Published on Feb. 11, 2022

To celebrate Black History Month our CASE Marketing interns will highlight their most influential figures. In this video, Becca Newton Honors Author, Educator and Political Activist Angela Davis

Hi! I’m Becca Newton and I’m a senior here at Mizzou and a member of the CASE marketing team.

One of the many influential figures in Black history who is a personal hero to me is Angela Davis.

Angela Davis is a revolutionary queer author, educator and political activist for civil rights and other political and social issues.

She was influenced by her upbringing in segregated Alabama, where she organized interracial study groups and actually knew some of the young Black girls killed in the Birmingham church bombing.

When she moved to California, Angela Davis joined the Black Panthers and worked in campaigns against the Vietnam War. She became a leader in the 1960s and 70s in Black civil rights, Black Power, and Black feminist liberation movements.

Angela Davis was wrongfully convicted and served 16 months in prison, but was released after thousands organized to free her. John Lennon and Yoko Ono wrote “Angela” about her during this time.

A strong abolitionist, anti-racist, and feminist, Angela Davis is an inspiration to me. She motivates me to think intersectionally, and I admire her optimism that our country can change for the better, despite the violence and hate she has experienced in her life. Angela Davis has accomplished so much, and at 78 continues to work to change the world. She is famous for saying, “But we have to do it as it it were possible.”