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COLLECTION Identifier: MC 1179: T-593: Vt-339

Angela Y. Davis collection of the Schlesinger Library, 1969-1983

Overview

Fliers, posters, press releases, videotapes, etc., by and about Angela Y. Davis compiled by the Schlesinger Library.

Dates

  • Creation: 1969-1983

Language of Materials

Materials in English.

Access Restrictions:

Access. Collection is open for research. An appointment is necessary to use any audiovisual material.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright. Copyright in materials in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns.

Copying. Materials may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.

Extent

.21 linear feet ((1/2 file box) plus 2 folio folders, 1 folio+ folder, 1 oversize folder, 1 photograph folder, 1 audiotape, 7 videotapes)

The Angela Y. Davis collection of the Schlesinger Library contains fliers issued in support of Davis and advertising Davis speaking engagements; posters featuring Davis, some issued by the New York Committee to Free Angela Davis; press releases issued by the National United Committee to Free Angela Davis and All Political Prisoners; an audio recording of a Davis speech at Ohio State University; a video recording of Davis speaking in Boston, Massachusetts; a photograph of Davis's sister, Fania Jordan, being fingerprinted following her arrest at a demonstration protesting Davis's arrest; and writings and statements by Davis.

BIOGRAPHY

Scholar, author, and black feminist philosopher Angela Yvonne Davis is one of the most recognized political activists of the 1960s and 1970s. She rose to national attention in 1969 after being removed from her teaching position at the University of California, Los Angeles, for her membership in the Communist Party at the urging of then-Governor Ronald Reagan. In 1970 Davis was prosecuted for purchasing firearms used in the armed takeover of a Marin County courtroom. Her arrest sparked an international campaign to gain her release and led to a high-profile trial which culminated in her acquittal in 1972. She was the Vice Presidential candidate for the Communist Party of the United States in the 1980 and 1984 presidential elections. Davis is an advocate for prisoners' rights and a founding member of Critical Resistance, a national organization dedicated to abolishing the prison industrial complex. She writes and lectures on social injustice, social movements, and the intersections of race, gender, and class.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Accession numbers: 2018-M94, 2018-M156, 2021-M210, 2021-M218, 2022-M30, 2022-M73, 2022-M108, 2022-M114, 2022-M144, 2022-M195, 2023-M105

The materials in the Angela Y. Davis collection of the Schlesinger Library were given to the library by Marilyn Albert in December 2021, Judy Keleman in December 2021, and Hal Yaeger in June 2022. Additional materials were acquired from the Swann Auction Galleries in June 2018 and May 2022; Lorne Bair Rare Books in September 2018 and November 2022; Max Rambod, Inc., between February and July 2022; and Burnside Books in August 2023.

Related Material:

There is related material at the Schlesinger Library; see Papers of Angela Y. Davis (MC 940).

Processing Information

Processed: September 2018

By: Anne Engelhart

Last updated: August 2023

By: Johanna Carll

Portions of this collection were previously cataloged as A/D260.

The Schlesinger Library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit.  Finding aids may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.

Title
Angela Y. Davis collection of the Schlesinger Library, 1969-1983: A Finding Aid
Author
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
Language of description
eng
Sponsor
Processing of this collection was made possible by the Alice Jeannette Ward Fund.
EAD ID
sch02145

Repository Details

Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository

The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.

Contact:
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