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Guests
- Angela Davisworld-renowned abolitionist, author, activist and professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
“Neither party represents the future that we need in this country — both parties remain connected to corporate capitalism,” Angela Davis says of the 2020 election. “We’re going to have to translate some of the passion that has characterized these demonstrations into work within the electoral arena, recognizing that the electoral arena is not the best place for the expression of radical politics.”
More from this Interview
- Part 1: Uprising & Abolition: Angela Davis on Movement Building, “Defund the Police” & Where We Go from Here
- Part 2: Angela Davis: Toppling of Confederate Statues Reflects Reckoning with Slavery & Historical Racism
- Part 3: Angela Davis Slams Trump Rally in Tulsa, Massacre Site, on Juneteenth Celebration of End of Slavery
- Part 4: Angela Davis: Dems & GOP Tied to Corporate Capitalism, But We Must Vote So Trump Is “Forever Ousted”
- Part 5: Angela Davis on Abolition, Calls to Defund Police, Toppled Racist Statues & Voting in 2020 Election
Transcript
AMY GOODMAN: We only have two minutes, and I want to get to the election. When I interviewed you in 2016, you said you wouldn’t support either main-party candidate at the time. What are your thoughts today for 2020?
ANGELA DAVIS: Well, my position really hasn’t changed. I’m not going to actually support either of the major candidates. But I do think we have to participate in the election. I mean, that isn’t to say that I won’t vote for the Democratic candidate. What I’m saying is that in our electoral system as it exists, neither party represents the future that we need in this country. Both parties remain connected to corporate capitalism. But the election will not so much be about who gets to lead the country to a better future, but rather how we can support ourselves and our own ability to continue to organize and place pressure on those in power. And I don’t think there’s a question about which candidate would allow that process to unfold.
So I think that we’re going to have to translate some of the passion that has characterized these demonstrations into work within the electoral arena, recognizing that the electoral arena is not the best place for the expression of radical politics. But if we want to continue this work, we certainly need a person in office who will be more amenable to our mass pressure. And to me, that is the only thing that someone like a Joe Biden represents. But we have to persuade people to go out and vote to guarantee that the current occupant of the White House is forever ousted.
AMY GOODMAN: Angela Davis, I want to thank you so much for this hour, world-renowned abolitionist, author, activist, professor emerita at the University of California, Santa Cruz, author of many books, including Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement. I’m Amy Goodman. Thanks so much for joining us. Stay safe.
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