Activists Call for Resignations After Davis Controversy
Local activists called for leaders of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute to resign Monday after the organization canceled plans to honor human rights advocate Angela Davis. The group planned to present Davis with the prestigious Fred Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award next month.
The Civil Rights Institute announced in October it would honor Davis, a Birmingham native and prominent political scholar. The board says it rescinded the award after determining Ms. Davis’ statements and public record do not “meet all of the criteria on which the award is based.”
Davis was a member of the Black Panther and Communist parties. She was a vocal critic of the Israeli government’s policies toward Palestinians.
Davis grew up in a Birmingham community called Dynamite Hill, so named because the Ku Klux Klan frequently bombed the homes of blacks lawyers, business owners and leaders who lived there in the civil rights era.
The author of 10 books, Davis has lectured throughout the United States and in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and South America. Her works address the social problems associated with incarceration, poverty and race. In the early 1970s, she spent 18 months in jail and on trial after being placed on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted List.”
Frank Matthews, a Birmingham activist, says the BCRI disrespected Davis. He says leaders today should reflect the character, energy and activism of Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, a leader of the Birmingham Civil Rights movement. He called on current leadership of the institute to step down.
“We need a new director – one with some courage to stand up and not be just a silent pretty voice going for anything,” Matthews says. “She should have stood up if she meant for Angela to be here.”
In October, when the organization announced Davis as the award recipient, Andrea Taylor, president of the BCRI, said the group was thrilled to honor her.
“Arguably, she’s one of the most globally recognized champions of human rights, giving voice to those who are powerless to speak. We believe the late Reverend Shuttlesworth would also have been proud to see this award in his name bestowed upon her,” Taylor said in a prepared statement when the award presentation was initially announced.
The Civil Rights Institute president could not be reached for comment Monday. A statement on the organization’s website says the awards gala has been cancelled and tickets will be refunded.
Davis responded to the controversy late Monday, saying she asked for more substantive details on the board’s decision and learned that her long-term support of justice for Palestinians was at issue.
She says she will visit Birmingham in February to attend an alternative event.
NAACP won’t invite Trump to its national convention, breaking a 116-year tradition
President Trump is the first U.S. president in 116 years that the NAACP hasn't invited to the annual convention. The group says Trump is attacking democracy and civil rights.
As Israel turns its focus to Iran, the death toll mounts in Gaza — and hunger deepens
Palestinians say Israeli forces killed scores of people trying to reach food aid in Khan Younis on Tuesday in the deadliest attack of recent weeks on hungry crowds attempting to get food in Gaza.
4 things to know as the war between Israel and Iran intensifies
Panic and confusion gripped Iran's capital, Tehran, as Israel warned civilians to evacuate or face more potential strikes as conflict between the two countries spilled into its fifth day.
Alex Padilla recounts his removal from DHS news conference in emotional Senate speech
The California Democrat returned to the Senate floor Tuesday to warn that the Trump administrations response to immigration protests in Los Angeles should "shock the conscience of our country."
Alfred Brendel, the cerebral pianist with a dry wit, dies at 94
Routinely called a "musician's musician," the pianist had an atypical career that even he called mysterious. He spent it returning to a handful of favorite composers, with acclaimed results.
Sabrina Carpenter joins the ‘song of the summer’ race, just in time
"Manchild," the first single from Sabrina Carpenter's forthcoming album Man's Best Friend, enters this week's Hot 100 singles chart at No. 1, making a late-breaking bid for "song of the summer" status in the process.