Angela Davis Visits UCSB For Film Screening

Political activist Angela Davis stopped by UC Santa Barbara for the screening of the documentary made about her called Free Angela and All Political Prisoners.

The film screening was the first event for the new film group Sol Sisters Rising.

In the late 1960s and 70s, Davis was an outspoken symbol for social justice. Decades later, she still believes in her cause.

“I can’t imagine inhabiting this earth without fighting for justice and equality and freedom,” Davis told NewsChannel 3.

The new film group brought the documentary to UCSB, highlighting a contentious part of Davis’ life.

“Sol Sisters Rising is a newly formed collective dedicated to the elevation of women of color in film,” said one of the founders Gaye Johnson.

Davis said she was honored to be apart of the inaugural event.

“I am so glad that Sol Sisters Rising has taken up this task of archiving and bringing together women of color who make film,” she said.

The students filled the Pollock Theater on campus to watch the movie and meet Davis.

“She’s such a phenomenal woman, such an inspiration for everyone and especially as a woman of color, an incredible model to aspire to be like one day,” said Megan Foronda.

When Davis was a young college professor, her affiliation with the Black Panthers and Communist Party attributed to her being fired from UCLA and also her implication in the death of a Marin County judge.

A jury found her not guilty but before the trial, she landed a spot on the FBI’s 10 most wanted list.

“I think it’s important that young people recognize that it is possible to stand up and fight back and struggle and win,” she said.

When Davis watched the film for the first time, she learned more details about what happened to her so many years ago.

“I realized that there were aspects of that story that I didn’t even know,” she told the crowd in the theater. “As a matter of fact, I never knew how it was that the FBI actually caught me. All I knew is that they found me and they arrested me but I didn’t know the story.”

“It was incredible,” said Yoel Haile, a student. “Brilliant woman, very, very inspirational, revolutionary woman.”

For more information on Sol Sisters Rising, click here.

Slideshow: Angela Davis Visits UCSB For Film Screening