Activist Angela Davis Coming to ASU to Talk Education, Incarceration, and Democracy

Racial, gender, and economic equality have always been core issues for activist Angela Davis. You may recognize her face and voice from civil rights protests, her time on the vice presidential ticket in the 80s, or her most recent work, as a voice on the current state of prisons within...

By Claire Lawton

April 27, 2011

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Racial, gender, and economic equality have always been core issues for activist Angela Davis.

You may recognize her face and voice from civil rights protests, her time on the vice presidential ticket in the 80s, or her most recent work, as a voice on the current state of prisons within the U.S..

Davis will be at ASU's Tempe campus on Thursday, May 5, to speak about education, incarceration, and the future of democracy in prison. She will then join local artist Gregory Sale at the ASU Art Museum for an after-lecture reception, book signing and performance.

Sale has been studying and engaging with the justice system in Arizona since February. His series, "It's not just black and white" has given tours through Sheriff Joe's Tent City, invited inmates into the museum, and hosted participatory activities with the public as part of the museum's Social Studies series.

Sale says the project is designed to encourage dialogue and explore different sides of the criminal justice system.

Davis' lecture and reception blends well with Sale's continuing discussion. She spent 18 months in jail in the early 1970s, and has written books on civil action and social justice (her latest is titled "Are Prisons Obsolete?").

Davis currently works with Justice Now, an organization that provides legal assistance to women in prison and pushes education in social issues. Davis is currently Professor Emerita of History of Consciousness, an interdisciplinary Ph.D program, and Professor of Feminist Studies at the University of California Santa Cruz.

She will give a lecture, free and open to the public, in ASU's Neeb Hall from 5 to 6:30 p.m. with a Q&A session moderated by Sale. The reception will be held at ASU Art Museum, 10th Street and Mill Avenue in Tempe.

For more information, see the event invitation, the ASU Humanities website, or the ASU Art Museum blog.

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