Guide to Angela Davis Materials, 1970-1972
Finding aid prepared by Lisa L. Crane, MLIS, May 2014
Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd Library
800 North Dartmouth Ave
Claremont, CA, 91711
Phone: (909) 607-3977
Email: spcoll@cuc.claremont.edu
URL: http://libraries.claremont.edu/sc/default.html
©2014
Claremont University Consortium. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Angela Davis Materials
Dates: 1970-1972
Collection number: H.Mss.1027
Extent:
1 box
Repository:
Claremont Colleges. Library. Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd Library. Claremont, CA 91711
Abstract: Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American political activist, scholar, and author. She emerged as a nationally
prominent counterculture activist and radical in the 1960s as a leader of the Communist Party USA. In 1970 she became heavily
involved with George Jackson's case and is accused of taking part in a prison uprising that occurs related to Jackson. This
collection contains 27 pamphlets, books and related ephemera concering the imprisonment and trial of Angela Davis, published
during and immediately after her 18-month incarceration. The materials illustrate the efforts of several Free Angela Davis
support groups in spreading her story and raising funds for her defense. The books and pamphlets generally describe the events
surrounding Davis's trial, including opening and closing statements, questionable legal wrangling, and pledges of support
from political, African-American, and international communities; one pamphlet written in German and another a translation
from a German politician.
Physical location: Please consult repository.
Language of materials: Languages represented in the collection: English, one item in German and one item in Spanish.
Administrative Information
Access
This collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to reproduce or to publish must be submitted in writing to Special Collections.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Angela Davis Materials (Collection H.Mss.1027). Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd Library, Claremont
University Consortium.
Source of Acquisition
Collection was purchased by Lisa Crane with John H. Kemble funds.
Accruals
No additions to the collection are anticipated.
Processing Information
Collection was processed at the item level. Materials were first sorted by type and then arranged alphabetically by title.
Biography/Chronology
1944 |
Angela Davis is born in Birmingham, Alabama. |
1959 |
Davis attends Elizabeth Irwin High School in Greenwich Village in New York City. |
1961 Fall |
Davis attends Brandeis University. She is one of two Black students in her freshman class. While at Brandeis, she meets Herbert
Marcuse and becomes his student.
|
1962 Summer> |
Davis attends the Eighth World Festival for Youth and Students in Helsinki, Finland. |
1963 September 16 |
A church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama kills four girls who Davis knew from her childhood. |
1964-1966 |
Davis returns to Paris where she studies French, but is drawn toward studying philosophy, Karl Marx, and communism. During
her time abroad, much activism is brewing in the United States.
|
1967 Summer |
Davis hears Stokely Carmichael speak. |
1967 |
Davis moves to University of California, San Diego to continue studying philosophy. While there, she is involved in community
activism, which includes aiding individuals in prison who do not have access to legal help as well as organizing rallies to
spread her message.
|
1968 |
Davis participates in the Black Panther Party in Los Angeles. She also has close ties to SNCC at this time. Her activities
include the creation of the SNCC Youth Corps, as well as the creation of the People's Tribunal Committee that deals with police
brutality and repression.
|
1968 April |
Martin Luther King is assassinated. |
1968 July |
Davis joins the Che-Lumumba Club, which was the Black cell of the Communist Party. During this time she continues to work
on her Ph.D at University of California, San Diego.
|
1969 |
Davis travels to Cuba. |
1970 |
Davis continues work on her Ph.D and becomes affiliated with George Jackson. She becomes heavily involved with his case. |
1970 August |
A prison uprising occurs related to George Jackson's case, and Angela Davis is accused of taking part in this. Davis is placed
on the FBI's Most Wanted List and she flees California, but is eventually caught in New York.
|
1970 |
Davis spends time in prison in New York. She is later moved to California, where her case will be tried. |
1971 |
While in prison in California, Davis takes part in the publication of a book entitled,
If They Come in the Morning.
|
1971 August |
George Jackson is killed in prison. |
1972 February |
As a result of changed laws in California as well as the Free Angela campaign, Davis is finally given a bail hearing and is
released from prison.
|
1972 June 4 |
The jury of Davis' case delivers a "not guilty" verdict and Angela is released from jail after 18 months of incarceration. |
1972 |
Davis returns to the classroom and begins teaching again at San Francisco State University. |
1975-1976 |
Davis hired as a part time lecturer at the Black Studies Center at The Claremont Colleges for the year 1975-1976. She taught
one two-part seminar entitled, "Black Women and the Development of the Black Community".
