Angela Davis

Angela Davis is a political activist, professor, and author. She was member of the Community Party and the Black Panther Party.

Davis was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on January 26, 1944. Her mother, Sallye Bell Davis, was a prominent leader in the Southern Negro Youth Congress. Davis earned a bachelor's degree in French from Brandeis University in 1965 and a master's degree from the University of California, San Diego, in 1968. She completed doctoral-level work at the University of California, San Diego but did not receive a degree.

In 1969, she was hired to teach at the University of California, Los Angeles, but was fired for her connections to the Communist Party. She challenged the firing in court and won, but left the university in 1970.

Davis had been a supporter of three men, known as the Soledad Brothers, who were incarcerated at Soledad Prison. In 1970, she was accused of murder during the trial of one of the men, George Jackson, when several people were killed during an escape attempt by Jackson and several other inmates. After spending 18 months in jail during her trial, Davis was acquitted in 1972. She returned to academia at San Francisco State University, teaching there for 12 years, then at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She retired from teaching in 2008. She continues to be a speaker and active in political activism.

Davis was the vice presidential nominee on the Communist Party ticket in 1980 and 1984.

Goodman, Mark D. 2019. "Angela Davis | The HistoryMakers." thehistorymakers.org. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2024.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (2024, May 1). “Angela Davis: American activites.” Britannica. Retrieved June 7, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Angela-Davis