Angela Davis
Outspoken activist Angela Davis says Americans must continue to fight for human rights because victories of the past are not permanent.
"Victories are never etched in stone," said Davis, a professor at UC Santa Cruz, who acknowledged that much work must be done to fight for social justice around the world.
Receiving standing ovations before and after her speech, Davis delivered an impassioned, powerful and provocative closing keynote address on Wednesday at Women Leaders 2006, a symposium presented by the UCSF
Center for Gender Equity.
More than 400 women from throughout the UC system gathered for the two-day symposium designed to give attendees tips, tools and pep talks on how to elevate their professional and personal lives.
While Davis said it's great to strive for individual success, she challenged participants to also think globally about the "sense of common destiny" that all people share.
Although the United States has made great gains since the 1960s, daunting challenges remain to protect civil liberties, house the homeless, provide a living wage, improve health care and education, and defend the rights of immigrants and those incarcerated, she noted.
Once imprisoned herself on criminal charges for which she later was acquitted, Davis is known internationally for work to combat all forms of oppression. An author of seven books and many articles on race, class and gender, she has lectured throughout the nation, as well as Africa, Europe, the Caribbean and the former Soviet Union.
Describing the atrocities of torture in the US military prison at Abu Ghraib and the ongoing struggle of women in Afghanistan, Davis noted that it is dangerous at "this moment in history to think of ourselves only as individuals." She called for carrying a sense of consciousness for the world community, especially those who have suffered in the name of spreading democracy in the war on terror.
Women of color, once shut out of positions of leadership, now are working in the highest levels of the government. Citing a number of firsts for African American women who have risen to the top in power and prestige, however, Davis said the real question is whether they are making a positive difference.
"Women are quite capable of unethical leadership," she said. "When we fight for change, we don't always get the change we expect."
An activist for more than 50 years, Davis first began to push for change in her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, where at age 11 she organized an interracial discussion group in her church amid Jim Crow laws, which led to segregation by race until fully repealed by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But far from being a "bizarre relic of the past," racism and a lack of understanding and appreciation for diversity of all kinds continue to exist across the country.
The latest sign of unrest has been evident in the heated national debate over immigration.
"Some of the most important and largest demonstrations have taken place in recent weeks around the question of immigration rights," Davis noted. "Many were shocked to see demonstrations around the country happening simultaneously."
But demonstrations don't define a movement, she said, adding that movements require sustained action to affect change.
In a call to defend the rights of immigrants, Davis noted that "this is the most important movement in the community right now. It should be supported by all of us who are advocates for social justice."
Hoping for a "world free of torture and a world free of war," Davis closed with a quote from Gandhi: "Be the change that you want to see in the world."
