PL Anti-abortion, Marielle and the absence of artists: an evening with Angela Davis

Counterculture icon around the world and one of the biggest human rights activists in Brazil, Angela Davis, 80, is in Rio de Janeiro to participate in the LED Festival, an education event promoted by Globo. On Thursday night (20), Angela had a more private moment that few had access to.

Angela was with some journalists and employees of the station, without the presence of artists, at the station’s headquarters in the Jardim Botânico neighborhood, south of Rio de Janeiro. O F5 was present and saw an Angela who moved those there from start to finish.

It wasn’t exactly an interview or press conference. Angela arrived around 8pm, accompanied by people who were with her on her second visit to Rio de Janeiro. In recent times, the philosopher has been going more to Bahia, the largest black territory outside of Africa.

“I went to the waterfalls, in Cruz das Almas. I went to an island. What was the name again? It’s close to Salvador… Boipeba!”, he remembers. The beginning has moments of lightness, where Angela talks about her references as writers. One of them is Carolina Maria de Jesus (1914-1977), of whom Angela says she is “extremely an admirer”.

Angela asks where everyone in that room is from, and everyone tells their story, where they come from and where they went. With the informal conversation, the conversation turns to current issues that are urgent for a person who has been fighting for human rights since the 1970s.

The former Black Panther reported being aware of the Anti-Abortion Bill for Rape, which has been on the agenda in Congress in recent weeks, and would impose a greater penalty on abortion than rape. “It’s unbelievable that this is happening. It’s such a huge step backwards. I saw it and didn’t believe the discussion,” she commented.

For Angela, the Anti-Abortion Bill is a reflection of the advance of the extreme right, not only in Brazil, but in several countries around the world. “It’s all so disgusting. It’s always all in the name of some progress that no one really knows what it is. I really want people to wake up,” she comments.

The philosopher was especially moved when talking about Marielle Franco, murdered in 2018. Angela asked how her bosses were doing and if they had already been arrested. When talking about how the case affected her, Angela said that she only intends to stop returning to Brazil when “Marielle’s dreams are fulfilled.”

The end of the night still held strong emotions. A young Globo employee, whose icon is Angela, approached the end of it all. Entitled Juca, the boy in his early 20s brought a copy of “Women, Race and Class”, one of his books, for her to autograph.

Trembling, the young man moved an 80-year-old American woman, who was delighted to see a boy understanding her struggle of over 50 years. “There are people who are dream killers. But seeing so many dreams alive here is something wonderful,” she added. Angela Davis finished greeting one by one and left the room with her message given: the fight for a more just world can never stop.