Hundreds crowd for activist Angela Davis

Neither the change of venue nor long lines could deter the approximately 600 spectators who gathered to hear the famed Angela Davis at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at College Hall.

The culminating event for the fifth annual Women's Week at Penn, Davis' address, "Social Change in the 21st Century," attracted people from both the Penn community and the greater Philadelphia area.

Davis, a vice presidential candidate during the 1980 and 1984 elections, draws from her experiences as an activist and professor. She also spent time on the FBI's Most Wanted List during the 1970s for her implication in one of the most famous court cases in American history involving the murder of a court judge in California. Davis was later acquitted of charges after spending 18 months in jail and on trial.

Organized by the Penn Consortium of Undergraduate Women, the event featured Davis' ideas about social justice, the significance of consciousness and the responsibilities of Penn's emerging intellectuals.

Lines formed by 6 p.m and desks in the 200-seat College Hall auditorium were filled. Outside, lines of Penn students and community members wrapped around the building. "I've never heard her speak," commented College senior Jennifer Jackson. "She's supposed to be really dynamic."

Lauren Lorberbaum, chairwoman of the PCUW steering committee, decided to shift the event to a larger venue on campus. "There's no way we can turn all these people away," she said. By 7:15 p.m., she'd arranged to move the event to an auditorium in Meyerson Hall with twice the seating capacity of College Hall's.

Even with that change, hundreds crowded in, filling the entire venue. Others were forced to wait outside for a chance to hear the activist.

"Someone has just asked me . if I would spend a few minutes with people who couldn't get in," Davis opened, advocating for the people waiting outside. As the applause subsided, Davis called attention to the immense power of organized groups, challenging, "What are you willing to do to make the world a better place for us all?"

Local hip-hop activist Jay "Tha Truth" Strong was also in attendance for Davis' speech. "She'll take something that seems at first to be radical or crazy, then she puts it in context with knowledge and the history of this country . and suddenly it makes so much sense."

Indeed, Davis's remarks on the U.S.' current state of slavery and the U.S. penitentiary system were thought provoking. She condemned current notions of individualism, encouraging the development of community collaboration.

"As we acknowledge all of these problems," she continued, "we need hope, we need imagination . we need to know that change is, indeed, possible."

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