Activist Angela Davis headlines Black History Month events

Activist and author Angela Davis will be on campus February 16 as Emerson celebrates Black History Month with a slate of events coordinated by the student organization Emerson’s Black Organization with Natural Interests (E.B.O.N.I.) and Multicultural Student Affairs Director Tikesha Morgan.

“It was a big deal for us to get her,” said Morgan. “She’s known for being a female Black Panther during the 1970s and for questioning whether the prison system is working.” Davis was also on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list and lived for a time as a fugitive.

Davis retired as a professor at University of California-Santa Cruz in 2008. Her books Are Prisons Obsolete? and Abolition Democracy will be available to purchase from the Emerson Barnes & Noble Bookstore and at the Semel Theater before the 7:00 pm event. Advance tickets are required through an RSVP. Morgan hopes the event will be streamed live on the Internet.

Other events include “Soul Food Discussion: The New Negro” on February 7, led by Associate Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Gwendolyn Bates; a February 10 spoken word open mic at the Cabaret featuring slam poet Jasmine Mans, who frequently explores the theme of Black female self-image; and on February 14, Harvard student Noni Carter discusses her book, Good Fortune, at the Barnes & Noble at 114 Boylston Street. Wrapping up the celebration is a February 23 concert, “Love, Peace, and Soul,” at the Cabaret. Check the Emerson calendar for details.

“We must recognize all the achievements that African Americans have made in the past, as well as the achievements being made by African Americans today, and use everything we learn about as inspiration for the future,” said Marketing Communications major Chris Hyacinthe ’12, president of Emerson’s Black Organization with Natural Interests.