On August 7, 1970, 17-year-old high school student Jonathan Jackson brought three guns into the trial of San Quentin inmate James McClain. Inside the courtroom, Jackson drew a gun, then joined Black Panther Party members Ruchell Magee and William A. Christmas in taking the judge, Deputy D.A., and three jurors hostage.
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While attempting to flee the Marin County Hall of Justice in a van, the police opened fire on the group, setting off a shoot out that left McClain, Jackson, Christmas, and Judge Harold Haley dead. After discovering that Angela Davis, then assistant professor in the philosophy department of UCLA, had purchased the guns on 5 August, the state issued a warrant for her arrest on charges of aggravated kidnapping and first-degree murder.
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Davis went on the run, becoming the third woman in history to make the FBI’s ‘Ten Most Wanted’ list. She was captured on 13 October and incarcerated for 16 months awaiting trial, becoming one of the world’s most revered political prisoners with more than 250 local organizations around the globe working to free her from jail. On 4 June, 1972, an all-white jury found Davis not guilty of all charges.
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Half a century later, Davis remains one of the foremost activists at the forefront of the intersections of class, race, and gender. In celebration of her impact, Donna Gustafson and Gerry Beegan have curated Angela Davis – Seize the Time, a new exhibition and book that features archival materials including magazines, press photography, court sketches, videos, music, writings, and correspondence as well as artwork by Faith Ringgold, Elizabeth Catlett, Stephen Shames, and Sadie Barnett.
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