First of all, I didn't suggest that we should simply get rid of all prisons. Angela Davis More Quotes by Angela Davis More Quotes From Angela Davis We have inherited a fear of memories of slavery. It is as if to remember and acknowledge slavery would amount to our being consumed by it. As a matter of fact, in the popular black imagination, it is easier for us to construct ourselves as children of Africa, as the sons and daughters of kings and queens, and thereby ignore the Middle Passage and centuries of enforced servitude in the Americas. Although some of us might indeed be the descendants of African royalty, most of us are probably descendants of their subjects, the daughters and sons of African peasants or workers. Angela Davis daughterqueenskings Racism cannot be separated from capitalism. Angela Davis diversityracismjustice Prisons do not disappear problems, they disappear human beings. Angela Davis disappearprisonproblem Human beings cannot be willed and molded into non-existence. Angela Davis words-of-wisdomexistenceafrican-american I think that has to do with my awareness that in a sense we all have a certain measure of responsibility to those who have made it possible for us to take advantage of the opportunities. The door is opened only so far. If some of us can squeeze through the crack of that door, then we owe it to those who have made those demands that the door be opened to use the knowledge or the skills that we acquire not only for ourselves but in the service of the community as well. This is something that I guess I decided a long time ago. Angela Davis responsibilityopportunitythinking I do think it's extremely important to acknowledge the gains that were made by the civil rights movement, the black power movement.Institutional transformations happened directly as a result of the movements that people, unnamed people, organized and gave their lives to. Angela Davis rightspeoplethinking I think the lack of critical engagement with the food that we eat demonstrates the extent to which the commodity form has become the primary way in which we perceive the world. Angela Davis engagementworldthinking My name became known because I was, one might say accidentally the target of state repression and because so many people throughout the country and other parts of the world organized around the demand for my freedom. Angela Davis namescountrypeople Racism, in the first place, is a weapon used by the wealthy to increase the profits they bring in by paying Black workers less for their work. Angela Davis blackracismfirsts The early feminist argument that violence against women is not inherently a private matter, but has been privatized by the sexist structures of the state, the economy, and the family has had a powerful impact on public consciousness. Angela Davis feministviolencepowerful I think we have to really focus on the issues much more than we may have in the past. I think we have to seek to create coalitional strategies that go beyond racial lines. We need to bring black communities, Chicano communities, Puerto Rican communities, Asian American communities together. Angela Davis issuespastthinking Poor people, people of color - especially are much more likely to be found in prison than in institutions of higher education. Angela Davis colorprisonpeople The de industrialization of the US. economy based on the migration of corporations into third world areas where labor is very cheap and thus more profitable for these companies creates on the one hand conditions in those countries that encourage people to emigrate to the US. in search of a better life. On the other hand, it creates conditions here that send more black people into the alternative economies, the drug economies, women into economies in sexual services, and sends them into the prison industrial complex. Angela Davis countryhandspeople No march, movement, or agenda that defines manhood in the narrowest terms and seeks to make women lesser partners in this quest for equality can be considered a positive step. Angela Davis agendasmovementsteps Actually we've had a black bourgeoisie or the makings of a black bourgeoisie for many more decades.In a sense the quest for the emancipation of black people in the US has always been a quest for economic liberation which means to a certain extent that the rise of black middle class would be inevitable. What I think is different today is the lack of political connection between the black middle class and the increasing numbers of black people who are more impoverished than ever before. Angela Davis classmeanthinking Imprisonment has become the response of first resort to far too many of our social problems. Angela Davis prisonproblemfirsts Well for one, the 13th amendment to the constitution of the US which abolished slavery - did not abolish slavery for those convicted of a crime. Angela Davis slaveryconstitutioncrime we have accumulated a wealth of historical experience which confirms our belief that the scales of American justice are out of balance. Angela Davis balancehistoricaljustice One of the reasons that so many people of color and poor people are in prison is that the deindustrialization of the economy has led to the creation of new economies and the expansion of some old ones – I have already mentioned the drug trade and the market for sexual services. At the same time, though, there are any number of communities that more than welcome prisons as a source of employment. Communities even compete with one another to be the site where new prisons will be constructed because prisons create a significant number of relatively good jobs for their residents Angela Davis colornumbersjobs I can't really blame a lot of young sisters and brothers who believe that education has anything to offer them. Because as a matter of fact, it has nothing to offer them. Suppose they do get a high school diploma that is meaningful. What kind of job is awaiting them. The jobs that used to be available to working class people are not there as a result of the de-industrialization of this economy. Angela Davis brothermeaningfuljobs
