Top 20 Interesting Facts about Angela Davis

Top 20 Interesting Facts about Angela Davis

Originally published by Lynn on March 2022. Edited by Charity K on May 2023, and  Updated by Charity K on  January 2024.

Angela Yvonne Davis is an American political activist, teacher, author, and feminist. She was born on January 26, 1944, in Birmingham, Alabama to Frank Davis and Sallye Davis.

Angela Davis was the leader of the Communist Party USA in the 1960s. She has stood up for the abolishment of prisons in the United States, which she referred to as the prison-industrial complex.

She was a founding member of Critical Resistance, an organization dedicated to abolishing the prison system, and she’s well known for her arrest and trial in 1970.

Let’s discover the top 15 interesting facts about Angela Davis’s facts.

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1. Angela Davis traveled extensively through the communist world, where she received honorary awards.

Lenin Prize Medal – Wikipedia

Angela Davis visited the Soviet Union in August 1972 at the invitation of the central committee, where she received an honorary doctorate from Moscow University. In May 1979, Davis was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize from the Soviet Union.

The prize was awarded to communists and non-citizen supporters of the Soviet Union. It was awarded by a panel from the government to individuals whom the panel considered to have “strengthened peace among comrades”.

2. Angela Davis was acquitted of murder in 1972

Boston 1970 protest against the Vietnam War – Wikipedia

In August 1970, guns belonging to Angela Davis were used by black militants in a takeover of a courtroom in Marin County, California. The proceedings led to the death of four people, of which one was a judge, Harold Haley.

Angela was prosecuted for three capital felonies, kidnapping, murder, and conspiracy. She was imprisoned for sixteen months before being acquitted of all charges in 1972. The fact that she owned the guns used in the crime was judged insufficient to establish her role in the plot.

3. Angela Davis was named to the FBI’s Top 10 most wanted fugitives list.

Angela Davis FBI Wanted poster, August 8th, 1970 – Wikipedia

She was placed on the list after investigators learned that Davis had purchased the weapons used in the courtroom armed takeover. 

Davis fled California when she learned of the FBI’s latest discovery, and a few days later she became the third woman on the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitives. According to her autobiography, during this time she hid in friends’ homes and moved at night.

She was at last caught at a Motor lodge in New York on October 13th, 1970. Her arrest led to President Richard Nixon congratulating the FBI officers involved for arresting a “dangerous terrorist”.

4. Angela Davis was an acolyte of notable leftist philosopher Herbert Marcuse.

Herbert Marcuse – Wikipedia

Herbert Marcuse was a German-American philosopher, sociologist, and political theorist. Davis met Marcuse at a rally during the Cuban Missile Crisis and became his student.

In 1964, she started studying philosophy with Herbert, the Marxist philosopher who later sent her to West Germany to study at the Institute for Social Research in 1975.

5. Angela Davis was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

National Women’s Hall of Fame Interior – Wikipedia

Known as a civil rights icon, Davis earned her induction into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. She dedicated herself to the civil rights movement, fighting to secure equal rights and social justice for women. 

Her work has always stressed the importance of economic, racial, and gender justice. Through her activism and scholarship, she has been involved in social justice movements around the world.

6. She came out as a lesbian in 1997

LGBT pride flag – Flickr

Davis was married to Hilton Braithwaite from 1980 to 1983. In 1997, Davis came out as a lesbian to Out magazine in an interview.

By 2020, Davis was living openly with her partner, the academic Gina Dent a fellow humanities scholar and intersectional feminist researcher at UC Santa Cruz. Together, they have advocated for the abolition of police and prisons, and for black liberation and Palestinian solidarity.

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7. Angela Davis criticized the 1995 Million Man March for its exclusion of women.

Million-man March – Flickr

The Million Man March was an event organized by Louis Farrakhan in Washington, DC on October 16, 1995. The march was a large gathering of African-American men whose purpose was to promote African-American unity and family values.

The march however received criticism from feminists including Angela Davis. Davis argued that the exclusion of women promoted male chauvinism, and she is quoted as saying “seeks to make women lesser partners in this quest for equality.”

Following the million-man march, Davis alongside Kimberlé Crenshaw founded the African American Agenda 2000. A black feminist pact aiming to fight racism, sexism, and homophobia.

8. Angela Davis was fired for her beliefs and activism.

University of California – Unsplash

In 1969, the Board of Regents at the University of California fired Angela Davis from $10,000 a year, for her membership in the Communist Party after instigating a policy against hiring communists.

The board claimed the move came because of statements she made in off-campus speeches, but her supporters argued otherwise. They claimed that she was fired because she admitted to being a member of the communist party. 

The board stuck to Angela’s communist affiliation as the reason for dismissal, but a superior court judge in Los Angeles ruled that Angela Davis could not be discharged for being communist.

She got the job back, but she left when her contract expired in 1970.

9. Angela Davis was a supporter of the BDS movement against Israel

Boycott divestment sanctions – Wikimedia Commons

The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestine-led movement working to end international support for Israel’s oppression of Palestinians. Its objective is to pressure Israel to comply with international law.

The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel(PACBI), which is also a founding member of BDS, hails Davis for her fight for justice and expresses its full solidarity with her.

Her support for BDS however denied her a human rights award. This is after a civil rights group in Alabama reversed its decision to honor her after Jewish Americans protested against her support for the BDS campaign.

