On Monday, January 23, 2012, famed scholar, activist, and former prisoner (acquitted of charges including murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy), Dr. Angela Davis, spoke at RI School of Design as part of a week of service dedicated to Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Her keynote address, which covered the topic of "Building Communities of Activism," included a discussion of King's belief in collective action despite the memorialization of him as the face of the Civil Rights Movement; an examination of the New Deal from the perspective of the protests and direct actions that prompted the policies that emerged after the 1930's era Depression; and an analysis of the "prison abolition movement" as an important part of the worldwide struggle for social justice, workers rights, and economic equality. She also referenced and returned to today's Occupy (Wall Street) Movement throughout her talk.

In a brief interview after her address, I asked Davis more about the history of race relations within the labor movement, and she replied with an abbreviated timeline of when and why Blacks were excluded. She went on to discuss the benefits of integration in the Labor movement, citing one group in particular - the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (the ILWU). A labor union that primarily represents workers on the West Coast, the ILWU accepted Black workers as members as early as the 1930's. Later in the century, explained Davis, Black workers within the ILWU helped introduce new "radical" ideas into the labor union movement, including during the global campaign to dismantle Apartheid South Africa.

The podcast is produced by me Reza Clifton (Reza Rites / Venus Sings / DJ Reza Wreckage). Music by (and played with permission from) The Blest Energy Band ft. Tem Blessed & The Empress. The song, “The Struggle,” comes from their album ”Re-Energized,” which was released January 20, 2012. See more info and multimedia work by me on www.IsisStorm.com, www.VenusSings.com, and www.RIFuture.org.