Angela Davis

It's true that it's within the realm of cultural politics that young people tend to work through political issues, which I think is good, although it's not going to solve the problems. ”

I'm suggesting that we abolish the social function of prisons. ”

What I think is different today is the lack of political connection between the black middle class and the increasing numbers of black people who are more impoverished than ever before. ”

Poor people, people of color - especially are much more likely to be found in prison than in institutions of higher education. ”

Jails and prisons are designed to break human beings, to convert the population into specimens in a zoo - obedient to our keepers, but dangerous to each other. ”

Racism is a much more clandestine, much more hidden kind of phenomenon, but at the same time it's perhaps far more terrible than it's ever been. ”

We know the road to freedom has always been stalked by death. ”

Had it not been for slavery, the death penalty would have likely been abolished in America. Slavery became a haven for the death penalty. ”

The campaign against the death penalty has been - while a powerful campaign, its participants have been those who attend all of the vigils, a relatively small number of people. ”

I'm involved in the work around prison rights in general. ”