Free Angela and All Political Prisoners (2012)

From blackwiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Free Angela and All Political Prisoners was released on April 5, 2013, in the USA. The American film was produced by Realside Productions, De Films En Aiguille, and Direct Cinéma. The film was written and directed by Shola Lynch. The movie was the life of Angela Davis, an African American rights activist woman who fought for her and many activist rights and cleared her name as the FBI's top 10 most wanted list[1].

Plot

Angela Davis[2]

Angela Davis, an African American rights activist woman was arrested by law enforcement for having a link with the murder of Judge Harold Haley and an escape of the three African Americans from a courtroom. Angela Davis, early life was seemed to be late from the tides of the Black Power Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Later on, she returned from Germany to become an assistant professor of philosophy at UCLA. However, she is ousted from her job due to her statement of claiming herself as a communist. Later on, Judge Harold Harley was killed by the Soledad brothers who just tried to create an escape for African Americans from a courtroom. The gun was used to kill the judge was owned by Angela Davis, which then the FBI placed her on the top 10 most wanted list. She got arrested, faced with conspiracies, received threats and harassments. She and her colleagues then decided to fight and eventually, she is released from all her charges and continues to abolish the political imprisonment[3].

Black Empowerment

While Davis was imprisoned, Davis' calls for liberation spanned generations and crossed country borders. Angela Davis' custody marked the beginning of a comprehensive prison abolition struggle that remains to this day. David acted as a liaison between the Marin County Jail and the outside world as she had lots of activist connections. For instance, Bettina Aptheker, her colleague, published Davis's writings from the prison and presented them at the convention for the American Psychological Association. The effort has brought people to put attention to civil rights. Many people from children, academics, and civil activists support her such as James Baldwin. In the end, Davis was cleared from all the charges, continues to empower to speak up for what they believe, and the National United Committee to Free Angela Davis (NUCFAD) which was established during her imprisonment was changed to the Campaign to Free All Political Prisoners, an organization to liberate many people like activists from political imprisonment[4].

Controversy

Davis described how racism has provoked African Americans to have guns and protect themselves from threats. She said, "My father had guns in the house. When they came out, we all knew that when they came out, generally it was in response to some threat". Davis is also seen to be called her names, received many threat letters, and despised by many people for speaking up what she believes, not to say as an African American woman too. She is also considered as the top 10 most wanted criminals by the FBI. Yet, she is not proven as the perpetrator though she had several connections with the incident. This has become a question to many people as Davis said "the whole question of crime, what does it mean to be a criminal in this society", still, in the end, she is cleared from the conviction from the all-white jury[5].

References

  1. L.A. Burning: The Riots 25 Years Later (2017). IMDb. Retrieved January 19 2021
  2. Angela Davis TimeOut. Retrieved January 20 2021]
  3. Kevin Jagernauth. TIFF Review: ‘Free Angela & All Political Prisoners’ A Fascinating Chronicle Of Justice & Strength IndieWire. Retrieved January 20 2021]
  4. Free Angela Davis, and All Political Prisoners! Arcgis. Retrieved January 20 2021]
  5. Cynthia Fuchs.'Free Angela and All Political Prisoners': History and Media PopMatters. Retrieved January 20 2021]