Angela Davis is an American political activist and author who was born in the mid 1940’s in Alabama. When she was younger, she organized interracial study groups that were broken up by the police. She also knew several of the girls killed in the Birmingham church bombing. Davis spent a lot of her life fighting racial prejudice and discrimination growing up.

She worked with the Communist Party USA for about thirty years and then was involved with the Black Panther Party during the Civil Rights Movement. In 1969 the California Governor Ronald Reagan tried to have her barred from teaching in California but couldn’t fire her solely because of her affiliation with the communist party. She taught at the University of California in the History of Consciousness department and is the former director of the Feminist Studies department. She’s also the cofounder of Critical Resistance which is an effort to end the prison-industrial complex, which is the idea that the government uses imprisonment to solve social and economic issues.

Davis went to school at Brandeis University, University of Frankfurt, earned her masters at the University of California, and got her doctorate in philosophy from Humboldt University. People knew Davis as a radical feminist.

Angela Davis also supported the Soledad Brothers, who were accused of killing a prison guard at Soledad prison. Some people thought the Brothers were being used as scapegoats due to their political activism within the prison. Jonathan Jackson used firearms owned by Angela Davis to kidnap and shoot the judge and others at the trial held for the brothers. Davis ended up being placed on the FBI’s most wanted list because of the use of her firearms in the courthouse incident and because of her connections to Jackson and the Soledad Brothers. She was charged with accomplice to conspiracy, kidnapping, and homicide but was deemed innocent on all charges.

The Rolling Stone’s song, “Sweet Black Angel” is dedicated to Angela and John Lennon’s song “Angela” was recorded in support of her as well.

Angela Davis connects to Hallward’s ideas for social change. Hallward preaches vocalizing whatever brings you shame and whatever story you may have that makes you “unlovable” or that might change people’s perception/relationships with you. Angela Davis was an activist and stood up for social change by joining groups that really were trying to end racism and prejudice against black people. These two women connect because in a way, Davis is doing what Hallward is calling us to. Instead of going through life in silence as a black segregated woman, she vocalized her anger and pain, which moved others to do the same. It’s like Hallward said, courage is contagious and listening to others tell stories that are hard to tell that you can relate to has positive effects on your health. So, Angela being an activist during a point in history where everyone else wanted her to be quiet, really pushed for change. She gave other people courage to speak up and vocalize the shame they were internalizing.