10. Angela Davis was selected as one of the most iconic women since women’s suffrage in the US in 1920

Angela Davis – Flickr

The women’s suffrage movement was a fight to win the right to vote for women in the United States. The right was finally won in 1920 in the 19th Constitution amendment after nearly 100 years, declaring women deserve equal rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

In 2020, Davis was listed as the 1971 Woman of the Year in Times Magazine’s “100 Women of the Year” edition, where she was selected as one of the most iconic women over the 100 years since women’s suffrage in the United States.

11. Angela Davis’s Academic Achievements

In 1975, Davis was a lecturer at the Claremont Black Studies Center at the Claremont Colleges. However, she had to teach in secret because the alumni benefactors didn’t want her to indoctrinate the general student population.

Davis taught a women’s studies course at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1978. She was a professor of ethnic studies at the San Francisco State University from 1980 to 1984.

From 1991 to 2008, she was a professor in the History of Consciousness and the Feminist Studies departments at the University of California.

It was announced that in 2020 Davis would be the Ena H. Thompson Distinguished Lecturer in Ponoma College’s history department.

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12. References of Angela Davis In Other Venues

In 1972, Renato Guttuso’s painting The Funerals of Togliatti depicted Davis among other figures of communism. Later in 1971, back playwright Elvie Moore wrote the play Angela is Happening which depicts Davis on trial with figures such as Frederick Douglass, H. Rap Brown, and Malcolm X as eyewitnesses proclaiming her innocence.

In 2018, a cotton T-shirt with Davis’s face was featured in Prada’s collection of the year.

13. Julie Dash To Direct Biopic of Angela Davis

Career Girls, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In 2019, Julie Dash, credited as the first black female director, announced that she would be directing a film based on Davis’s life. The screenplay will be written by Brian Tucker and will be produced by Sidra Smith.

14.  Angela Davis’s Television Appearances

Davis has appeared in numerous films and television series including The Resident, Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger, P-Valley, Angela Davis: Portrait of a Revolutionary, In Prison My Whole Life, Out in the Night, Malcolm X, and A Place of Rage.

15. The Books That Angela Davis Has Authored

Over the years, Davis has written numerous books that have shown readers her view of certain topics that influence society. Her books include Women, Culture, and Politica, Me and My Asthma, The Meaning of Freedom, Me and My Hearing Loss, Women, Race, and Class, Blues, Legacies, and Black Feminism, Freedom Is a Constant Struggle, and If They Come in the Morning.

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16. Angela Davis was a Black Panther Party Educator

Mediared, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Black Panther Party was a black power political organization that was founded by college students in 1966. Angela was known for collaborating with the party in several ways during the late 1960s. Her ideological alignments matched with the group especially their focus on anti-racism and revolutionary socialism. She was greatly involved with the Che-Lumumba Club which was within the Black Panther Party.

Angela served as a lecturer and advisor while also organizing educational programs and workshops on topics such as Black history and political organizing. She didn’t agree with the group’s sexism and openly advocated for a more feminist approach to liberation struggles.

17. She is an International Icon

Angela Davis’s status as an international icon is rooted in her decades-long commitment to fighting prison abolition, feminism, racial justice, and other forms of social equality. Angela constantly advocated for intersectional approaches to social justice and inspired activists worldwide. Her unwavering commitment to social justice inspired generations of activists across the globe. 

Angela Davis is a respected scholar whose writings have influenced academic discourse and social movements worldwide. Her contributions have shaped people’s understanding of oppression, power, and resistance. She is famous for her powerful voice that has inspired many and has led to discussions that brought on change. Angela Davis is a symbol of hope for a just and equitable world.

18. She is an Advocate for Animal Rights

Columbia GSAPP, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Angela Davis has shared that she has been a vocal advocate for animal rights since the 1970s. She sees animal liberation as a link to human liberation. Angela believes that the industrialized animal agriculture system is exploitative and unsustainable. During interviews, speeches, and articles, Angela has spoken out against animal cruelty. She is known for criticizing factory farming, animal testing as well as other forms of animal exploitation. She has collaborated with animal rights organizations such as Mercy for Animals and PETA which stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Even though her advocacy for animal rights is not widely known, it is still an important part of her commitment to justice.

19. Angela Davis was a Girl Scout Activist

She participated in the Girl Scouts during her youth in the 1950s. She displayed a strong sense of fairness and a willingness to challenge the status quo. Angela together with her fellow scouts marched against racial segregation in Alabama.

They also demonstrated their commitment to social change. She has credited her experiences as a scout as instrumental in shaping her later activism. Her exposure to community service and leadership skills ignited a spark that led to her lifelong dedication. Her Girl Scout activism serves as a powerful reminder that people of all ages can fight for justice.

20. Angela Davis is a Champion of the Arts

DLV, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Angela is famous for viewing art as a powerful tool for social change and liberation. She strongly believes that art can challenge dominant narratives and expose injustices. Her writings usually reference literature, music, and visual arts which demonstrates how these forms can bring social struggles and crucial aspects.

Her analysis of art reflects as well as reinforces social power dynamics. Angela Davis advocates for the appreciation of art forms that are often excluded from mainstream institutions. She has participated in spoken word performances, and curated exhibitions, and has contributed to documentaries that explore the intersections of art.