Summary
Highlights
Angela Davis recounts being labeled 'armed and dangerous' by the FBI and placed on the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, highlighting how the entire state apparatus, including Governor Ronald Reagan and President Richard Nixon, sought to send her to the death chamber to make a point.
Despite facing severe charges, Davis emphasizes how she turned the trial into an indictment of the system itself. She famously appeared in court with her natural hair, defying expectations, and successfully devastated the prosecution, leading to her acquittal.
Davis shares her childhood experiences growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, witnessing intense racial violence, including the bombing that killed four young black girls. She describes hearing bombs explode, her house shaking, and her father needing guns for protection against potential attacks.
She finds it 'incredible' when people question her about violence, stating that such questions reveal a lack of understanding about the profound and prolonged suffering endured by Black people in America since the beginning of slavery.