What was angela davis known for

Active at an early age in the Black Panthers and the Communist Party, Davis also formed an interracial study group and volunteered for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee while still in high school. At fifteen, after earning a scholarship, Davis traveled to New York to complete high school. In , Davis traveled to Germany to study for two years, and then to the University of Paris for another year.

After returning to the United States, Davis attended Brandeis University, where she graduated magna cum laude in Davis then returned to Germany for further study before enrolling in the University of California, San Diego, where she earned her M. Upon earning her master's degree, Davis became an assistant professor at UCSD, but due to her connections with the Panthers and the Communist Party, she was removed a year later. In August of , Jackson and several other inmates attempted to escape from the Marin County Courthouse, and a judge and three others were killed.

She was a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she taught courses on the history of consciousness, retiring in Davis has continued to lecture at many prestigious universities, discussing issues regarding race, the criminal justice system and women's rights. In , Davis was a featured speaker and made an honorary co-chair at the Women's March on Washington after Donald Trump 's inauguration.

In addition to being a co-founder of Critical Resistance, an organization that aims to end the prison industrial complex, Davis is the author of several books, including Angela Davis: An Autobiography , Women, Race, and Class , Women, Culture and Politics , Are Prisons Obsolete? We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!

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Angela Davis later moved north and went to Brandeis University in Massachusetts where she studied philosophy with Herbert Marcuse. As a graduate student at the University of California , San Diego, in the late s, she joined several groups, including the Black Panthers.

They fired her, but she fought them in court and got her job back. Davis still ended up leaving when her contract expired in Outside of academia, Angela Davis had become a strong supporter of three prison inmates of Soledad Prison known as the Soledad brothers they were not related.

These three men—John W. Cluchette, Fleeta Drumgo, and George Lester Jackson—were accused of killing a prison guard after several African American inmates had been killed in a fight by another guard. Some thought these prisoners were being used as scapegoats because of the political work within the prison. Angela Davis was brought up on several charges for her alleged part in the event, including murder.

There were two main pieces of evidence used at trial: the guns used were registered to her, and she was reportedly in love with Jackson. Her case drew the attention of the international press and after spending roughly 18 months in jail, Davis was acquitted in June After spending time traveling and lecturing, Angela Davis returned to teaching.

After being incarcerated for sixteen months, Davis was tried and on June 4, she was found not guilty by an all-white jury. Upon returning to the United States, she resumed her teaching career, holding positions at several universities and colleges in California, including the Claremont Colleges, San Francisco State University, and the University of California-Santa Cruz, where she taught from to In addition to her teaching career, she has written a dozen books and has continued to lead the fight against racism, patriarchal oppression, war, incarceration, and the death penalty.

In the early s she was married to photographer Hilton Braithwaite. In she talked about her lesbian identity in an article in OUT magazine.