Moment of Truth with Ami Chen Mills
Moment of Truth with Ami Chen Mills
Angela Davis on the Road Ahead
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Moment of Truth is thrilled to have aired this interview with Angela Davis, originally sponsored by the national group Showing Up for Racial Justice live, on Jan. 16 and titled: “Our Work in the Days Ahead.” This interview is followed by a conversation with Kathy Foss of Santa Cruz County SURJ.

Davis is famous for her work with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNICC) and the Black Panthers and is author of nine books and has lectured worldwide. Davis’ most recent books are Abolition Democracy, Are Prisons Obsolete? and The Meaning of Freedom. In this interview with Beth Howard, author of the forthcoming book Rednecks for Black Lives (a memoir of Howard’s work organizing white, working people in the South, to be published by Haymarket Publishers), Angela Davis talks about the historical context for this moment in the United States, how to hold all of this, the resiliency of the Palestinian people, the importance of the South and much more.

Here is a little more background on Davis:

Angela Davis was born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1944. Birmingham then was one of the most racially segregated cities in the country. Angela’s neighborhood was nicknamed “Dynamite Hill” because the Ku Klux Klan often attacked the homes of Black residents there with bombs. 

With a Ph.D. in philosophy, Davis became involved in the civil rights movement, and the work of the Communist Party, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Black Panther Party. 

In 1969, Angela Davis was fired from UCLA under pressure from then Governor of California Ronald Reagan. The Supreme Court of California ruled Angela could not be banned for communist party affiliation. However, months later, the university found another reason to fire her (for “incendiary” talks and speeches).

At that time, Davis became involved in the Soledad Brothers Defense Committee and was ultimately charged with serious felonies when a gun she owned was used by a supporter of the Soledad Brothers to take hostages in a California courtroom, an incident in which four people were killed. Davis went into hiding but finally served 18 months in prison after being labled a “terrorist” by President Nixon. Eventually, Davis was acquitted of all charges by an all-white jury in 1972. 

She taught at the University of California at Santa Cruz in the department, History of Consciousness, for many years. She continues to be an unwavering thought-leader, feminist and advocate for equality for all Americans. 

This a statement from about SURJ from SURJ founder Carla Wallace, who we interviewed back in June.

“Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) organizes in majority white communities to grow our part of the multiracial movement for change, and undermine white support for white supremacy.

“SURJ works in strategic partnership with liberatory, BIPOC-led organizations to grow the people power we need. Angela Davis, whose history of fighting for liberation is unparalleled, has had a significant impact on our work. We are honored by her support for the work of SURJ.”

Resources:

Past MOT interview with Carla Wallace and the founders of Force Multiplier

More on Angela Davis

Angela Davis in the Encyclopedia Brittanica

Showing Up for Racial Justice website

Santa Cruz County SURJ website

A brief history of BLM/Black liberation movement and the movement to free Palestine

Solidarity of Palestinians with the BLM movement in Ferguson