This documentary covers the time in which she was a controversial figure, and given what we now know about the police, it rings true.
She was born in Birmingham, Alabama and educated at the Frankfurt School, Angela Davis was uniquely positioned at the heady 1960s crossroads of political activism and academic theory. The movie begins at the flash point, with Davis’ arrest in August of 1970 in connection with a courtroom hostage takeover that left six people dead and had Richard Nixon denouncing her as a “dangerous terrorist.” Again, knowing what we know about Nixon perverting justice, makes this sketchy at best. She was a member of the Communist Party who allied herself with the Black Panthers, Davis was also a fiercely articulate intellectual specializing in German philosophy—in other words, very powerful. So when it turned out that the guns used in a courtroom standoff belonged to her, the FBI seized the opportunity to bring her in. First, however, she went underground, which turned her from a figure of controversy into a nascent legend. John Lennon and Yoko Ono wrote a song about her, as did the Rolling Stones; her Afro-ed silhouette became as iconic as Che’s beret. The ultimate clearing of her name is a perfect bookend to the movie, and it was very enjoyable.
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