In honor of black history month, I want to pay tribute to an amazing woman who has not only inspired me but countless black women across America. This woman is Angela Davis. Her work is what influenced and motivated me to major in Women's and Gender Studies as well as strive to have conversations about issues that are happening in our society today that are otherwise not talked about.
Angela Davis is an activist and writer whose work focused on important issues such as women's rights, politics, gender equality, and prison reform. As an African-American woman who grew up in Alabama, she directly related to racial prejudice and discrimination. In particular, a piece of her work that directly continues to give me inspiration to this day is her definition of what it means to be radical. Davis's definition of radical includes "getting at the root" of issues such as gender equality, prison reform, women's rights, etc... That root being: Why are the issues that are happening in our society, happening?
I think that this directly applies to our society today because so often many issues that are happening are going unresolved because people are just scratching the surface. We're not having the necessary conversations about these issues because so many people think that if it does not directly affect them, they don't have to care. But I disagree. Everyone should care about the issues that are affecting people today even if they don't directly affect them. As people, we are who keep each other safe. As I progress in my studies, I want to continue to have these conversations that aren't talked about because they help move us forward into a direction of progress.
In our communities, we need to care about those around us and focus on what matters. I think that Angela Davis embodied this. Her work will continue to live on and inspire countless of other women young and old across America. She has inspired me to think into a whole other realm of consciousness beyond what I already have. Today, Angela Davis is currently a professor at the University of California Santa Cruz where she lectures about history and having a state of consciousness. She is also the author of a few books titled: "Women, Race, and Class (1980)," and "Are Prisons Obsolete? (2003)."
