Angela Davis: an activist forever on the front line

An icon of feminist struggles and anti-racism, Angela Davis has consistently denounced structural racism and campaigned for the abolition of the death penalty, reform of the US prison system and minority rights. A look back at more than half a century of struggle.

Born in 1944 in Birmingham, Alabama, where the Ku Klux Klan and racial segregation run rampant, Angela Davis joined the Communist Party before joining the Black Panthers. Her political commitment and activism led to her being monitored by the FBI and dismissed from her position at the University of California. Accused of organising a hostage-taking to free African-American political prisoners, she was arrested and imprisoned for 16 months. Acquitted 48 years ago, after a long legal battle and unprecedented international mobilisation around the slogan "Free Angela", the former "public enemy number one" continues to campaign for human rights.

The interview will be held in English with simultaneous interpretation into French.

Our selection of articles to delve deeper into the subject:

• De la peine capitale à la présidentielle… La vie trépidante d'Angela Davis, icône anti-racisme - Vanity Fair, 26 janvier 2021