Angela Davis Celebrates Sixty-Ninth Birthday: 11 Memorable Quotes From An American Icon

Happy Birthday Angela Davis
US militant Angela Davis (C) salutes Cuban workers with her hard hat in October 1972 in Havana during her visit to Cuba. (Photo credit should read DOMINIQUE FAGET/AFP/Getty Images)
US militant Angela Davis (C) salutes Cuban workers with her hard hat in October 1972 in Havana during her visit to Cuba. (Photo credit should read DOMINIQUE FAGET/AFP/Getty Images)

On this day, 69 years ago, the activist, scholar, and revolutionary Angela Davis was born in Birmingham, Alabama.

Davis has spent much of her life fighting for and defending forgotten or marginalized groups in America and abroad. Known for her political activism during the turbulent 1960's, she became a household name when on August 18, 1970 J. Edgar Hoover made her the third woman ever placed on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List.

After a nationwide manhunt, Davis was arrested on October 13, 1970 for her alleged connection to the kidnappings and murders that occurred during Jonathan Jackson's attempt to free the imprisoned Soledad Brothers. Davis had purchased the guns used by Jackson. Upon her arrest, then President Richard M. Nixon congratulated the FBI for capturing Davis, describing her as a "dangerous terrorist."

Her subsequent trial was covered widely across the world. Stars such as John Lennon and Yoko Ono (with their song Angela) and The Rolling Stones (with their song Sweet Black Angel) showed their support for Davis. On June 4, 1972, after 13 hours of deliberation, an all-white jury acquitted Davis of murder, kidnapping and conspiracy charges. Davis was 28-years-old at the time.

From her radical work during the 1960's, through her trial and subsequent acquittal, to her work as an educator (Davis has served as a professor and department head at the University of California at Santa Cruz and as visiting scholar at other colleges and universities) Davis' name holds a secure space among the ranks of legendary Americans.

As she celebrates her 69th birthday, let's take a look back at some of her most memorable quotes.

"Art on the Frontline," Women, Culture, and Politics (written 1984).

Angela Davis Through The Years

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