Few other events in the tumultuous early 1970s so clearly embodied the gaping rift between the establishment and the counterculture than the controversial firing of outspoken Communist party member Angela Davis from her philosophy professorship at UCLA, coupled with her eventual trial for being an accomplice to murder. Filmmaker Shola Lynch's documentary draws on a broad range of source material, along with lots of interview footage of Davis herself. Viewers will learn just how dangerous it was to be an African American female radical in the age of Nixonian “law and order” tyranny and prejudice. Davis's life of academic promise was cut short by the vice grip of a reactionary conservative America: California governor Ronald Reagan and his board of regents voted to have Davis fired from UCLA, and not long after, two guns purchased by Davis ended up being used to murder a local District Judge. Although Davis herself wasn't personally involved in the murder, pressure from the vindictive powers-that-be ultimately had her facing the death penalty. This engrossing film covers the story of how Davis's courage and intellectual integrity, together with a worldwide “Free Angela” movement, helped her to overcome a prejudiced U.S. Justice system and emerge as a civil rights heroine for the ages. Highly recommended. (M. Sandlin)
Free Angela and All Political Prisoners
Lionsgate, 101 min., not rated, DVD: $26.98 Volume 28, Issue 6
Free Angela and All Political Prisoners
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