“Angela Davis Tried to Warn Us,” a viewing and virtual discussion on Feb. 12 of a lecture given by educator and political activist Angela Davis at CSUF in 1972, showed just how relevant and timely her message still is today.
Within the first few minutes, as an introductory trailer played showing the grainy black and white footage of the 1972-era Davis telling her rapt crowd, “The major problem we are confronting today … is the problem of racism,” the meeting was Zoom-bombed with a brief onslaught of chaotic sounds and racist words.
As moderators quickly worked to mute the rogue accounts, Davis was in the background saying, “All of these things affect all of us,” as though she was speaking to both the viewers, about 140 folks of many races and ages who were subjected to the bombing, as well as the people who did it — people so removed from a sense of humanity that they thought that would be a good use of their time.
It was a powerful reminder that we still have a big problem with racism.
In her 1972 speech, Davis, now a UC Santa Cruz professor emerita, compared racism to a cancer. “Racism is something that begins and it might look very small, but it spreads and develops and before you know it, it has crept up behind you and there’s nothing more that you can do,” she said. “If you don’t start fighting it — looking at it and isolating and trying to cut out the cancer — it will have strangled everything around it.”
The event, co-hosted by Mei-Ling Malone, a lecturer in African American Studies, was inspired by an article of the same name by Tusk Black Voices columnist Darius Faulk, Faulk, in turn, had been inspired by stumbling upon the footage after googling “Angela Davis CSUF.”
“We spend a lot of time learning how to do rigorous academic research and yet sometimes it pays to be lucky,” said Faulk, who has a B.A. in American Studies from CSUF and is currently a second-semester American Studies graduate student at CSUF. “I was able to discover that the Pollak Library was actually responsible for archiving the footage. I reached out to them and was surprised and excited to learn that prior to the pandemic, the footage had been on display in the library. Apparently, I was not the first to notice how much of what Ms. Davis says in her speech resonates with the present.”
In the speech, Davis spoke of the problems of economic inequality, a divided society and rising fascism. She took great pains to speak not of only Black people, but of all people — brown, white, black and all shades between — noting that injustice and racism hurts all of us.
The words from the past spoke deeply to Faulk. “For a young Black man trying to make his way in this crazy world, Ms. Davis is an icon, a living legend,” he said. “To see her, at 28 years old, just months after being released from prison, speaking truth to power in a room full of her peers, is nothing short of inspiring. It made me realize that all of the young activists of today are truly standing on the shoulders of giants.”
“Some might be disheartened that we are continuing to fight against the same forces of oppression and repression that activists in the United States were 50 years ago,” said Faulk. “I found it empowering to know that we come from a long history of people that found the courage to stand up for the humanity of the oppressed, and to do so in ways that were rooted in love.”
Co-host Malone said she hoped other CSUF students will be just as inspired. “I hope students will leave this event inspired and empowered to continue resisting systems of oppression and speaking out about social injustice, even when or perhaps, especially when it’s unpopular. I hope Angela Davis’ courage is contagious,” said Malone.
“I also hope students will feel guided to think outside the box and dare to dream of new and radical possibilities for society and push past the limitations of reform,” Malone continued. “I hope students and other attendees will take it upon themselves to study her work, read her books and apply her critical wisdom to our ongoing struggle for a more humane, compassionate and peaceful world.”
Black History Month Events at CSUF
CSUF is rounding out Black History Month with events throughout the rest of February. Here are some highlights. For more information and more events, see CSUF’s African American Studies web page, http://bit.ly/CSUFBlackHistory.
The Freedom of Our Hair
Monday, 3-4 p.m.
What’s in a mane? Join Gwendolyn Alexis, a CSUF lecturer in the African-American Studies Department, to look “at our hair journey, and the freedom we have to wear our hair in any style we chose.”
Zoom ID: 85153034897
Critical Consciousness: Protest & Dissent
Tuesday, 1-2:30 p.m.
A community discussion on Protest & Dissent, highlighting the attack at the nation’s capitol and focusing on the experiences of marginalized folks.
Zoom ID: 82009787637
Between Roots and Routes: Strategies for Researching African Diasporic Family Histories and the Power of Place
Feb. 25, 4-6 p.m.
This event will showcase key record collections, tools, and strategies for tracing African Diasporic ancestry in the U.S. In particular, it highlights how genealogy databases and research methods, and improved digital literacy skills can help scholars, students, and family historians overcome challenges that are unique to researching the African American past. It also considers how the forced, voluntary, and induced migrations of African Diasporic peoples throughout the Americas have contributed to unique place-based communities that can also aid in recovering lost or unknown family histories.
Register at http://bit.ly/CSUFPowerOfPlace
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