Angela Davis

[An archist]

I know this doesn't really belong in graphics, but today I saw a stencil of a certain 'Angela Davis' on the wall near the entrance of our faculty (I didn't have a camera, so no pics yet) And I wondered if the good people of revleft could help me out, like: who is she, what did she do, ...

[rebel_heart]

Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944 in Birmingham, Alabama) is an American radical activist and philosopher who was associated with the Black Panther Party in the 1960s and 1970s. She first achieved nationwide notoriety when she was linked to the murder of judge Harold Haley during an attempted Black Panther prison break; she fled underground, and was the subject of an intense manhunt. After 18 months as a fugitive, she was captured, arrested, tried, and eventully acquitted in one of the most famous trials in recent U.S. history. She is currently Professor of History of Consciousness at the University of California and Presidential Chair at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She claims to work for racial and gender equality and for prison abolition. Davis is a founder of Critical Resistance.

I hope this helps a bit :P i didn't know her i just got that from wikipedia :P

[Pirate Utopian]

i heard she is a part of the Communist Party USA

[TC]

Angela Davis was one of the leaders of the American Communist Party during the new left era, she ran on their presidential ticket a couple of times...she was a fugitive while trying to break a black panther out of jail.

Davis left the CP as one of the leaders of the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism split, which currently allows dual-enrollment with the Communist party acting as sort of a faction and a party.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

You forgot the part about her selling out...

[TC]

Originally posted by Compañ[email protected] 17 2006, 06:42 PM
You forgot the part about her selling out...
how?

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Um.. probably by joining the Democratic Party and telling people to vote for John Kerry? Being a leading member of the democratic-socialist "Committees for Correspondance" that completely rejects revolution? Those are both pretty good examples.

Don't get me wrong, she's still progressive. She supports socialist Cuba and works to abolish prisons in the U.S. (though I'm critical of her single-issue approach).. but let's not pretend she's any kind of militant revolutionary.

It was all predictable from the beginning though, coming from a petty bourgeois background as she did, and never really having to work.. it's like all the other petty bourgeois students that were "revolutionary" in the 60s and 70s, but then graduated and got jobs oppressing and exploiting (or helping the bourgeoisie to).

[An archist]

So it was probably one of the commies.

[Black Dagger]

Moved to history.

[combat]

She was never a marxist.

[Wanted Man]

Originally posted by [email protected] 17 2006, 08:26 PM
She was never a marxist.
Obviously. The only marxists in the history of the world are Lenin, Trotsky, and the sparts. :rolleyes:

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

And the Internationalist Group! DON'T FORGET THEM! Haven't you heard? According to combat, one LFI cadre is worth 50 other communists!

[Wanted Man]

Those anarcho-stalinists are particularly inferior.

[RedKnight]

Originally posted by Compañ[email protected] 17, 2006 07:15 pm
Um.. probably by joining the Democratic Party and telling people to vote for John Kerry? Being a leading member of the democratic-socialist "Committees for Correspondance" that completely rejects revolution? Those are both pretty good examples.

Don't get me wrong, she's still progressive. She supports socialist Cuba and works to abolish prisons in the U.S. (though I'm critical of her single-issue approach).. but let's not pretend she's any kind of militant revolutionary.

It was all predictable from the beginning though, coming from a petty bourgeois background as she did, and never really having to work.. it's like all the other petty bourgeois students that were "revolutionary" in the 60s and 70s, but then graduated and got jobs oppressing and exploiting (or helping the bourgeoisie to).
The CPUSA also encouraged people to get out and vote for Kerry. So she was in good company.

[VenceremosRed]

Originally posted by Compañ[email protected] 17, 2006 07:15 pm
Um.. probably by joining the Democratic Party and telling people to vote for John Kerry? Being a leading member of the democratic-socialist "Committees for Correspondance" that completely rejects revolution? Those are both pretty good examples.

Don't get me wrong, she's still progressive. She supports socialist Cuba and works to abolish prisons in the U.S. (though I'm critical of her single-issue approach).. but let's not pretend she's any kind of militant revolutionary.

It was all predictable from the beginning though, coming from a petty bourgeois background as she did, and never really having to work.. it's like all the other petty bourgeois students that were "revolutionary" in the 60s and 70s, but then graduated and got jobs oppressing and exploiting (or helping the bourgeoisie to).
CompañeroDeLibertad is absolutely correct. She is a progressive, and semi-radical bourgeois democrat, not a revolutionary communist. She once played a positive role, I would cite her time with George Jackson (brother was a revolutionary to the core!) -- but she has since fallen into the snare of revisionism.

