From Counterculture Revolutionary To Elder Statesperson of the Resistance

By Liliana Ulloa
Opinion Editor

Thunderous cheering reverberated through the California State University, Dominguez Hills gymnasium Monday, Feb. 11, as a standing-room-only crowd watched one  of the most outspoken activists of her generation, Dr. Angela Y. Davis, make her way to the podium as part of the Dymally Distinguished Speaker Series celebrating Black History Month.

By the time Davis took her place, every seat was full, and so people chose to sit on the floor or cram along the gym’s perimeter for the chance to hear the world-renowned activist, educator and scholar.

Davis’ speech was less about her past and the struggles and accomplishments of the 1960s counterculture, than it was about inspiring the current generation of college students to speak out and combat issues ranging from racism and sexism, to the plight of migrants and refugees and America’s prison-industrial complex.

She began by recalling when blacks didn’t have a month to reflect on black issues. They didn’t have one, she said, because they weren’t given one. So, they took it. 

She also unapologetically challenged those who use Black History Month as an opportunity to argue for “White History,” indicting that sentiment as more evidence of America’s collective blackout when it comes to facing memories of the past, and present realities, that run counter to the established narrative.

“Black history does not belong to Black people exclusively” Davis said. “Black history calls for an end to the amnesia that has prevented us from understanding the history of this country. 

The amnesia that has afflicted the U.S conscience for decades and centuries.”

Just as Black History can inform America about itself, it can also help forge solidarity with those who dream of a better life by risking everything to come here, Davis said.

“Black struggles are linked to the struggles of migrants and refugees,” said Davis. “If for example, we recognize that the vast numbers of migrants all over the planet who are moving from their homelands to places that represent hope to them, it is because they have learned that movement is possible.”

As faces of all shades of color and ages listened, Davis also urged the crowd to examine a type of feminism that she is a chief articulate of: Abolition Feminism, which targets not individual racism or sexism or oppression, but the structural institutions where they are embedded.

“This is a feminism that challenges racism” she said. “That is anti-capitalist. Feminism that recognizes the weight of history, that urges the abolition of structures responsible for racism and misogyny.”

Davis was invited to speak by the Mervyn Dymally African-American Political & Economic Institute in association with Associated Students, Inc., and the Department of Africana Studies. 

Dr. Donna Nicol, that department’s chair, said part of the reason for inviting Davis was to “memorialize” the 50-year anniversary of her being fired from UCLA for being a Communist. But just as important as her historical status, Nicol said, is how relevant Davis remains for many contemporary college students.

“We also wanted to bring her in to bring inspiration to students who might feel in this current political climate that it’s more difficult for them to speak out particularly on campuses,” Nicol said.

Nicol also said that she noticed many people in the crowd were not affiliated with CSUDH, one more reason why Davis was an ideal choice to bring to campus. 

“[CSUDH] boasts that it has the largest African-American [student body)  in the CSU, but with Davis we had someone who could not only inspire those students,” Nicol said. “There were people here as young as age 5 and as old as 95. And I had people [from the community] coming up to me thanking us for having her, because it was the only chance they could see someone who they had long admired. Dominguez has to have more events like this, where we can engage and connect with the larger community around us.”