offered a professorship at UCLA's philosophy department. UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan, then-governor of California, attempted to block this appointment because of her association with the Communist Party and the Black Panther Party, but failed after Davis sued the Board of Regents. It was at UCLA that she would make a name for herself as a scholar of black feminism and critical theory, as well as an activist. She became a fugitive when it was discovered that she had purchased firearms for a Black teenager who went on to kidnap and murder a Marin County judge, making her the third woman ever placed on the FBI's Most Wanted List (after the murderers Ruth Eisemann-Schier and Marie Dean Arrington). She was eventually captured and put on trial before an all-white jury. A massive national movement was formed to secure her release and pay for her legal defense, while Davis herself maintained her innocence. Shocking the entire country, the jury acquitted Davis of all charges.

After finishing her doctoral studies under Marcuse in San Diego, Davis was offered a professorship at UCLA's philosophy department. Then governor of California, UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan attempted to block this appointment because of her association with the Communist Party and the Black Panther Party, but failed after Davis sued the Board of Regents. It was here that Davis would make a name for herself as a scholar of black feminism and critical theory, as well as an activist. She became a fugitive when it was discovered that she had helped a black defendant take a courthouse hostage, making her the third woman ever placed on the FBI's Most Wanted List (after the murderers Ruth Eisemann-Schier and Marie Dean Arrington). She was eventually captured and put on trial before an all-white jury. A massive movement was formed to secure her release and pay for her legal defense, and Davis maintained her innocence. Shocking the entire country, the jury acquitted Davis of all charges.

Angela Yvonne Davis [[note]]Nowadays usually called Angela Y. Davis to differentiate her from the legal scholar Angela J. Davis[[/note]] is an American political activist and scholar in the fields of race, gender, and politics. She is considered a counterculture icon and is regarded with saint-like reverence amongst leftist circles, both for her political activities in the 60s and 70s, and her continued scholarship in the modern day.

Born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1944, Davis grew up in the shadow of anti-Black violence and segregation. Davis showed an affinity for politics from a very early age, marching and organizing against segregated facilities and getting involved with the American Communist Party all before she finished high school. A truly gifted student, Davis won a scholarship to study French Literature at Brandeis University, but later switched her interests to philosophy -- Marxism in particular -- after being exposed to the works of Creator/JeanPaulSartre. To that end, the premier social philosopher Herbert Marcuse took her under his wing. This would be her introduction to Critical Theory, a field in which she would become an expert. Throughout her studies, she continued her association with the Communists, but never formally joined, as she felt patronized by the organization. She also witnessed lectures by the likes of Creator/JamesBaldwin and UsefulNotes/MalcolmX, which inspired her to think more deeply about issues of race in America.

After graduating, Davis undertook doctoral studies in Germany to pursue her newfound interest in philosophy. She became further influenced by the strong student socialist movement in Western Germany, and furthered her study of social philosophy under the Neo-Marxist Theodor Adorno. During her studies in Germany, the Black Liberation Movement was in full swing in America: The Black Panther Party had formed in the wake of the assassination of UsefulNotes/MartinLutherKingJr, The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee had come under the influence of the fiery Black Power advocate Stokley Carmichael, and the Congress of Racial Equality had shifted its focus to Black Nationalism. These events caused Davis to leave Germany before her doctorate was complete so that she could join the struggle back home.

Davis quickly found herself disappointed with what she perceived as the overly-sentimental nature of the Black Power movement. She found that most rejected Marxism out-of-hand as a "white man's thing", and too many were content to vent their anger at white society without offering a way forward. She also found the cultural nationalism of certain organizations to be superficial disguises for accommodation with white supremacy. Davis was, however, impressed by the Black Panther Party and, along with the all-Black branch of the Communist Party, this more or less became her political home.

[[caption-width-right:300:''"We have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society"'']]

->''"It is both humiliating and humbling to discover that a single generation after the events that constructed me as a public personality, I am remembered as a hairdo

[[caption-width-right:300:"''It is both humiliating and humbling to discover that a single generation after the events that constructed me as a public personality, I am remembered as a hairdo.''"]]

->''We have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society.''

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/018_angela_davis_theredlist.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"''It is both humiliating and humbling to discover that a single generation after the events that constructed me as a public personality, I am remembered as a hairdo.''"]]

'''Angela Yvonne Davis''' [[note]]Nowadays usually called Angela Y. Davis to differentiate her from the legal scholar Angela J. Davis[[/note]] is an American political activist and scholar in the fields of race, gender, and politics. She is considered a counterculture icon and is regarded with saint-like reverence amongst leftist circles, both for her political activities in the 60s and 70s, and her continued scholarship in the modern day.

[[caption-width-right:350:"''It is both humiliating and humbling to discover that a single generation after the events that constructed me as a public personality, I am remembered [[FunnyAfro as a hairdo]].''"]]

Angela Davis' is seen by many to represent the spirit of the 60s and 70s.[[note]]Due in no small part to her distinctive natural hairstyle and her fashion sense, much to her chagrin.[[/note]] Her iconic status is due primarily to her embodiment of the ideal of a scholar-activist, a living example of Karl Marx's dictum "philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it." For Davis, her scholarship informed her political activism and vice versa. This naturally drew the ire of more conservative critics, many of whom believe that academia is no place for social activism (or ''activists'', for that matter.

-->''We have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society.''

''We have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society.''

Angela Davis' is seen by many to represent the spirit of the 60s and 70s. Her iconic status is due primarily to her embodiment of the ideal of a scholar-activist, a living example of Karl Marx's dictum "philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it." For Davis, her scholarship informed her political activism and vice versa. This naturally drew the ire of more conservative critics, many of whom believe that academia is no place for social activism (or ''activists'', for that matter.

After finishing her doctoral studies under Marcuse in San Diego, Davis was offered a professorship at UCLA's philosophy department. Then governor of California, UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan attempted to block this appointment because of her association with the Communist Party and the Black Panther Party, but failed after Davis sued the Board of Regents. It was here that Davis would make a name for herself as a scholar of radical feminism and critical theory, as well as a scholar-activist. She became a fugitive when it was discovered that she had helped a black defendant take a courthouse hostage, making her the third woman ever placed on the FBI's Most Wanted List (after the murderers Ruth Eisemann-Schier and Marie Dean Arrington). She was eventually captured and put on trial before an all-white jury. A massive movement was formed to secure her release and pay for her legal defense, and Davis maintained her innocence. Shocking the entire country, the jury acquitted Davis of all charges.

[[caption-width-right:350:It is both humiliating and humbling to discover that a single generation after the events that constructed me as a public personality, I am remembered [[FunnyAfro as a hairdo]].]]