In order to alleviate racism, people need to create solutions that are not grounded in violence, said political activist and author Angela Davis.
Davis discussed the role of black scholarship in society to a packed audience Thursday in Richard White Lecture Hall. She noted that achieving justice should not be centered around individuals but should be addressed by for the greater community. The keynote speech was part of Reggie Day, an annual program that commemorates the legacy of Reginaldo Howard, Duke’s first black student body president. The event was presented by the Reginaldo Howard Memorial Scholars and Duke University Union.
One of the most important tasks of a black scholar is to fight for equality for future generations, Davis said. All black scholars are linked to the historical struggle for freedom, but people tend to forget about the deeper community issue. She added that young people today are affected by capitalism and its emphasis on the individual.
“Even if a criminal is sentenced to death, it will not solve the root of the problem,” Davis said. “We don’t always have to think about punishment as justice.”
Davis noted that the recent case of Trayvon Martin is an example of continued racism in today’s society. People are too concerned about the fate of George Zimmerman instead of caring about the larger racial struggle.
“When we look at the current campaign for Trayvon, we are so myopically focused that we only want to know everything about one person,” Davis said. “We forget to realize that this is the most recent event in a long history of racial violence.”
Teaching about an individual’s role to give back to others is an important lesson, she noted. Davis said she learned this lesson from her mother, who was an elementary school teacher.
“[My mother] did not let a learning disability prevent her from teaching a child from learning how to read,” Davis said. “She taught children to enjoy reading and fundamentally transformed their love—she taught us about our responsibility to the community.”
Although racial equality has improved in the 21st century, black masculinity is still criminalized by the police and has indirect implications for women, she noted.
“The state punishes men directly behind bars, but so many acts of violence to women are domestic,” Davis said. “One of the most violent places in the world is within the family.”
The Reggie Day program hopes to keep racial equality awareness at the forefront of people’s minds, said freshman Destiny Hemphill, identity committee leader and primary organizer of Reggie Day.
“There’s a notion that race and gender discrimination is a lot better than before, but we shouldn’t become complacent,” Hemphill said. “We have a continued responsibility to be agents for change.”
One goal of Davis’ speech was to convey a meaningful message other minorities groups such as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, in addition the black community, said senior Maab Ibrahim, co-president of Reginaldo Howard Memorial Scholars.
“We wanted to keep the tradition of Reggie Day alive and generate activism on campus,” Ibrahim said. “Davis holds similar ideals and goals as Reggie did in the 1970s.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.