Black students create committee in support of Angela Davis’ acquittal

February 18, 1971

Black students create committee in support of Angela Davis’ acquittal; Students form Peace Coalition, issue a Peace Treaty

(Date is for when it was reported in the Sophian)

Smith students responded to UCLA professor and activist Angela Davis’ arrest, impending trial, and treatment as a black woman and a so-called “radical.” Brooke Whiting ’72, JoCarol Evans ’73, and Anne Payne ’73 formed a committee to inform the Smith and Northampton community about Davis’ case and organize actions, such as a letter-writing campaign, toward her acquittal. They did so in conversation with similar groups at Mt. Holyoke, Williams, UMass, and Amherst. In a Sophian letter to the editor, Whiting described the racial and political dynamics of Davis’ arrest.

Angela Davis (letters campaign)

(Lttr. to the Ed.) Angela Davis Story

[Last updated on October 28, 2018]