"Those who still defend the supremacy of white male hetero-patriarchy had better watch out," civil rights activist Angela Davis declared to a crowd of more than 500,000 on Saturday at the Women's March in Washington, D.C.
The academic scholar, who has written several books on feminism, intersectionality and race, has a long history of challenging the political status quo in the U.S. And with the new Trump administration officially in office, the 72-year-old is now calling on the American people to resist the president's rhetoric.
"The next 1,459 days of the Trump administration will be 1,459 days of resistance: Resistance on the ground, resistance in the classrooms, resistance on the job, resistance in our art and in our music," she exclaimed. "This is just the beginning and in the words of the inimitable Ella Baker, 'We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes.'"
She later added, "This is a women's march and this women's march represents the promise of feminism as against the pernicious powers of state violence. And inclusive and intersectional feminism that calls upon all of us to join the resistance to racism, to Islamophobia, to anti-Semitism, to misogyny, to capitalist exploitation."
The author also spoke out on anti-immigration ideals and racism:
"This is a country anchored in slavery and colonialism, which means for better or for worse, the very history of the United States is a history of immigration and enslavement," she said. "Spreading xenophobia, hurling accusations of murder and rape and building walls will not erase history.
"No human being is illegal."
Watch her powerful speech in full above.
Reports estimate more than three million women protested across the U.S. on Saturday, with many more marches taking place around the world in solidarity.
Also on HuffPost
