Angela Davis
A radical intellectual whose iconic afro became a symbol of Black Power, she turned a wrongful imprisonment into a global campaign for justice.
Born 1944 (age 82)·American academic and political activist·Birthday: January 26·The Silent Generation
Biography
Angela Davis emerged from the furnace of 1960s Birmingham, Alabama, to become one of the most recognizable faces of revolutionary struggle. A philosopher educated in the U.S. and Europe, she fused Marxist theory with fierce activism, joining the Communist Party and the Black Panther Party. Her world exploded in 1970 when guns she owned were used in a deadly courthouse raid; charged with murder and kidnapping, she went underground, landing on the FBI's Most Wanted list. Her arrest and trial ignited the 'Free Angela' movement, a worldwide cause célèbre that highlighted racial and political bias in the legal system. Acquitted in 1972, she transformed from a defendant into a tenured professor and enduring voice for prison abolition, feminism, and systemic change. Davis’s life is a testament to the power of ideas in action, refusing to separate the academy from the barricades.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Angela was born in 1944, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Angela Was Born
The biggest hits of 1944
#1 Movie
Going My Way
Best Picture
Going My Way
Angela's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1944Born
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
1949Started school
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1957Became a teenager
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1960Could drive
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1962Could vote
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1965Turned 21
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1974Turned 30
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1984Turned 40
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1994Turned 50
Nelson Mandela elected president of South Africa
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $90,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"The Sign" — Ace of BaseBest Picture: Forrest Gump
2004Turned 60
Indian Ocean tsunami kills over 230,000
Gas: $1.88/galHome: $157,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Yeah!" — UsherBest Picture: Million Dollar Baby
2014Turned 70
Russia annexes Crimea; Ebola outbreak in West Africa
Gas: $3.37/galHome: $160,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Happy" — Pharrell WilliamsBest Picture: Birdman
2024Turned 80
AI reshapes industries; Paris Olympics
Gas: $3.31/galHome: $372,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Espresso" — Sabrina CarpenterBest Picture: Anora
2026Age 82 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Acquitted of all charges in a highly publicized 1972 trial involving a fatal courthouse incident, becoming a global symbol of political justice.
- Authored several influential books, including 'Women, Race & Class,' a foundational text in intersectional feminist theory.
- Co-founded Critical Resistance, a national organization dedicated to dismantling the prison-industrial complex.
- Served as the Distinguished Professor Emerita of History of Consciousness and Feminist Studies at UC Santa Cruz.
Did You Know?
She was a student of philosopher Herbert Marcuse, who called her his 'most brilliant pupil.'
She studied philosophy in Frankfurt, Germany, at the Goethe University in the mid-1960s.
She was twice a candidate for Vice President of the United States on the Communist Party USA ticket in the 1980s.
Her distinctive afro hairstyle became an international symbol of Black Power and resistance.
“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.”
