Angela Davis: Speaking Out!

Every year Willamette University uses MLK Day as an opportunity to not only reflect upon the life and legacy of an incredible civil rights activist, but also promote school wide community service, and address social justice issues, such as racism and poverty, in the format of current times.

Thus, Willamette University invited advocate and scholar Angela Davis to the stage to speak in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a man who would have reached the ripe wise age of 82 this year, if he hadn't been assassinated over four decades ago. It's hard to imagine a nation without the leadership of Dr. King, but its the work of Angela Davis and other organizers that greatly contributed to catalyzing the United States into action.

An outspoken character, Angela Davis had alot to say Friday night as she took the stage in front of a packed auditorium full of Willamette students and faculty, the Salem community, and even individuals traveling from neighboring states. And like many activists, she told her story:

Associated with the Communist Party, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Black Panther Party, Angela Davis became a prominent figure in the American consciousness during a time of social revolution. While a Professor of Philosophy at UCLA, Angela Davis walked the picket line and voiced dangerous ideas regarding black struggle, female empowerment, and economic independence. While inspiring to some, Angela Davis' actions caused Governor Ronald Reagan to request in 1969 to have her barred from teaching at any university in the State of California. Additionally, she was tried and acquitted of suspected involvement in the Soledad Brothers' August 1970 abduction and murder of Judge Harold Haley...but only after spending 16 months in jail while awaiting trial. For her efforts, Angela Davis even graced the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted List". In the 1980s, she was the Vice-Presidential candidate for the Communist party ticket, and as the 1990s unfolded, Angela Davis transitioned from party communism to other forms of political/social activism.

Angela's Thoughts - Speech Highlights, January 22, 2011
Consequences of iconizing black figures in power. Martin Luther King's significance is shrinking into a minuscule sound byte, who's words of worth are deteriorating in response to the oversimplification of his ideas. Sure, "I have a dream" is a great speech...but how about listening to his "Beyond Vietnam, Breaking the Silence" speech in which he was one of the first to speak out about the atrocities of nationalism, racism, and war.  

Criminalization of race and the woes of a capitalistic imprisonment system. U.S. imprisonment remains the dominant form of dealing with illegalities. Considered a "democratic form" of punishment and a "kind" alternative to capital punishment, Angela Davis argues that the U.S. criminal justice system presents a strange merger of capitalism and democracy...a merger that also takes advantage of the most vulnerable populations, including minorities, people of color, and the poor.

Interconnectedness of all individuals. From Europe to South America, the United States to Africa, globalization is bringing the world together in more intimate conditions of dependency. Recounting her experiences in Colombia, Angela Davis reminded the audience that the struggle for justice is thus forever unending. The "Green Desert" is just one example of Western modern imperialism, in which a small town no longer grows its own food in order to grow sugarcane. Apparently, the demand for sugarcane has increased exponentially since bio-fuel became a popular means of wealthy Westerners clearing their carbon footprint conscience. Angela Davis warned that there are inherent consequences that change the quality of life for marginalized populations around the world for the luxury of choice for the privileged few..

Overall, the main thing that struck me about Angela Davis, was her appeal to "learn to dwell within the contradiction...that one explanation does not rule out the other" and that "learning to hold ideas in tension, is learning that in thinking complexly, there are no mutually exclusive realities."

A fascinating statement from a woman with so many of her own opinions...but a necessary and important statement nonetheless that reminds us that "justice is indivisible" - perhaps a more comprehensive sound-byte in the struggle for racial and gender justice worldwide.

The World Women Live In

So, here I am.
A young woman, enrolled in a Transnational Feminisms course.
Having traveled extensively throughout the world.
Seeing how women of various cultures, languages, and traditions live.
Seeing how they are expected to live
Having studied the history of the United States
Seeing how women of color are treated
Seeing how my life, as a woman of privilege, has been different
But finding commonality in life because we continue to be defined by our sex


And yet also realizing that things are better than they used to be.
And realizing how much has changed (and continues to change) in society due to pioneers.
Pioneers and activists who have breasts AND brains.
Its a refreshing reality. A story that should be told more.
A story that also demands more chapters
For the untold stories to be told.
The unheard voices to be listened to and respected.


What does it mean to be a woman?
How does that connect me with other women worldwide?
What responsibilities come with this new knowledge? What acts of solidarity?
And what is this idea of feminism, this construction of resistance, that prompts images of bra burnings and social upheaval?


Here are some quotes I've collected to demonstrate what narratives swirl around the Feminist Mystique:


"[Feminism is] a socialist, anti-family, political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians."  -Pat Robertson

The emotional, sexual, and psychological stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says, "It's a girl."  ~Shirley Chisholm


Women's chains have been forged by men, not by anatomy.  ~Estelle R. Ramey

I asked a Burmese why women, after centuries of following their men, now walk ahead.  He said there were many unexploded land mines since the war.  ~Robert Mueller

Why is it that men can be bastards and women must wear pearls and smile?  ~Lynn Hecht Schafren

Men weren't really the enemy - they were fellow victims suffering from an outmoded masculine mystique that made them feel unnecessarily inadequate when there were no bears to kill.  ~Betty Friedan

You don't have to be anti-man to be pro-woman.  ~Jane Galvin Lewis

Women are the only oppressed group in our society that lives in intimate association with their opressors.  ~Evelyn Cunningham

I would have girls regard themselves not as adjectives but as nouns.  ~Elizabeth Cady Stanton

To tell a woman everything she may not do is to tell her what she can do.  ~Spanish Proverb

Women are not inherently passive or peaceful.  We're not inherently anything but human.  ~Robin Morgan

I've yet to be on a campus where most women weren't worrying about some aspect of combining marriage, children, and a career.  I've yet to find one where many men were worrying about the same thing.  ~Gloria Steinem

I am working for the time when unqualified blacks, browns, and women join the unqualified men in running our government.  ~Cissy Farenthold

I do not wish women to have power over men, but over themselves.  ~Mary Wollstonecraft

There are very few jobs that actually require a penis or vagina.  All other jobs should be open to everybody.  ~Florynce Kennedy