On Saturday afternoon, renowned feminist and civil rights activist Angela Davis came to speak to an overflow crowd of students and community members about politics, society and community mobilization.
The lecture was sponsored largely by the Multicultural Center and the Black Student Union and was held in 150 Columbia.
When Davis entered Columbia, she was greeted with a standing ovation. After thanking the audience and briefly touching on events of her past, Davis began her lecture with a somber “Let’s talk about these times.”
Throughout her speech, Davis jumped between multiple topics all focusing on societal problems and what she sees as abuses of power by the United States government. By discussing assorted injustices she feels are enacted upon the world’s population, Davis said she was trying to “urge people to think in a different way… To broaden our perspective”
Davis insisted that “the prospects for mobilization are good,” but citizens of the world need to develop a “new vocabulary” that will allow for critical thinking. Davis said that doing this is only possible after we reflect on our “collective selves” and realize that everyone is involved in the problems that she mentioned. After consistently reassuring her audience that change is possible, Davis ended her talk with a determined: “We can make a difference. We must make a difference.”
This was followed by a second standing ovation, an extensive question-and-answer session, and a book signing.
Audience members exited in an energized buzz. Freshman Hollie Putnam said Davis was “very accessible” and inspired her to continue in her own political activity.
Kari Herinas, the Multicultural Center’s co-director, said there were some issues with overflow because of limited space. The free tickets to Davis’ speech sold out in a mere six days, an occurrence that caused problems when people who had been waiting in line did not have tickets. Extra people were able to view the lecture in the Pacific building, where a live feed was broadcast. All issues were dealt with before Davis’ talk, which more than 700 people attended. Herinas echoed this sentiment by saying, “It is very important for young people to stay mobile. Due to (Davis’) past and current mobilization in fighting for marginalized causes, she was the perfect bridge between two generations trying to organize.”
Though Davis is an inspiration to many, she is also quite controversial. Because of her involvement in a failed attempt to free Black Panther activist George Jackson from a courtroom in 1970, Davis appeared on the FBI’s ten most wanted list when she evaded arrest. She was later jailed briefly before being acquitted of all charges. Her radical politics and actions also caused former California governor Ronald Reagan to declare that she would never teach in the University of California system again.
Despite this vehement proclamation, Davis now has tenure at UC Santa Cruz and has published multiple books on race, class and gender. She has shared her views in all 50 of the United States, and in countries in Europe and Africa.