A woman is...
What makes a woman?
The characteristics or traits and skills that make up what a woman will vary with the writer, and perhaps most significantly with the gender of the writer. However, for today's purpose, I am going to say that a woman is strong. That's the single word that I am going to use. Emotionally, mentally, physically, women have a strength that exceeds their gender counterparts in their ability to overcome, withstand, adapt to, and fight all that comes their way. And the very best of them takes that strength and uses it to fight for others, for something bigger than themselves. This simplistic definition fits all of our Women's History Month heroes.
Today's hero particularly embodies strength and what it means to be a woman, Angela Davis. There is so much to say about this remarkable woman that it is hard to know where to start. Davis, while pursuing an education and her passion in philosophy, gave her life and spare time to fighting for equality. She was and still is a strong activist for women's rights and racial equality. In the 1960's during the birth of the Civil Rights Movement, Angela Davis volunteered and worked as a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. After the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Davis joined the
Communist party in an effort to see some real change happen in American
politics. Having earned her Master's degree, she began teaching at the University of California, LA. Through her career as a student, she fought for the rights and equality of students and citizens wherever she was at.
Upon becoming a professor, she had to renew that effort and fight again. After learning of her appointment as a professor at UCLA, then governor of California, Ronald Reagan, called for her dismissal due to her ties with the Communist party. Davis was fired and immediately fought back for the right to fair treatment under the law. She won.
One year later, Davis was arrested and imprisoned. She was later freed and released from all charges. During this time, Davis lay witness to a whole other group of individuals whose civil rights were being violated and in jeopardy.
Seeing a country at war, Angela Davis did not quit, but rather expanded her efforts and commitment to see equality grow and prejudice be stamped down. She ran for Vice President in the 1980 presidential election against Reagan and Carter on the Communist party ticket, breaking all kinds of boundaries running as a woman and an African American.
Having committed her life to education and activism, sharing her strength with the world at large having authored no less than 8 books, many of which are in our Library, and remaining at the forefront of the fight for civil rights, Angela Davis truly embraces what the word strength means and what it means to be a woman. She is truly one of our great heroes.
For more on this incredible woman, come to the Student Activities showing of Free Angela this Thursday. This is a powerful documentary telling of one woman's incredible strength.
The characteristics or traits and skills that make up what a woman will vary with the writer, and perhaps most significantly with the gender of the writer. However, for today's purpose, I am going to say that a woman is strong. That's the single word that I am going to use. Emotionally, mentally, physically, women have a strength that exceeds their gender counterparts in their ability to overcome, withstand, adapt to, and fight all that comes their way. And the very best of them takes that strength and uses it to fight for others, for something bigger than themselves. This simplistic definition fits all of our Women's History Month heroes.
Today's hero particularly embodies strength and what it means to be a woman, Angela Davis. There is so much to say about this remarkable woman that it is hard to know where to start. Davis, while pursuing an education and her passion in philosophy, gave her life and spare time to fighting for equality. She was and still is a strong activist for women's rights and racial equality. In the 1960's during the birth of the Civil Rights Movement, Angela Davis volunteered and worked as a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. After the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Davis joined the
Communist party in an effort to see some real change happen in American
politics. Having earned her Master's degree, she began teaching at the University of California, LA. Through her career as a student, she fought for the rights and equality of students and citizens wherever she was at. Upon becoming a professor, she had to renew that effort and fight again. After learning of her appointment as a professor at UCLA, then governor of California, Ronald Reagan, called for her dismissal due to her ties with the Communist party. Davis was fired and immediately fought back for the right to fair treatment under the law. She won.
One year later, Davis was arrested and imprisoned. She was later freed and released from all charges. During this time, Davis lay witness to a whole other group of individuals whose civil rights were being violated and in jeopardy.
Seeing a country at war, Angela Davis did not quit, but rather expanded her efforts and commitment to see equality grow and prejudice be stamped down. She ran for Vice President in the 1980 presidential election against Reagan and Carter on the Communist party ticket, breaking all kinds of boundaries running as a woman and an African American.
Having committed her life to education and activism, sharing her strength with the world at large having authored no less than 8 books, many of which are in our Library, and remaining at the forefront of the fight for civil rights, Angela Davis truly embraces what the word strength means and what it means to be a woman. She is truly one of our great heroes.For more on this incredible woman, come to the Student Activities showing of Free Angela this Thursday. This is a powerful documentary telling of one woman's incredible strength.
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