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“Art can’t just be a contributor. It has to be in the forefront. It has to guide us in ways that our ordinary discourse is incapable of doing. We want to create a world that has never been created before.”
That was esteemed activist and scholar Angela Davis’ explanation of the transformative power of art and artists to shift cultural narratives and spark revolution. She shared her thoughts with a sold-out room Feb. 17 as part of the Distinguished Lecture Series at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Davis gained international notoriety after being arrested and accused of participating in a deadly prison escape in the 1970s. A public movement arose to free her, and she was later acquitted. Today, she continues to focus on the prison-industrial complex.
“We have to redo the whole way the world is organized,” she told the crowd. “We have to imagine different ways; education is an alternative to imprisonment — maybe not the kind of education we have now, because how much does it cost to be a student at this university?”
Inspired by overwhelming student support, UWM senior socio-cultural programming manager John Contreras and his team worked for about a year to bring Davis to campus.
“There is hope that we can be our own change agents,” he said, “and we can be people that can inspire each other, our community, and be inspired by her words, by each other’s words and serve as vessels for change.”
When asked to compare civil rights and socio-political movements from the 1970s to those of today, Davis said they’re all aspects of a larger movement for freedom supported by those directly and indirectly impacted by the oppression. Her words left a mark on everyone in attendance.
“What stood out for me was talking about that we are not lone capitalist individuals, and that’s what we don’t understand,” said Brenda Coley. “We kind of feel that we pull ourselves up from our bootstraps, and that’s how we make it — and that’s exactly the opposite. Reminding people of that truth was significant for me.”
Collin McGinn connected with Davis’ thoughts on listening to others. “We live in a milieu that discourages it in many ways,” he said, “and it highlights the importance of what she and other open-minded and equity-motivated individuals bring to the table.”
Davis’ visit to UWM was the same day the world learned that civil-rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson had died. She recalled a time he visited her in jail, fondly calling him her “spiritual advisor” and adding that “we wouldn’t be what we are without the contributions of Jesse Jackson. We all have good reason to pay tribute to his insistence that we are somebody.”
