Libertad para Angela Davis

On Saturday night Angela Davis spoke at Reed as part of Black History Month. The talk started at 7 and doors opened at 6:30. I arrived at 6:30 to find a line spanning nearly a third of campus. A first! I got in line at the back, but by some grace was met inside with a front row seat.
I saw Davis speak when she came to Humboldt State two years ago. That time, too, the line was off the wall and they had to broadcast the lecture out into the foyer. Her speech then was incredibly impowering, you can view it on YouTube (of course) here as given at UC Davis. (It didn't hurt either that she was sporting fantastic skintight bellbottoms with her signature afro, not at all looking her age).
This time the content of her speech was not so organized or coherent. She began by listing numerous black women throughout history who affected change, then making Obama the subtle theme of the rest of her talk. She listed his actions with which she was happy, those with which she was unhappy, what she hopes he will do in the future - all the while emphasizing that we should not be afraid to tell him when he does something wrong or when we want him to do something he is not. OK.
Despite all this, the experience of being in a packed auditorium with people excited and empowered and ready to enact change was incredible. And just knowing all that Davis has done and is doing supercedes her words on this one occassion. This fall she celebrated the 10 anniversary of Critical Resistance, which seeks to dismantle the Prison Industrial Complex.

For more information, I suggest reading Angela Davis: An Autobiography.