ANGELA DAVIS (1944-)

Angela Davis, one the most prolific civil rights activists of today's generation. She is a household name in black homes across America. Below is a piece of the article from BlackPast.org.

.

.

.

"Angela Davis, activist, educator, and scholar, was born on January 26, 1944, in the “Dynamite Hill” area of Birmingham, Alabama.  The area received that name because so many African American homes in this middle class neighborhood had been bombed over the years by the Ku Klux Klan.  Her father, Frank Davis, was a service station owner and her mother, Sallye Davis, was an elementary school teacher.  Davis’s mother was also active in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), when it was dangerous to be openly associated with the organization because of its civil rights activities.  As a teenager Davis moved to New York City with her mother, who was pursuing a master’s degree at New York University.  While there she attended Elizabeth Irwin High School, a school considered leftist because a number of its teachers were blacklisted during the McCarthy era for their earlier alleged Communist activities.

The incident nonetheless generated an outcry against Davis. Ronald Reagan, then governor of California, Reagan campaigned to prevent her from teaching in the state university system.  Despite the governor’s objection, Davis became a lecturer in women’s and ethnic studies at San Francisco State University in 1977.

As a scholar, Davis has authored eleven books, including Angela Davis: An Autobiography in 1974; Women, Race, and Class in 1983; and Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday in 1999."

Reference

BlackPast.org