Angela Davis(I)
- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Angela Davis was born on January 26, 1944, in Birmingham, Alabama. Her
both parents were college graduates and worked as school teachers. Her
brother, named Ben Davis, played for the Cleveland Browns and Detroit
Lions in the 60s and 70s. Young Angela chose to attend a small private
school known as the 'Little Red School House' in Greenwich Village in
New York City. There she got involved in studies of socialism and
communism and befriended the children of the leaders of the Communist
Party, including her lifelong friend, Bettina Aptheker.
Angela Davis was awarded a full scholarship to Brandeis University in
Massachusetts, where she met German-American philosopher Herbert Marcuse, later
becoming his student at UCSD. Together with Herbert Marcuse she participated in
a political rally during the Cuban Missile Crisis. At that time she
studied Karl Marx, Albert Camus, and Jean-Paul Sartre, and spent summer in Paris and
Helsinki, where she participated in the World Festival of Youth and
Students. There Davis met with the Cuban students and became a
supporter of Fidel Castro and Cuba. Then she continued her studies at
the University of Frankfurt, Germany for 2 years, from where she
graduated in 1965.
Davis returned to East Germany for her Ph. D. in philosophy from
Humboldt University in East Berlin. Back in California she worked as a
lecturer at UCLA during the 60s. At that time Davis was a radical
feminist and a member of the Communist Party USA and was also
associated with the Black Panther Party. She was fired from University
of California in 1969, in a controversial decision by the Board, pushed
by then Governor Ronald Reagan. She was later rehired to her job.
In 1970, Angela Davis appeared on the FBI's Most Wanted List. She was
able to evade the police for 2 months before being arrested. She spent
18 months in the Women's Detention Center in New York awaiting the
trial. In 1972 John Lennon and Yoko Ono supported her with their song
"Angela" and Rolling Stones recorded their song "Sweet Black Angel"
advocating her release. She was tried and acquitted of all charges.
During the Cold War she was hosted by the Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. Her
name and image were abused by the Soviet propaganda; she was taken to
schools, factories, collective farms, where she was shown as a victim
of "capitalism" to poor Russian victims of socialism. She was tightly
controlled by the agents and interpreters, who were twisting the
translation of her liberal words. Witty Russian dissidents also
demanded equality and rights to travel to her country's prisons. Davis
refused to meet with the real Russian political prisoners.
Angela Davis ran for Vice President of the United States as a candidate
from the Communist Party USA in 1980 and 1984 along with the Communist
Party leader Gus Hall.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, a survivor of the Stalin's Gulag prisons, commented: "Angela
Davis was set free, as you know. Although she didn't have too difficult
a time in this country's jails, she came to recuperate in Soviet
resorts. Some Soviet dissidents, but more important, a group of Czech
dissidents, addressed an appeal to her: "Comrade Davis, you were in
prison. You know how unpleasant it is to sit in prison, especially when
you consider yourself innocent. You have such great authority now.
Could you help our Czech prisoners? Could you stand up for those people
in Czechoslovakia who are being persecuted by the state?" Angela Davis
answered: "They deserve what they get. Let them remain in prison. That
is the face of Communism. That is the heart of Communism for you."
Angela Davis opposed the 1995 Million Men March because, in her view it
promoted male chauvinism. She is currently the Presidential Chair and
Professor with the History of Consciousness Department at the
University of California, Santa Cruz campus. She is also director of
the Feminist Studies department. She stands against the Death Penalty
in California and remains a prominent Abolitionist.
both parents were college graduates and worked as school teachers. Her
brother, named Ben Davis, played for the Cleveland Browns and Detroit
Lions in the 60s and 70s. Young Angela chose to attend a small private
school known as the 'Little Red School House' in Greenwich Village in
New York City. There she got involved in studies of socialism and
communism and befriended the children of the leaders of the Communist
Party, including her lifelong friend, Bettina Aptheker.
Angela Davis was awarded a full scholarship to Brandeis University in
Massachusetts, where she met German-American philosopher Herbert Marcuse, later
becoming his student at UCSD. Together with Herbert Marcuse she participated in
a political rally during the Cuban Missile Crisis. At that time she
studied Karl Marx, Albert Camus, and Jean-Paul Sartre, and spent summer in Paris and
Helsinki, where she participated in the World Festival of Youth and
Students. There Davis met with the Cuban students and became a
supporter of Fidel Castro and Cuba. Then she continued her studies at
the University of Frankfurt, Germany for 2 years, from where she
graduated in 1965.
Davis returned to East Germany for her Ph. D. in philosophy from
Humboldt University in East Berlin. Back in California she worked as a
lecturer at UCLA during the 60s. At that time Davis was a radical
feminist and a member of the Communist Party USA and was also
associated with the Black Panther Party. She was fired from University
of California in 1969, in a controversial decision by the Board, pushed
by then Governor Ronald Reagan. She was later rehired to her job.
In 1970, Angela Davis appeared on the FBI's Most Wanted List. She was
able to evade the police for 2 months before being arrested. She spent
18 months in the Women's Detention Center in New York awaiting the
trial. In 1972 John Lennon and Yoko Ono supported her with their song
"Angela" and Rolling Stones recorded their song "Sweet Black Angel"
advocating her release. She was tried and acquitted of all charges.
During the Cold War she was hosted by the Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. Her
name and image were abused by the Soviet propaganda; she was taken to
schools, factories, collective farms, where she was shown as a victim
of "capitalism" to poor Russian victims of socialism. She was tightly
controlled by the agents and interpreters, who were twisting the
translation of her liberal words. Witty Russian dissidents also
demanded equality and rights to travel to her country's prisons. Davis
refused to meet with the real Russian political prisoners.
Angela Davis ran for Vice President of the United States as a candidate
from the Communist Party USA in 1980 and 1984 along with the Communist
Party leader Gus Hall.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, a survivor of the Stalin's Gulag prisons, commented: "Angela
Davis was set free, as you know. Although she didn't have too difficult
a time in this country's jails, she came to recuperate in Soviet
resorts. Some Soviet dissidents, but more important, a group of Czech
dissidents, addressed an appeal to her: "Comrade Davis, you were in
prison. You know how unpleasant it is to sit in prison, especially when
you consider yourself innocent. You have such great authority now.
Could you help our Czech prisoners? Could you stand up for those people
in Czechoslovakia who are being persecuted by the state?" Angela Davis
answered: "They deserve what they get. Let them remain in prison. That
is the face of Communism. That is the heart of Communism for you."
Angela Davis opposed the 1995 Million Men March because, in her view it
promoted male chauvinism. She is currently the Presidential Chair and
Professor with the History of Consciousness Department at the
University of California, Santa Cruz campus. She is also director of
the Feminist Studies department. She stands against the Death Penalty
in California and remains a prominent Abolitionist.