GER 150 Podcast - Frauism - Ep 10 - Angela Davis: Feminist Icon or Political Weapon?

The transcription discusses Angela Davis, an African American feminist, icon, and political activist. It explores her early life and involvement in activist groups like the Black Panthers and the U.S. Communist Party. It also mentions her trial and acquittal for her role in the prison escape of the Soledad Brothers. Davis advocated for racial and gender equality and had a relationship with the East German media and the GDR. The discussion also touches on whether the system used her or if she used the system, with different opinions being expressed. Overall, Davis is seen as both a feminist icon and a political activist. Hello and welcome to episode 10 of Primal Sync. Today we will be discussing Angela Davis, a feminist, icon, and political activist. We will be discussing her life and legacy and its effects on the Western world. So getting into who Angela Davis was, Angela Davis was an African American woman who stood as a symbol of black oppression in the fight for equality. In her early life, she lived in a racially divided area of Birmingham, Alabama, with a Ku Klux Klan still being active during this time. She is no stranger to radical racism. She eventually moved to the North for schooling and became part of multiple activist groups, including the Black Panthers, as well as joining the U.S. Communist Party. She had eventually been accused and tried for her role in the prison escape of the Soledad Brothers. Soledad Brothers, my bad. She was eventually acquitted for these crimes and returned back to her job as a professor. So Davis was an outspoken communist who advocated for racial and gender equality. Her relationship with the East German media and the GDR boosted her into an iconic figure for the anti-capitalist movement. She called out the racial corruption running through the United States and West Germany that continued to oppress minorities. Her visions for the future reflected the communist anti-capitalist struggle. However, she ended up becoming over-glorified and objectified by the media and turned into a figurehead when she didn't intend to be one. So do you think that the system used her, meaning like the government or like institutions, or did she use the system? I think both. I think the system used her more than she used the system. I agree. I don't think she intended to be as big as she was. And I don't know if she was entirely aware of how big she was. Well, she was because she did know because she kept meeting with media people to get her message out. But I think the media more used her as a figurehead for anti-capitalism and anti-United States, actually. Anti-West, I would say. The GDR definitely used her. I agree because I think it's more than she used the system because whenever I think about it, it was more like she was this figurehead and they're like, well, we're going to show that we're not racist and that we have equality and that we are going to do this. So I think that that is more than her using the system. Yeah, and I think it was very performative of the GDR specifically to be like, oh, because we have a black woman as our figurehead, then obviously we're not racist, we're not like the U.S. and we're significantly better than the U.S. Amen. Yes. I mean, the West, not the West, the East called racism an old world problem, claimed that they weren't racist. And they said that racism was an American problem. I mean, actually so, but it's not like racism didn't exist in Europe or in the East. It obviously did. I mean, they had workers that would come from African countries as they would be colonizing because they needed people to mobilize for work. But they were so segregated from the other population and Germany is still seen as white. Yeah. So I think that in those terms, she's definitely, I don't know, I feel like she did use the system because the system was built against her. So she did use the system in a way to gain the political level that she did and be able to reach people the way she did. I think she was able to use the system, but I also think that for instance, the GDR, the system used her. Right. I mean, she was studied in Europe. I think I believe it's like Paris, France and West Germany. So it feels weird to be like her just so, no, it doesn't feel weird. I take that back. I think it's right that they took her in rather than like maybe her using them. I just think that they needed a way to, you know, denounce capitalism in the United States. So that was a, I guess, sort of a shortcut to do so on a black woman from the US. I think she definitely was a mobilizer. I mean, she was titled like American comrade, like poster girl. She was definitely, she definitely got people mobilized together to create change. Yeah. So I also kind of want to talk about like her actual involvement with like her trial, which was like this huge thing and like there's so much written about it. Was he actually guilty of this murder? That's how it all got started. So like someone, a group of people murdered or shot some people and, but the guns they used were registered under Davis's name. And then, so she obviously escaped California. Is that where she was at? California? And the FBI, she became like FBI's most wanted. It just felt weird because it's like, was this like a sham? Like was this whole thing just like brought up on something that if it does never happen, would this just not exist? Like it just was so weird because like she just rose to prominence so quickly and was like this giant figurehead. And that's just one thing I can't really wrap my head around. It's like, if it's never happened, then nothing's going to come out of it. Yeah. And I think that like the two pieces of evidence like that, or the reason that she did spend 18 months in jail was the fact that the guns were registered under her name. Right. I don't know. I feel like... Like did she actually commit this crime or was she framed? Like it just, it doesn't feel, it feels weird. I think she did. She probably did. Like she may not have pulled the trigger, but putting it in action. I mean, her still having the name on the gun feels like it's being framed. So I think people would perceive, oh, she's being framed. This black woman can't, did not do this crime rightfully so she should not be in jail. And I think that's what really brought it forward. But also like America is still really racist. So maybe I just like don't understand like the context of it. So like, yeah. I'm thinking like from like, like right now in history, like... I feel like regular American citizens would be like, this is eh, like, this just happens, like, you know, they weren't thinking anything about it. Because I mean, most people were definitely racist. I mean, in a sense, I mean, with the amount of the, how much the Ku Klux Klan had involvement and like how life was and like segregation. So like, if it didn't get out, then I feel like it would definitely be different. Yeah. No, I agree. I think it's pretty interesting. I think that her story is at least something notable just because like her influence, her continued influence throughout history is also like notable, especially like her involvement with like the Black Panthers as an organization. I've heard more about like, like, I didn't realize where I had heard the name Angela Davis for until I read like the Black Panthers. I agree. And then it was like... I heard this name, I didn't like understand, I didn't really know where the whole, like the whole story of it. Yeah. I mean, she continued to do work even after like MLK. So like that definitely shows her like racial, like, politicalness. Yeah. So I feel like she, it's like we're closing this question, is she a feminist icon or a political activist or whatever. I feel like she's both. I mean, as a woman to, it's like a more bringing back and self-host, like marching to center theory. Like she did get to the center and she was trying to expand the center out to the margin. Yeah. I mean, she didn't fight for equality, racial, gender equality. Regardless of how she got there. I mean, like she was also like this kind of political weapon. I would disagree. Yeah, I think she was more of a political weapon than she was a... I don't disagree. She was like not a political weapon. Right. I don't really know if she, in my, in my view, I don't think she was as much a feminist icon, if at all, if I'm being honest with you. Like I think that it was more political, like I feel like you could be political and advocate for gender rights, but like I didn't really get the sense that she was like hardcore feminism or like, I say hardcore feminism, like she was much more oriented towards like the system using her. So that's why I think she was a political weapon versus a feminist icon. Because I don't feel like as much she did something of her own. Well, I didn't say that she did much of her own, but since she was so carried, I felt like by everything around her, that it felt more like she was a political weapon. Yeah, but I feel like she took that off. I understand, yeah. I think that like with, um, Glennie... Riffenstahl. Like whenever we talked about her, like she was very obviously like taking the opportunity. Oh, definitely. And all extending, extending equality in many ways. But like I feel like with Davis, you can see where she like worked. Yes, I agree that she did move the, she was making that center bigger. Yeah. I agree with that. But that's why I think that she is both like a feminist icon as well as a public feminist. Um, just because I don't think those things are like mutually exclusive. Yeah, I think it could be both, I guess. Yeah, so that's that. That's episode 10 of Star Wars done. Yeah. Angela Davis. Cheers! Cheers!