ANGELA DAVIS
cmyk screenprint | 16 in x 36 in | 2024
“number one was we want freedom.
two, full employment.
three, an end to the robbery by the capitalists of our black and oppressed communities — it was anti-capitalist!
number four, we want decent housing, fit for the shelter of human beings.
number five, we want decent education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society. we want education that teaches us our true history and our role in present day society.
and number six—which is especially significant in relation to the right-wing effort to undo the very small efforts made by the Obama administration to produce health care for poor people in the us—we want completely free health care for all black and oppressed people.
number seven, we want an immediate end to police brutality and the murder of black people, other people of color, and all oppressed people inside the united states.
number eight, we want an immediate end to all wars of aggression—you see how current this still sounds.
number nine: we want freedom for all black and oppressed people now held in us federal state, county, city, and military prisons and jails. we want trials by a jury of peers for all persons charged with so-called crimes under the laws of this country.
and finally, number ten: we want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice, peace and people’s community control of modern technology.”
-- Angela Davis, paraphrasing the Black Panther Party’s 10 Point Program during during her 2013 speech, Freedom is a Constant Struggle: Closures and Continuities, at the Birkbeck School of Law in London.
during this part of her speech, she gives examples of how items from the 1966 Ten-Point Program are still relevant in today's society (back in 2013, and still today in 2024!)
this screen print was inspired by the reality that every point of the black panther party’s 1966 ten point plan is still just as relevant today, as it was when it was written almost sixty years ago. Angela Davis was an active member of the Black Panther Party, and has dedicated her life to advocating for Black and oppressed people.
i used images of Davis at different ages throughout her life, layering them on top of each other to highlight the passage of time, as well as the juxtaposition of how little has changed within the systems + political landscapes of the usa during Davis’ life - that she has been fighting for the same things over the course of her entire existence.