It's a good lesson to be learned. The Panthers, as heroic and revolutionary as they were - imploded on their own contradictions. Elridge Cleaver took on left-adventurism (he tried to launch his own guerilla campiagn - like that's gonna work in an urbanized setting in the U.S.), Angela Davis and Co. encouraged participating in bourgeois elections to "reform" the system.

I'd point to a quote from the most brilliant anarchist Emma Goldman, "if elections changed anything, they'd make them illegal." Profoundly true.

I am somewhat surprised that she still supports Cuba and hasn't taken on the "deformed workers' state" theory. Eh, give it some time. :lol:

[Ze]

Originally posted by VenceremosRed+October 24, 2006 10:28 am--> (VenceremosRed @ October 24, 2006 10:28 am)
Compañ[email protected] 17, 2006 07:15 pm
Um.. probably by joining the Democratic Party and telling people to vote for John Kerry? Being a leading member of the democratic-socialist "Committees for Correspondance" that completely rejects revolution? Those are both pretty good examples.

Don't get me wrong, she's still progressive. She supports socialist Cuba and works to abolish prisons in the U.S. (though I'm critical of her single-issue approach).. but let's not pretend she's any kind of militant revolutionary.

It was all predictable from the beginning though, coming from a petty bourgeois background as she did, and never really having to work.. it's like all the other petty bourgeois students that were "revolutionary" in the 60s and 70s, but then graduated and got jobs oppressing and exploiting (or helping the bourgeoisie to).
CompañeroDeLibertad is absolutely correct. She is a progressive, and semi-radical bourgeois democrat, not a revolutionary communist. She once played a positive role, I would cite her time with George Jackson (brother was a revolutionary to the core!) -- but she has since fallen into the snare of revisionism.

It's a good lesson to be learned. The Panthers, as heroic and revolutionary as they were - imploded on their own contradictions. Elridge Cleaver took on left-adventurism (he tried to launch his own guerilla campiagn - like that's gonna work in an urbanized setting in the U.S.), Angela Davis and Co. encouraged participating in bourgeois elections to "reform" the system.

I'd point to a quote from the most brilliant anarchist Emma Goldman, "if elections changed anything, they'd make them illegal." Profoundly true.

I am somewhat surprised that she still supports Cuba and hasn't taken on the "deformed workers' state" theory. Eh, give it some time. :lol: [/b]
The Black Panther Party imploded because of illegal subversive activities conducted by the FBI and CIA. Read about COINTELPRO. I honor Angela Davis and love to listen to her speeches.

[Hampton]

Abolishing prisons isn't always a single issue. To fully expand on the idea she would have to go into race, class, and many other issues. Her focus on prisons more than likely comes with her involvement with Jonathan Jackson and the court shoot out and corresponding with George.

Cleaver's guerilla war was more him talking that actually planning anything. He would later say that his type of war would have ended with them all dead. Check out the BLA for something of substance and Cleaver had no part in it.

[VenceremosRed]

Originally posted by Ze+October 24, 2006 01:07 pm--> (Ze @ October 24, 2006 01:07 pm)
Originally posted by [email protected] 24, 2006 10:28 am

Compañ[email protected] 17, 2006 07:15 pm
Um.. probably by joining the Democratic Party and telling people to vote for John Kerry? Being a leading member of the democratic-socialist "Committees for Correspondance" that completely rejects revolution? Those are both pretty good examples.

Don't get me wrong, she's still progressive. She supports socialist Cuba and works to abolish prisons in the U.S. (though I'm critical of her single-issue approach).. but let's not pretend she's any kind of militant revolutionary.

It was all predictable from the beginning though, coming from a petty bourgeois background as she did, and never really having to work.. it's like all the other petty bourgeois students that were "revolutionary" in the 60s and 70s, but then graduated and got jobs oppressing and exploiting (or helping the bourgeoisie to).
CompañeroDeLibertad is absolutely correct. She is a progressive, and semi-radical bourgeois democrat, not a revolutionary communist. She once played a positive role, I would cite her time with George Jackson (brother was a revolutionary to the core!) -- but she has since fallen into the snare of revisionism.

