Angela Yvonne Davis is an American Marxist and feminist political activist, philosopher, academic, author, and social theorist, best known for her involvement in civil rights, Black liberation, and prison abolition movements. Born on January 26, 1944, in Birmingham, Alabama, to schoolteacher parents, Davis grew up in a racially segregated environment that profoundly shaped her activism. She is a former Black Panther Party member and was involved with the Communist Party USA, forming interracial study groups and advocating for social justice. She gained international notoriety in 1970 when she was arrested and charged with conspiracy in connection to the Marin County courthouse shootout, spending over a year in prison before her acquittal in 1972. This experience fueled her lifelong critique of the U.S. prison-industrial complex and her scholarship on race, gender, and capitalism.

Davis pursued an academic career, earning degrees from prestigious institutions and becoming a prominent scholar. She served as a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she is now Distinguished Professor Emerita of Feminist Studies and History of Consciousness. A founding member of the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism after leaving the CPUSA, Davis has authored numerous books, including 'Women, Race, and Class' and 'Are Prisons Obsolete?'. Her work intersects Marxism, feminism, and anti-racism, influencing global movements like the Occupy movement and the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaign against Israel.

Throughout her career, Davis has faced controversies, including her association with the Black Panthers and Communist Party, which led to surveillance by the FBI and her inclusion on Nixon's 'enemies list.' Despite these challenges, she remains an influential voice in progressive politics, lecturing worldwide on intersectionality and human rights.