Angela Davis, a Marxist and feminist scholar and activist, is coming to the Madam Walker Legacy Center on Oct. 2 for an Indianapolis Urban League event.
Beyond the Record will examine how incarceration affects mental health, employment and long-term stability. The panel discussion will also look at what it takes to move forward, beyond a person’s criminal record.
This is the first time Davis has spoken at a public event in Indianapolis since 2016, when she was the keynote at IU Indianapolis’ Martin Luther King, Jr. dinner.
In 2021, she was scheduled to speak at a Butler University virtual event organized by its Student Government Association. But her talk was abruptly canceled three days before it was set to take place. Some students claimed censorship, but university officials said “policies for booking outside speakers” were not followed.
Davis came to prominence after being jailed for 16 months in the early 1970s after being falsely charged with murder, kidnapping and criminal conspiracy.
She is the third woman ever placed on the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list. Her imprisonment inspired a global “Free Angela Davis” movement. Davis was eventually acquitted in 1972.
She will be joined by moderator Dr. Russell Ledet and six other speakers who represent different criminal justice organizations in Central Indiana. They include Lena Hackett, Bianca Harris, Scott Hoh, Raymond Powell, Glenn Johnson and Kimberly Simmons.
The event — which will take place from 9 a.m. to noon — is free and open to the public and includes a continental breakfast. Guests must register online.
Indianapolis Urban League’s Beyond the Record pairs lived experiences of residents who have been incarcerated with a professional view to challenge assumptions and confront hard truths.
Since then, Davis has gone on to become a celebrated college professor, prison abolitionist and author of books like “Women, Race, and Class,” “Women, Culture, and Politics” and “Are Prisons Obsolete?”
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Mirror Indy reporter Mesgana Waiss covers arts and culture. Contact her at 317-667-2643 or mesgana.waiss@mirrorindy.org.
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