|
1979 |
Davis visits the Soviet Union and is awarded the Lenin Peace Prize. She is also made an honorary professor at Moscow State
University.
|
1980 |
Davis runs as the Vice-Presidential candidate for the Communist Party. |
1984 |
Davis runs again as the Vice-Presidential candidate for the Communist Party in the United States. Throughout the 1980s and
1990s, Davis continues her work as an academic, publishing multiple books and teaching and lecturing throughout the United
States and the world.
|
1991 |
Davis begins teaching as a professor in the History of Consciousness and the Feminist Studies Departments at the University
of California, Santa Cruz.
|
1994 |
Davis is appointed to the University of California Presidential Chair in African American and Feminist Studies. |
1996 October |
Davis speaks out in protest at University of California, Los Angles against Proposition 209, which would ban affirmative action
in University of California schools.
|
2008 |
Davis retires as Distinguished Professor Emerita from University of California, Santa Cruz. |
2012 May |
Davis is commencement speaker at Pitzer College, Claremont. |
Source: http://socialjustice.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/index.php/Angela_Davis_Biography
Scope and Contents of the Collection
A collection of 27 pamphlets, books and related ephemera concering the imprisonment and trial of Angela Davis, published during
and immediately after her 18-month incarceration.
The materials illustrate the efforts of several Free Angela Davis support groups in spreading her story and raising funds
for her defense. While several of the books and pamphlets were produced late in her incarceration and immediately following
her release, most were distributed in the days and months following her arrest. They show the grassroots efforts, particularly
in the cities of New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, to disseminate trial news and personal pleas of support from Davis
and other prominent members of the African-American community.
The books and pamphlets generally describe the events surrounding Davis's trial, including opening and closing statements,
questionable legal wrangling, and pledges of support from political, African-American, and international communities; one
pamphlet written in German and another a translation from a German politician.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into four series by material type:
- Series 1: Books, 1971-1972
- Series 2: Newspapers, 1971
- Series 3: Pamphlets, 1970-1972
- Series 4: Broadsheets and broadsides, 1970-1972
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Davis, Angela Y. (Angela Yvonne), 1944-
National United Committee to Free Angela Davis.
Actions and defenses
California
Davis, Angela Y. (Angela Yvonne), 1944- - Trials, litigation, etc.
Litigation
Trials
Series 1:
Books,
1971-1972
Box 1, Folder 1
Am Beispiel Angela Davis, Lother Menne and Klaus Vack (editors),
1971 September
Note
Published in Offenbach, Germany by the Sozialistisches Buro. First edition. In German. Includes a foreward by Ernst Bloch,
articles by Davis, Herbert Marcuse, and several German activists.
Box 1, Folder 2
Closing Defense Statement Made in the Angela Davis Case, Leo Branton,
1972 June 1
Note
Cover title,
Freed by the People. Published in San Francisco by the National United Committee to Free Angela Davis.
Box 1, Folder 3
Free Angela Davis: Hero of the Other America, Dr. Klaus Steiniger,
circa 1971
Note
Published by the National Council of the National Front of the German Democratic Republic. First American edition. Translated
from German. Contains an address by Werner Lamberz, member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity
Party of Germany.
Series 2:
Newspapers,
1971
Box 1, Folder 27
People's World,
1971 February 27
Note
Published in San Francisco by the International Union of Students. Includes a bright orange and black centerfold poster of
Davis.
Series 3:
Pamphlets,
1970-1972
Box 1, Folder 4
Frame Up: The Opening Defense Statement Made by Angela Y. Davis, Angela Davis,
1972 March 29
Note
Published in San Francisco by the National United Committee to Free Angela Davis.
Box 1, Folder 5
The Fight to Free Angela Davis: Its Importance for the Working Class, Charlene Mitchell,
1972 May
Note
Published in New York by New Outlook Publishers. First edition.
Box 1, Folder 6
The Meaning of San Rafael, Henry Winston,
1971 August
Note
Published in New York by New Outlook Publishers. First edition. Written by the African-American chairman of the U.S. Communist
Party in Defense of Davis.
Box 1, Folder 7
On the Defense of Angela Davis: Speech Delivered at the Unitarian Church, Los Angeles, John J. Abt,
1970 November 22
Note
Published in Los Angeles by the National United Committee to Free Angela Davis. First edition.
