Ethan Freedman
WMST 302: Topics: Angela Davis
Professor Taryn Jordan
November 7th, 2022
The Idolization of Angela Davis: Tracing Her Hesitancy with Fame
Sometimes, there is no better sign of fame and attention of the masses than fan mail – especially from children. Relatively deep in the online archives of the Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute of Harvard University sits letters written to Davis by Children of St. Mary’s School in Pennsylvania. Interestingly enough, these children write to Davis to instill american ideologies, provide illegitimate missionary work for the Catholic religion, and shame Davis for breaking the Fifth Amendment – “thou shalt not kill” were the words of A St. Mary’s Student in their letter (Schlesinger Library, 1971; seq. 5). One child even puts forth the notion that if Davis and their politicians desire to “go against our country,” they should “forget it,” and “go to Cuba, China, or Russia to start a revolution” (Schlesinger Library, 1971; seq. 5). Typically, fan mail takes the form of celebration and praise, however, for a young Angela Y. Davis, history posits that Davis is the center figure of a movement to the extent that children know it too.
Originally written by Angela Davis in 1974 at the Age of 30 and edited by Toni Morrison, Angela Davis: an Autobiography addresses the life, times, and struggles of Davis. In reading her piece, one can learn about how Davis found herself as a central figure to the Chumbawamba communist group, top of the FBI most wanted list, and at the forefront of conversations riddled with individual’s praise and disdain. In other words, through her autobiography, one can trace how Davis rose to fame or infamy, depending on your position. However, from a series of prefaces, I discern the hesitancy that Davis had in centering her story at such a young age as she felt she had not yet lived, nor experienced enough to situate herself so others could relate. While her reluctance is authentic, letters written to Davis unlike the ones from the Children of St. Mary’s school depicts how she was idolized by so many due to the fact that her experiences were not only relatable – but powerful according to Herbert Marcuse. Thus the idolization of Davis by so many positions Davis’ work as a narrative capable of enabling individuals to reimagine their subjectivity in a modern world – simply because they can relate.
Hesitancy for Davis to write about herself was at its highest in 1974, with their first “Preface to the Second Edition” of the autobiography. Here Davis presupposes that “writing an autobiography at [her] age seemed presumptuous” as she felt that it would be inappropriate for her to situate herself at the center of a movement while young and inexperienced (Davis, 1977). Davis, on many levels, feels that she has not experienced circumstances worthy of writing about and says that the “one extraordinary event” in her life could have had someone else at the center with a “little twist” (Davis, 1977). In a sort of dismissive fashion, Davis is attributing the reason for her fame with a little luck, showing that hesitancy for her stems from the belief that anyone could have been in the same situation – it just happened to be her. The preface closes with Davis emphasizing that this whole project of hers would be “worthwhile” if everyone “might be inspired to join our growing community of struggle” (Davis, 1977). For Davis to end with this leaves room for the possibility of others finding roots in her work and relating to her. Davis had plenty of doubts, but remained rather hopeful in considering what success could look like for this project.
While Davis may have initially opposed writing her political biography, her closing to the original preface shows that she was able to anticipate the positive effects that could come out of it. In the “Preface to the Second Edition,” written in 1988 nearly 15 years after its premier, Davis writes how she “appreciates the people who persuaded [her] to write about [her] experiences at what [she] thought was far too young an age to produce a comprehensive autobiographical work of significant value to its audience” (Davis; 1988). In a light form of self definition, Davis is stating that their work produced great value to its audience showing she has been reassured in the time between releases. She was “vehemently opposed” to contributing to the “already widespread tendency to personalize and individualized history” and her own personal moral beliefs made Davis feel “rather embarrassed” to be writing about themselves (Davis; 1988).
Time between the prefaces helps to show that Davis started to understand people were finding ways to relate to her story. The second preface solidifies that hesitancy slowly vanishes and one of the reasons for this is that people started to reassure Davis in written letters of praise and support. In the archives of the Schlesinger Library at Harvard University is a letter from an incarcerated individual written to Davis. They have a “feeling deep deep in [their] heart [they have] known [Davis] for many years” because of their experiences (Schlessinger, Seq. 21; 1970-1971). In their time of imprisonment, this individual sought to write to Davis and attune her to the sentiment that their “wishes are warmer than ever” as they will keep their tradition of “justice and solidarity” and become “stronger in your favor” (Schlessinger, Seq. 21; 1970-1971). Writing to Davis, this person yearned to reassure her that people align with Davis’ experience to the extent that they are willing to organize around Davis..
Moreover, in a speech given by Herbert Marcuse as an introduction for mentee Angela Davis, who was to speak at UC Berkeley on academic freedom, Marcuse reinstills the notion that Davis is eligible to be a central figure in society's rebellion. This is because “the fight for Angela” is a “fight for you” as it is a fight “against the new wave of repression that spreads from this country over the entire world (Davis & Marcuse; 1969). To fight for Davis is to understand that you are also fighting against the same powers that act, more or less, on your body and life. Marcuse adds that a “fight against these powers must go on because it is a fight against you” (Davis & Marcuse; 1969). Marcuse viscerally feels that Angela Davis can be a stand in figure for all who align with her subjectivity.
Davis’ original hesitancy with writing a political biography holds considerable validity, but on an axis of affect, the feelings Davis writes on integrate into traumatic, beautiful, invigorating, and empowering stories worth many lifetimes. To write about one of these events would most certainly reach an audience of some shape or size; however, for Davis to write about themselves at a young age allowed for individuals to plot themselves on a similar plane in some accordance with Davis and the powers that shape their world. While she had reservations about writing at first, others forming a relationship with her through their understanding of her life and the powers she speaks on enabled people to find roots in resistance. Through this relationship, whether tangible, spiritual, fictitious, or such, Davis positioned folks to reimagine their subjectivity and obtain some kind of agency in a world where it is stripped from them. By finding themselves in accordance with Davis, people desired to give their support and as a result, Davis’ rise to fame can be attributed to the empathy that is reciprocated by her audience and her peers.
Word Count: 1228
Bibliography
Angela Davis & Herbert Marcuse at UC Berkeley (1969) Full Audio. www.youtube.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuyWj8BtjKc. Accessed 31 Oct. 2022.
Davis, Angela Y. Angela Davis An Autobiography. Haymarket Books, 2022.
Davis, Angela Y. Angela Davis: An Autobiography. Third edition, Haymarket Books, 2021.
[Letters to Angela Davis from schoolchildren at St. Mary's School, Reading, Pennsylvania],
1971. Papers of Angela Y. Davis, 1937-2017 (inclusive), 1968-2006 (bulk), MC 940,
54.5., Box: 54. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute.
[Letters to Angela Davis from the United States - from other incarcerated people], 1970-1971.
Papers of Angela Y. Davis, 1937-2017 (inclusive), 1968-2006 (bulk), MC 940, 55.2., Box: 55. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute.
[Letters to Angela Davis from the United States], 1971. Papers of Angela Y. Davis, 1937-2017
(inclusive), 1968-2006 (bulk), MC 940, 54.10-54.11., Box: 54. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute.