Former Black Panther speaks of racial inequality in corrections system at UNC speaker series

Former Black Panther speaks of racial inequality in corrections system at UNC speaker series

by Analisa Romanogtreporters, greeleytribune.com

Sixty years ago, the civil rights movement was called something else, said 1970s political icon Angela Davis at the University of Northern Colorado on Wednesday night.

“It was called the ‘Freedom Movement,’ ” Davis told a crowd of about 700 in the University Center. “It stood for something vaster than legal rights.”

Davis was the third speaker in the university’s Provost Speaker Series, which invites speakers of a different expertise each semester. Davis’ experience comes from her time as a Black Panther activist, author and retired professor from the University of California-Santa Cruz.

This spring, in part to coincide with women and black history months, Davis was invited to speak of the need to reform racial inequalities in the U.S. corrections system and other policy structures.

The Freedom Movement, Davis said, was a more appropriate term because it included equal opportunity. An unequal policy structure “determines who gets to go to a university, and who gets to go to a penitentiary,” Davis said.

She cited the statistic that more black men are incarcerated in the U.S. now than were enslaved in 1850.

“People find it difficult to grasp that racism is still very much a reality in this country,” Davis said.

Karen Meulendyke, a master’s student at Colorado State University, said Davis’ presentation made her want to look more closely at racial inequalities in prisons and jails.

“A lot of what she said is a good starting point for students,” Meulendyke said, especially if they want to get more involved.

Davis said getting involved is exactly what the issue needs. She spoke of her time as a Black Panther activist and the social movement of her generation.

“It was so powerful that it had to be victorious,” Davis said. “And I think we need that kind of movement today.”

Seth Morones, a sophomore at UNC, said he appreciated hearing Davis’ call for action more than he might from others.

“It was great to hear from someone who has actually experienced all of those social movements, and who also beat the system,” Morones said.

Davis said there are about 2.3 million people behind bars in the U.S. on any given day, but throughout the year, about 7 million are in and out of the prison and jail systems.

“We are a world leader in prisoners,” Davis said. She cited funding for education in place of incarceration as a solution. Davis said her hope was that one day, prisons might actually be abolished.

Flo Guido, committee member for the Provost Speaker Series, said some of Davis’ ideas might be controversial. But as an educator, she appreciated Davis’ emphasis on the need for discourse.

“When it’s really hard to have a conversation, that’s when it’s most important to have it,” Guido said. “You’ve got to bring everybody to the table to speak at every level in the community.”

Davis said her and others’ activism in the ’70s improved race inequality a great deal, but the struggle isn’t over yet. Incarceration is just a starting point.

“One black man in the White House doesn’t change the fact that there are a million black men in the big house,” Davis said.



Original Page: http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20110420/NEWS/704209944/1002&parentprofile=1001

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