Civil Rights Institute Reverses Course, Honors Angela Davis

BIRMINGHAM, AL - Birmingham native and civil rights activist Angela Davis is not stranger to controversy, but lately, her name has been the subject of intense public debate in the Birmingham community. Davis was slated to accept an award from the Birmingham Civil Rights institute, but that award was rescinded after local groups criticized her anti-Israel political stance. Now, that award will be given to Davis, anyway, if she accepts it.

The fiasco started when the BCRI announced Davis would be the recipient of the BCRI’s 2018 Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award - the organization's highest honor. Several local groups - namely groups in the Jewish community - criticized the BCRI for choosing Davis, who has been vocal about her support of Palestine and her anti-Israel views.

On January 4, the BCRI voted to rescind the honor originally intended for Davis. This, in turn sparked protest from local and national civil rights groups. Friday, the BCRI issued a statement reaffirming Davis as the recipient of the award.

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"In keeping with its commitment to learning from its mistakes and in order to stay true to the BCRI’s founding mission, the Board voted to reaffirm Dr. Davis as the recipient," the BCRI said in a statement. "Dr. Davis was immediately thereafter personally invited to reaccept the award. The BCRI respects her privacy and timing in whatever her response may ultimately be."

“Dr. Angela Davis, a daughter of Birmingham, is highly regarded throughout the world as a human rights activist,” said BCRI President and CEO Andrea L. Taylor. “In fact, the Schlesinger Library at Harvard University’s Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study acquired her personal archives in 2018, recognizing her significance in the movement for human rights, her involvement in raising issues of feminism, as well as her leadership in the campaign against mass incarceration. Her credentials in championing human rights are noteworthy,” she said.

Davis has not responded or indicated whether or not she will come to Birmingham to accept the award.

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