Angela Davis
Angela Davis is an American political activist, philosopher, and author whose work examines race, gender, prisons, and Black liberation movements.
Black Panther Party: A Black revolutionary organization founded in Oakland in 1966 to oppose police brutality and build community programs. Davis became associated with the party during the movement’s rise and faced public scrutiny over that association.
Birmingham, Alabama: An Alabama city shaped by segregation and a major site of the civil rights struggle. Davis grew up in Birmingham amid racist violence and organized resistance.
Marxism: A tradition of social, economic, and political analysis derived from the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Davis uses Marxist analysis to connect racial oppression with class relations and capitalism.
Are Prisons Obsolete?: A 2003 book by Angela Davis arguing for prison abolition and alternatives to incarceration. It presents her most concise case for replacing prisons with other forms of justice and social support.
Soledad Brothers: Three Black prisoners charged with murdering a guard at California’s Soledad Prison in 1970. Davis’s support for the prisoners preceded the courtroom events that led to her arrest.
Communist Party USA: A political party founded in the United States in 1919, rooted in Marxism and labor organizing. Davis’s membership became a central issue in her dismissal from UCLA and later political disputes.
Brandeis University: A private research university in Massachusetts, founded in 1948. Davis studied philosophy at Brandeis, where Herbert Marcuse became a formative influence.
Abolitionism: A movement and body of thought seeking to end systems of enslavement or imprisonment. Davis’s prison critique draws on abolitionist traditions while extending them beyond slavery.
Women, Race & Class: A 1981 book by Angela Davis tracing the intertwined histories of race, gender, and class in the United States. The book demonstrates how historical analysis supports her account of linked systems of oppression.
Marin County Civic Center attack: A 1970 armed courthouse incident in California in which four people were killed during a hostage-taking. Guns registered to Davis were used in the attack, leading to charges and a nationwide manhunt.