1972 – Cecil Williams Interviews Angela Davis in Jail

1972- Speeches by Cecil Williams and Angela Davis on Prisons and Oppression at Bay Area Rally

Courtesy of the American Archive of Radio Broadcasting.

This is a recording made at an 1972 outdoor rally in the Bay Area featuring speeches by Reverend Cecil Williams and Angela Davis, after the latter’s release from prison in June 1972. Angela Davis was known for her involvement in the Black Panther Party and the Communist Party. The recording starts with a woman speaking over a P.A. system, announcing that they have collected 1500 signatures for their petition and want to keep collecting signatures to turn into the Attorney General’s office. She then introduces Reverend Cecil Williams, who describes a “genocide against black brothers and sisters” happening within the United States consisting of: wrongful medical testing on black individuals in Alabama, an unjust percentage of black deaths in Vietnam, discrimination against poor people in prison, population control, the ruling against Ruchell Magee, and the San Quentin Six. Angela Davis then speaks on freeing Ruchell Magee and the San Quentin Six, and expresses her opposition to the American prison system.