REVISED Topical Blog Post

Angela Davis spoke on Wednesday, April 21 at the Morris Dailey Auditorium on San Jose State Campus about youth activism and the state of our America today in a creative way by comparing her America 40 years ago, to the one we are experiencing today. Because things are "significantly worse" she emphasized that there will always be struggle it is just a matter of overcoming it and she inferred a decline in the sense of activism not being as active as it was in her yotuh.
It quickly turned into the highlight of my freshman year here at this school. I have always had a sleeping passion for social activism and to have her speaking in front of me a matter of yards away was a great inspiration to move forward with my passion and finally act.What was even greater, was the fact that she was so personable. She started of her talk with mentioning how "interesting" it felt to be back in San Jose since this is where she was arrested for murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy, and she said it in such a way that you could not help but laugh.
One thing that Davis is a big advocate for abolishing the prison system or improving it at least. She said that "Many people are in prison because they don't have the ability to imagine a future for themselves" and while they are in prison they do their best to make it work for them and have a positive outcome. When referring to the amount of reading that goes on in prison she joked that she would "rather have prisoners for students...they do a lot more reading". Although she was joking those two statements made offered a lot of insight because it gives the impression that maybe we are taking away too many peoples chances at a productive lifestyle by incarceration.
Her insight sparked a lot in me, which was her purpose of course. Her mission was definitely accomplished in the case of me. Being a part of this youthful generation with a lot to say, I felt like she was speaking to me when she was talking about youth activism. When speaking about education, Davis compared her college experience to the college experience of today: when she was in school she had the opportunity to "absorb [herself] in [her] studies" and that they were not worried about getting a job and paying loans; they were truly learning. Now there is such an emphasis on the need to "professoinalize" and "marketing ourselves" and I never really thought about it until she mentioned it. I know that for as long as I have been in school I have had a passion and drive for learning, and I know that the reason I came to college was for the same reason that she was in college, I would love to be able to "absorb" myself in my studies. But I don't have that same advantage with the econonmy crisis.
Her words on youth activism were the icing on the cake. She talked about Obama and how "many people assumed that this meant the realization of their dreams"; everybody worked so hard to get him into office, people were vocal about their beliefs and wants and needs, and then when he was elected President everybody left the job up to him. Davis said that "we have a tendency to look for a messiah" and in reality "it doesn't work if it is a one day event" and we should have continued with the demonstrating and being vocal. That is the only way we are going to accomplish something.
Angela Davis has had a great impact on society because she was a member of the Black Panther Party and a social and political activist highlighting the struggles of minority groups in California. She managed to spread her message world-wide as well. She has always been an inspiration to me because her values and the things that she represents are important to me. Being half Black and half white, Angela Davis fought for the struggles my parents experienced so that I could be here today. My passion for activism and to make a difference in this world is a tribute to her.
My favorite thing that she said, that will forever stick in my mind, is when she was talking about herself as a young activist. Angela Davis said "even though we didn't win the revolution we thought we were going to win we broadened the terrain". This quote spoke to me personally because yes, they didn't win a "revolution" but they made a huge impact because of the attitude they had envisioning a win. Youth activists of today and those with a voice need to have the attitude that what we want will be accomplished because something will come out of it, even if it isn't a win.