Angela Davis To Deliver 2020 Nelson Mandela Social Justice Day Keynote At USI

The University of Southern Indiana will host Dr. Angela Davis, a distinguished professor, activist and social justice advocate, as the keynote speaker for its 2020 Nelson Mandela Social Justice Day at 6 p.m. Wednesday, February 5 in Carter Hall. Davis’ presentation, “Democracy and Civil Engagement,” will be free and open to the public as space allows. An activism fair featuring USI and community organizations will be held in the Carter Hall concourse beginning at 2 p.m. prior to the keynote address.

Davis is the author of nine books and has lectured throughout the United States as well as in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and South America. In recent years, a persistent theme of her work has been the range of social problems associated with incarceration and the generalized criminalization of those communities that are most affected by poverty and racial discrimination. She draws upon her own experiences in the early seventies as a person who spent eighteen months in jail and on trial, after being placed on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted List.” Davis has also conducted extensive research on numerous issues related to race, gender and imprisonment. Her most recent book is Freedom is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement.

Davis’ teaching career has taken her to San Francisco State University, Mills College and the University of California, Berkeley. She also has taught at UCLA, Vassar, the Claremont Colleges and Stanford University. She spent the last fifteen years at the University of California, Santa Cruz where she serves as Distinguished Professor Emerita of History of Consciousness, an interdisciplinary Ph.D program, and of Feminist Studies. She holds a bachelor’s degree in French and philosophy from Brandeis University, a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of California, San Diego and a doctorate in philosophy from Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany.

The University of Southern Indiana has sponsored the Nelson Mandela Social Justice Day and Speaker Series since 2014.  The goal of these events is to raise dialogue at USI around current issues of human and civil rights, public service, and activism through diverse, dynamic, nationally, and internationally known public intellectuals and academics. Previous speakers include authors Tim Wise and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, community organizer Tia Oso and activist and academic Dr. Cornel West.

For more information, visit the Mandela Social Justice Day website at USI.edu/liberal-arts/special-programs/mandela-social-justice-day/ or contact Dr. Sakina Hughes, associate professor of history and chair of the Mandela Social Justice Commemoration Committee, at shughes1@usi.edu.