Civil Rights Activists to Speak at Virtual Event on MLK Day

           
The Madame Walker Legacy Center in partnership with Indiana University will host a social justice virtual program featuring two iconic civil rights activists.  “A Call to Action: Then and Now,” will feature Angela Davis, one of the founding members of the 1960s Black Panther Party and now Professor emerita of history and feminist studies at the University of California. Joining her will be Alicia Garza, co-creator of Black Lives Matter Global Network. Kristian Little, a Madame Walker Legacy Center board member talks with WFYI’s Terri Dee about the event and how political conflict and social rights struggles share similarities:

WFYI Reporter Terri Dee: These two speakers come from diverse backgrounds, are generations apart, yet they are fighting for the same causes. So why were these two phenomenal women chosen for this virtual speaking event?

Madame Walker Legacy Center Board Member Kristian Stickland: Yes, that's a great question. Both Angela Davis and Alicia Garza are definitely generations apart, and definitely fighting for the same cause. And that was exactly what we were looking for. We've been through so much this past year and social justice is one of the, I think, the key takeaways. We really felt like this was an opportunity to hear from two great human beings and let them tell their story of why they joined the fight. But then also so that we could also hear from them, Not just why they joined it, but we wanted to also hear the similarities of why they joined it, and from their perspective, how far we've come, just what we know and what we still need to do. We really felt like bringing someone that has, historically been involved in fighting this fight over the last 30 to 40 years with someone who has now come alongside with Black Lives Matter and we're still fighting the same thing.

Dee: Who do you think could learn the most from what the speakers have to say? What can the audience look forward to and what do you believe will be the takeaway?

Strickland: I think we all honestly, if we open ourselves up to it, I think we all have something to learn. For those who came up with Angela Davis you definitely have been on this journey a lot longer and may have seen some progress from your perspective. For the younger generation, it is an absolutely awesome opportunity to hear not just from someone who's current, but someone who has been doing this for a while. Honestly, Terri, I think as far as we have come, we just continue to see that we're still dealing with a lot of the same things, just look at the current events over the past week. We are also announcing that Angela Rye will be our moderator for this event, another awesome young woman and NPR political analyst as well. She will do one on one conversations with both Angela Davis as well as Alicia Garza and then also lead the conversation with the two of them together.