It's a good lesson to be learned. The Panthers, as heroic and revolutionary as they were - imploded on their own contradictions. Elridge Cleaver took on left-adventurism (he tried to launch his own guerilla campiagn - like that's gonna work in an urbanized setting in the U.S.), Angela Davis and Co. encouraged participating in bourgeois elections to "reform" the system.

I'd point to a quote from the most brilliant anarchist Emma Goldman, "if elections changed anything, they'd make them illegal." Profoundly true.

I am somewhat surprised that she still supports Cuba and hasn't taken on the "deformed workers' state" theory. Eh, give it some time. :lol:
The Black Panther Party imploded because of illegal subversive activities conducted by the FBI and CIA. Read about COINTELPRO. I honor Angela Davis and love to listen to her speeches. [/b]
True, there was external opposition, but that wasn't the pinacle reason why the Panthers fell a part. There line was essentially a bad one, despite their heroic and revolutionary intentions -- they disregarded inner-organizational democracy for the cult of personaility around Huey Newton, among other things. They didn't understand revisionism, as few did, and they were unable to respond to the overhwleming onslought of the reactionaries.

Other revolutionary groups survived oppression and emerged stronger - Cuba's liberation had a hand full of revolutionaries! The point is where is their political line leading?

[ReD_ReBeL]

abolish prisons? so what happens to actual criminals...ie. murderers, sex offenders etc?

[VenceremosRed]

Originally posted by [email protected] 25, 2006 01:49 am
abolish prisons? so what happens to actual criminals...ie. murderers, sex offenders etc?
The point is that this bourgeois system has no right to judge working people - on any basis.

Of course there are contradictions among the people, like rapists and murderes, thieves, etc. but that should be handled by the people, not a system tied to bourgeois legality.

[ReD_ReBeL]

The point is that this bourgeois system has no right to judge working people - on any basis.

Of course there are contradictions among the people, like rapists and murderes, thieves, etc. but that should be handled by the people, not a system tied to bourgeois legality.

But wont this not cause even more corruption than the current prison system?
because it'l be far easier to bribe witnesses etc for a huge some of money...even easier than it is now? And also friends will defend and stick up for mates regardless if the criminal is guilty or not in some cases.
Also it'l be harder too catch criminals due to a lack of profession(police etc )..ie. DNA tests , finger prints etc.

[VenceremosRed]

Originally posted by [email protected] 25, 2006 02:57 am

The point is that this bourgeois system has no right to judge working people - on any basis.

Of course there are contradictions among the people, like rapists and murderes, thieves, etc. but that should be handled by the people, not a system tied to bourgeois legality.

But wont this not cause even more corruption than the current prison system?
because it'l be far easier to bribe witnesses etc for a huge some of money...even easier than it is now? And also friends will defend and stick up for mates regardless if the criminal is guilty or not in some cases.
Also it'l be harder too catch criminals due to a lack of profession(police etc )..ie. DNA tests , finger prints etc.
Hmm, I don't think I am making sense.

There will still be courts, judges, prisons, lawyers -- and laws, but they will be proletarian, not bourgeois - and there is a world of difference between them.

A proletarian state is a new type of state, qualtively more democratic then the bourgeois state.

Democratic rights will be there, enshrined, and expanded - for the purpose of preparing for further development towards communism, which will be a much more just and democratic society then we can imagine now, with our limitations of bourgeois legality and notions of "justice."

[angus_mor]

Actually, Critical Resistance fights for the abolition of the Prison Industrial Complex, I agree with this position, and don't believe that imprisoning people is actually handling the situation correctly. They're not saying that criminality shouldn't be dealt with, just that imprisoning people left and right isn't doing anything to solve these problems. If we want to rehabilitate these individuals so that they can peacefully coexist with one another, pointing a gun at them and throwing them in chains isn't gonna do it; we have to give them the same love and compassion we expect in return.

[Hampton]

There really is not one pinacle reason for the demise of the Panthers. Huey became the icon that he was because he went to prison, and he went there because of police and government oppresion that occured at teh time of the Officer Frey shooting. If he hadn't been in jail and the whole Free Huey movement did not occur, who knows if the cult around him would have occured.

The dissapation of their para military type of organization that was mentioned is true of Oakland, but not for New York and other Panther groups around the country that stoped following him when he became out of wack.