Angela Davis
Political Activist, Academic, and Author
Through her activism and scholarship over the last decades, Angela Davis has been deeply involved in our nation’s quest for social justice. Her work as an educator – both at the university level and in the larger public sphere – has always emphasized the importance of building communities of struggle for economic, racial, and gender…
Categories :
Full Bio
Through her activism and scholarship over the last decades, Angela Davis has been deeply involved in our nation’s quest for social justice. Her work as an educator – both at the university level and in the larger public sphere – has always emphasized the importance of building communities of struggle for economic, racial, and gender justice.
Professor Davis’s teaching career has taken her to San Francisco State University, Mills College, and UC Berkeley. She also has taught at UCLA, Vassar, the Claremont Colleges, and Stanford University. She spent the last 15 years at the University of California Santa Cruz where she is now Distinguished Professor Emerita of history of consciousness, an interdisciplinary Ph.D program, and feminist studies.
Davis is the author of eight books and has lectured throughout the United States as well as in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and South America. In recent years a persistent theme of her work has been the range of social problems associated with incarceration and the generalized criminalization of those communities that are most affected by poverty and racial discrimination. She draws upon her own experiences in the early ’70s as a person who spent 18 months in jail and on trial, after being placed on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted List.” She has also conducted extensive research on numerous issues related to race, gender, and imprisonment. Her most recent books are Abolition Democracy and Are Prisons Obsolete?, about the abolition of the prison industrial complex, and a new edition of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.
Angela Davis is a founding member of Critical Resistance, a national organization dedicated to the dismantling of the prison industrial complex. Internationally, she is affiliated with Sisters Inside, an abolitionist organization based in Queensland, Australia, that works in solidarity with women in prison.
Like many other educators, Professor Davis is especially concerned with the general tendency to devote more resources and attention to the prison system than to educational institutions. Having helped to popularize the notion of a “prison industrial complex,” she now urges her audiences to think seriously about the future possibility of a world without prisons and to help forge a 21st-century abolitionist movement.
Testimonials
Ernie was perfect for our Elders Conference at Little River Casino Resort in Manistee, Michigan. We will definitely be using PDA again!
LITTLE RIVER BAND OF OTTAWA INDIANS
Our speaker was great and the crowd enjoyed her! She was very engaging. Thank you again PDA for the great list of suggestions!
MEDTRONIC
Everything went great! and our speaker was wonderful! Thank you so much for all your help PDA! Looking forward to the next one.
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI – KANSAS CITY
I hope that this message finds you well. We had a phenomenal time with Atsuko this past Thursday. We wanted to just let you know how amazing she was. All those that were in attendance thoroughly enjoyed her and had nothing but amazing things to say about her. Thank you for working with us to make sure this happened!
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
We had a fantastic day with Inge! She was very engaging with all those that attended. Her personal stories about the holocaust were very special and we were moved that she was willing to share them with everyone. Thank you again, PDA for all your hard work and dedication to make this program such a success!
SALT LAKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Dear PDA Group, Thank you so much for your hard work in scheduling our speaker! From the moment we reached out to you the first time, you worked with us on all details and logistics and kept us up-to-date on the progress. Thank you for all your hard work on making our event such a success! We couldn't have done it without you and your team!
SAP COMPANY
Thank you again, Dr. Kimbrough, for a great presentation, our attendees are still talking about it!
CAMPUS LABS
Dr. Henry Lee's presentation was entertaining, insightful and wise. I, and everyone at Pfizer, especially appreciate the remarks you directed about following your passion and preparing yourself to excel. Thank you, everyone, at PDA for helping to make this happen!
PFIZER
The event was successful! I received many messages expressing how awesome, outstanding and inspiring Ms. Webb-Christburg's speech was."
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL BREAKFAST, BOSTON, MLK SPEAKER
Everything went well. Atsuko was very easy to work with and the students enjoyed her performance! Thank you again for your recommendation and I hope to work with you again in the future!
CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Dr. Novello left this morning after a very successful event on our campus! Thank you PDA Group for your help from the first phone to the last you were with us every step of the way.
GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
Jordan Carlos was very very entertaining! A majority of students who answered the event survey indicated they really enjoyed Jordan and definitely will bring him back!
WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
On behalf of myself and my organization Entertainment Unlimited the Campus Programming Board of Ferris State University, we thank you PDA and Dan for a successful event!! Dan was magnificent! Students really enjoyed the presentation. I know I did. Can't wait to bring in more programs with PDA Group.
FERRIS STATE UNIVERSITY
It was a great pleasure to work with PDA Group! The communication was always prompt, friendly and helpful. We loved the speakers and events we booked through Mr. Peter Walker (PDA Group).
WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Thank you, Peter, for all your help, you'll be happy to know that the event went incredibly well! Aneesa Ferreira was by far one of the best speakers we've ever had!
FURMAN UNIVERSITY
Topics
Abolitionist Movements in the 21st Century
Violence Against Women & the Ongoing Challenge to Racism
Institutional Racism in the Penal & Criminal Justice System
Frameworks for Radical Feminism in the 21st Century
The Role of Art in Society
Videos
Angela Davis and Toni Morrison Literacy, Libraries and Liberation
News
Testimonials
It was a pleasure to have Angela Davis here. Students, faculty, staff, administrators, and community members were able to attend her keynote address. Many asked questions after her talk, and she was generous with her time both during the Q&A and the book signing. She also was gracious enough to spend quality time with invited guests at the subsequent reception in the Center for Multicultural Education. Her commentary and advice regarding organizing for social change were precious and heartening, and the other panelists and the attendees of the human rights conference were very appreciative! Overall, her visit was a spectacular event for the university and surrounding community. Even the staff of the university bookstore was very pleased, for numerous books were sold.
University of Northern Iowa
Dr. Davis, it was an honor to host you on our campus. Your speech was well received by everyone in attendance, and provided students with an incredible opportunity to learn about you and hear your views on a number of important topics. As you could probably tell, students had a phenomenal time at the event and your speech was thoroughly enjoyed.
American University
The event went excellently! The students absolutely loved Angela Davis, and she even stayed after a bit to shake hands and sign books. It was great to host Ms. Davis!
Kennedy Political Union
I just wanted to get back to you to share how much of a success Angela Davis was. We not only filled the house it was filled to overflowing. She is a gracious woman. Easy to work with and gave a great presentation.
Earlham College
The Angela Davis event was a huge success and we just wanted to thank you for all your help. Her plane was early and she showed up with time to spare. We sold out of tickets before the event (450 seats) and had to turn away over 100 people who showed up w/out tickets at the door. Once again, thank you!
Southern Oregon University
GET IDEAS
1 HOUR OR LESS
