In October\n2018 the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute announced that Angela Davis, a\nBirmingham native, would receive the Fred Shuttlesworth Human Rights award,\ncalling her \u201cone of the most globally recognized champions of human rights,\ngiving voice to those who are powerless to speak\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recently,\nthe organization changed its position and said Davis does not meet the criteria\nafter all but did not explain why. It is now clear that it is because of her\noutspoken support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement that\nprotests against Israel\u2019s treatment of Palestinians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DIN urges all activists to distribute the statement by sister Davis on this issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Angela Davis’ Statement about Birmingham<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On Saturday January 5, I was stunned to learn\nthat the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute Board of Directors had reversed\ntheir previous decision to award me the Fred Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award.\nAlthough the BCRI refused my requests to reveal the substantive reasons for\nthis action, I later learned that my long-term support of justice for Palestine\nwas at issue. This seemed particularly unfortunate, given that my own freedom\nwas secured \u2013 and indeed my life was saved \u2013 by a vast international movement.\nAnd I have devoted much of my own activism to international solidarity and,\nspecifically, to linking struggles in other parts of the world to U.S.\ngrassroots campaigns against police violence, the prison industrial complex,\nand racism more broadly. The rescinding of this invitation was thus not\nprimarily an attack against me but rather against the spirit of the\nindivisibility of justice.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I support Palestinian political prisoners just\nas I support current political prisoners in the Basque Country, in Catalunya,\nin India, and in other parts of the world. I have indeed expressed opposition\nto policies and practices of the state of Israel, as I express similar\nopposition to U.S. support for the Israeli occupation of Palestine and to other\ndiscriminatory U.S. policies. Through my experiences at Elizabeth Irwin High\nSchool in New York City and at Brandeis University in the late fifties and\nearly sixties, and my subsequent time in graduate school in Frankfurt, Germany,\nI learned to be as passionate about opposition to antisemitism as to racism. It\nwas during this period that I was also introduced to the Palestinian cause. I\nam proud to have worked closely with Jewish organizations and individuals on\nissues of concern to all of our communities throughout my life. In many ways,\nthis work has been integral to my growing consciousness regarding the\nimportance of protesting the Israeli occupation of Palestine.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The trip to Birmingham, where I was born and\nraised, to receive the Fred Shuttlesworth Award, was certain to be the\nhighlight of my year\u2014especially since I knew Rev. Shuttlesworth personally and\nattended school with his daughter, Patricia, and because my mother, Sallye B.\nDavis, worked tirelessly for the BCRI during its early years. Moreover, my most\ninspirational Sunday School teacher Odessa Woolfolk was the driving force for\nthe institute\u2019s creation. Despite the BCRI\u2019s regrettable decision, I look\nforward to being in Birmingham in February for an alternative event organized\nby those who believe that the movement for civil rights in this moment must\ninclude a robust discussion of all of the injustices that surround us. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Angela Y. Davis<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n January 7, 2019 to exist.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In October 2018 the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute announced that Angela Davis, a Birmingham native, would receive the Fred Shuttlesworth Human Rights award, calling her \u201cone of the most globally recognized champions of human rights, giving voice to those who are powerless to speak\u201d. Recently, the organization changed its position and said Davis does not … Continue reading In solidarity with Angela Davis<\/span>