Activist, writer Angela Davis to deliver annual MLK Lecture

Civil rights activist, writer and lecturer Angela Davis will speak on “The Struggle for Liberation Today” in the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Lecture, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. in Bailey Hall.

Davis is a professor emerita of history of consciousness and feminist studies at University of California, Santa Cruz.

Angela Davis

“We are delighted to welcome the legendary Professor Angela Davis to Cornell University,” said Sharifa A. Wip, associate dean of students and director of Black Student Empowerment and co-chair of the event. “As one of the most influential voices in liberation and education, Angela Davis has dedicated her life to learning, empowering future generations and championing the Civil Rights Movement. Her unparalleled knowledge and firsthand experience offer invaluable insights that resonate with people from all backgrounds.”

Davis’ work focuses on the police, the abolition of prisons and the related intersections of race, gender and class. Having helped to popularize the notion of a “prison-industrial complex,” Davis now urges her audiences to think seriously about the future possibility of a world without prisons and to help forge a 21st-century abolitionist movement.

She is the author of numerous books, including “Angela Davis: An Autobiography” and “Freedom Is a Constant Struggle.” Her most recent books include “Abolition. Feminism. Now,” written with Gina Dent, Erica Meiners and Beth Richie, and a book of essays, “Abolition: Politics, Practices, Promises, Vol. 1.”

Davis has spoken at Cornell in the past: The Africana Studies and Research Center brought her to campus in 2007 for a public lecture; and she delivered a talk as part of the 2014 Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Lecture Series.

The 2025 Commemorative Lecture is part of the yearlong celebration of the 30th anniversary of Cornell’s LGBT Resource Center, and celebrates Davis’ advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community. This year’s talk also highlights the work of the Centers for Student Equity, Empowerment, and Belongingwithin the Office of the Dean of Students.

“It is an incredible honor to have Professor Davis come speak at our school,” said Karys Everett ’25, a student staff member at the LGBT Resource Center. “In a time where hate is given a platform on a national scale and marginalized identities are under constant attack, it is no small feat that during the 30th anniversary of the LGBT Resource center, we are able to welcome a beacon of light to this institution to empower all students.”

Following Davis’ speech, Everett, a double major in government and American studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, will lead a Q&A. In-person attendees are required to registerahead of time to ensure seating. The event will also be available via livestream, with a recording accessible to those who register for the livestream.

The event is sponsored by the Office of Spirituality and Meaning-Making; Black Student Empowerment; Gender Justice Advocacy Coalition; Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives; the Greater Ithaca Activities Center; First-Generation and Low-Income Student Support; Department of Inclusion and Belonging; Office of Diversity and Inclusion at the College of Architecture, Art and Planning; LGBT Resource Center; Asian and Asian American Center; Latinx Student Empowerment; Black Students United; Office of Diversity and Inclusion at the SC Johnson College of Business; John Henrik Clarke Africana Library; Africana Studies and Research Center; Centers for Student Equity, Empowerment, and Belonging; and the Frederic C. Wood Lecture Fund.

Laura Gallup is a communications lead in Student and Campus Life.

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Kaitlyn Serrao