Box 1, Folder 8
On Trial: Angela Davis or America?, Reverend Ralph Abernathy, John J. Abt, Paul E. Miller, and Ossie Davis,
circa 1971
Note
Published in New York by the Angela Davis Legal Defense Fund.
Box 1, Folder 9
A Political Biography of Angela Davis,
circa 1970
Note
Published in Los Angeles by the National United Committee to Free Angela Davis. First edition.
Box 1, Folder 10
A Political Biography of Angela Davis,
1971
Note
Published in New York by the New York Committee to Free Angela Davis. Second printing.
Series 4:
Broadsheets and broadsides,
1970-1972
Box 1, Folder 11
Act Now to Save Angela's Life: Support the Fund Drive,
1972 January
Note
Printed on one side in English and the other in Spanish. Invitation of support for Davis's defense fund.
Box 1, Folder 12
Angela Davis Weekend,
1971 May
Note
Printed in Philadelphia by the Philadelphia Committee to Free Angela Davis. Flyer for showing of the film,
Angela "Like It Is," and a speech by Davis's lawyer, Margaret Burnham.
Box 1, Folder 13
Free Angela and All Political Prisoners: The Newsletter of the United Committee to Free Angela Davis, Newsletter No. 2,
1970 December 8
Note
Printed in Los Angeles by the National United Committee to Free Angela Davis.
Box 1, Folder 14
Free Angela and All Political Prisoners: the Newsletter of the National United Committee to Free Angela Davis, Newsletter
No. 6
,
1971 March 26
Note
Printed in Los Angeles by the National United Committee to Free Angela Davis.
Box 1, Folder 15
One Million People Sponsor Freedom for Angela Davis,
circa 1970
Note
Printed in Los Angeles by the National Committee to Free Angela Davis. Broadside seeking support for Davis.
Box 1, Folder 16
Open letter from the Philadelphia Committee to Free Angela Davis,
1971 October
Note
Printed in Philadelphia by the Philadelphia Committee to Free Angela Davis. Letter asking for donations for Davis on the one-year
anniversary of her incarceration.
Box 1, Folder 17
People's Petition to Appellate Courts of California Demanding Bail for Angela Davis,
circa 1971
Note
Printed in New York by the New York Committee to Free Angela Davis. Petition for the release of Davis on bail.
Box 1, Folder 18
People's Petition to Supreme Court of California Demanding Bail for Angela Davis,
circa 1971
Note
Printed in New York by the New York Committee to Free Angela Davis. Petition for the release of Davis on bail.
Box 1, Folder 19
Philadelphia Committee to Free Angela Davis Presents "An Evening on Angela Davis" with ticket,
1971
Note
Printed in Philadelphia by the Philadelphia Committee to Free Angela Davis. Flyer for a speech by Davis's mother along with
a small yellow ticket for the event.
Box 1, Folder 20
Philadelphia Committee to Free Angela Davis -- Newsletter No. 1,
1971 June
Note
Printed in Philadelphia by the Philadelphia Committee to Free Angela Davis. Report on a showing of the film,
Angela "Like It Is," a speech by Davis's mother, and information about the group's next meeting.
Box 1, Folder 21
Philadelphia Social Science Forum Presents 2 Films -- "Angela: Like It Is" and "Children of the Revolution",
1971
Note
Printed in Philadelphia by the Philadelphia Social Science Forum. Flyer for a film about Davis.
Box 1, Folder 22
We Demand: No Extradition of Angela Davis to California!,
circa 1970
Note
Printed in New York by the New York Committee to Defend Angela Davis. Flyer promoting a demonstration at Governor Norman Rockefeller's
office to stop the extradition of Davis to California.
Box 1, Folder 23
Summary of Legal Proceedings,
1970 December 16
Note
A brief description of Davis's case from her arrest on October 21 to her court appearance on December 16.
Box 1, Folder 24
Bail for Angela Davis: Judge Says No, Probation Report Says Yes,
circa 1970
Note
Printed in New York by the New York Committee to Free Angela Davis. A copy of the probation officer's report.
Box 1, Folder 25
Free Angela Davis,
circa 1970
Note
Printed in New York by the New York Committee to Free Angela Davis.
Box 1, Folder 26
Get It Together! An Open Letter to Black High School Students, Angela Davis,
1971 March 23
Note
Printed in New York by the New York Committee to Free Angela Davis. A letter issued from the Marin County Jail attempting
to enlist youth to the class struggle.