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SERIES Identifier: MC 940

Series IV. PEOPLE V. ANGELA Y. DAVIS, 1962-1997 (inclusive), 1970-1972 (bulk) (#43.7-60.12, 199FB.1v-199FB.4v, 205FB.1-205FB.10, 204F+B.4-204F+B.12, 206F+B.1-206F+B.4, 208F+B.1-208F+B.9, 209+B.1-209F+B.5, 210F+B.1-210F+B.3, 211F+B.1-211F+B.4, 212F+B.1-212F+B.4, 202OB.10-202OB.16, 207OB.1-207OB.1, 220SB.1, 222SB.1, 223OB-225OB, 207OB)

Scope and Contents

Series IV, PEOPLE V. ANGELA Y. DAVIS, 1962-1997 (inclusive), 1970-1972 (bulk) (#43.7-60.12, 199FB.1v-199FB.4v, 205FB.1-205FB.10, 204F+B.4-204F+B.12, 206F+B.1-206F+B.4, 208F+B.1-208F+B.9, 209+B.1-209F+B.5, 210F+B.1-210F+B.3, 211F+B.1-211F+B.4, 212F+B.1-212F+B.4, 202OB.10-202OB.16, 207OB.1-207OB.1, 220SB.1, 222SB.1, 223OB-225OB, 207OB), contains material related to the 1972 trial of Angela Davis on charges that she purchased guns used by Jonathan Jackson in a 1970 armed takeover of Marin County Courthouse in an attempt to free the Soledad Brothers (George Jackson, Fleeta Drumgo, and John Clutchette). Series includes court trial transcripts, lawyer's notes, legal briefs and other documents, FBI wanted poster, other "Free Angela" posters, correspondence with George and Jonathan Jackson, clippings sent to and kept by Davis's mother Sallye, letters sent to Davis and her family, National United Committee to Free Angela Davis (NUCFAD) material, fliers, clippings scrapbooks, etc.

The series includes many letters sent to Davis while she was being held at Marin County jail. Many of these are postcards, and many from East Germany; that country and others participated in an international campaign to "Free Angela." These letters were not delivered to Davis at the time she was in the Marin County jail. They were discovered years later by the daughter of Marin County Sheriff Teague, who sent them to Davis. Davis did in fact receive other mail while in Marin County jail; the series includes a file of letters from incarcerated people (mostly men) as well as copies of her responses to them.

In addition to material kept together by the Davis family, the series also includes material that came from her lawyer Doris Walker. Other trial-related material was found loose throughout the collection and sorted together by archivists. Because of the varying provenance (including some unknown) of the material, subseries are organized to keep material together by provenance. Duplication (especially of clippings and NUCFAD and other fliers) may occur between subseries.

Some trial-related material can also be found in other series; see Series X for photographs, Series XI for three-dimensional memorabilia, and Series II for another copy of Davis's FBI file she was sent by a former employee of the US Postal Service (#15.10).

Dates

  • Creation: 1937-2017
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1968-2006

Language of Materials

Materials in English.

Access Restrictions:

Access. Collection is open for research. Folders #6.6, 15.6, 18.7, 57.6 and 57.7 are closed until 2046, as specified in the agreement between Angela Y. Davis and the Schlesinger Library.

An appointment is necessary to use any audiovisual material.

Extent

119.12 linear feet ((197 + 1/2 file boxes, 4 folio boxes, 14 folio+ boxes, 8 oversize boxes) plus 3 supersize boxes, 3 supersize folders, 120 photograph folders, 16 folio photograph folders, 10 folio+ photograph folders, 642 slides, 147 audiotapes, 65 videotapes, 12 CDs, 38 DVDs, 2 motion pictures, 5 phonograph records)
7.92 Megabytes (1 file)

Physical Location

Collection stored off site: researchers must request access 36 hours before use.

Creator

Repository Details

Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository

The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.

Contact:
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Cambridge MA 02138 USA
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