Portland State University recently hosted Angela Davis, a renowned Black Panther and former 2 time Communist Party USA nominee for Vice President. Ms. Davis had the honor of giving the keynote address during the university’s MLK Week.
In a video posted by LaughingAtLiberals, her speech including sympathizing with the Charlie Hebdo shooters by saying “It is so sad to see that the use of the term “terrorist”, which reminds me of the way communist used to be used, spreads such fear in people’s hearts…To ask questions about those young men who did that horrible thing in Paris. But what kind of lives were they living? No one talks about the conditions under which they live, in the ghettos surrounding Paris. People don’t like to talk about French racism. Seems to me like we have to be willing to look at the entire story and not simply use the word “terrorism.”
She goes on to say “We have a serious problem with gun violence in this country… So I think we really should disarm everyone. That also means disarming the police.”
Ms. Davis was an active Black Panther in the 1960’s and 70’s, and was once on the FBI’s top 10 Most Wanted list for her role in supplying guns that were used in a Marin County court room hostage situation. She was eventually acquitted of all charges.
In 1979, the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union awarded her the “Lenin Peace Prize“, and she was invited to Moscow to accept the award.
This isn’t the first time Ms. Davis has created controversy at a university. Just last year UCLA students were in an uproar over her inclusion in a “We, The Optimists” campaign.
